Alcotraz Liverpool is one of the most unique cocktail bars in the city and your experience starts prior to visiting. You must book online before coming to the venue and you have to book a time slot, which each last 1 hour 45 minutes. Tickets cost from £36.50, with tickets ranging it cost depending on off-peak and peak slots and if you get the basic ticket or the ultimate ticket. Either ticket will get you the main experience, which includes an immersive theatrical experience, imprisonment in cells for the duration of your sentence and four personalised cocktails!

One important point to note with Alcotraz is that you must bring your own alcohol to the experience. They have recommendations on the sizing but a 70cl bottle is plenty for a group of 2 to share. Each bottle must be sealed as you are going to need to smuggle it past the guards to give to those inside to make your cocktails. For this reason, Alcotraz is an 18+ experience and ID is required. 

Our evening started as we made our way to the location in Liverpool which is in the city centre. Easily found, we joined the queue to enter and had our alcohol checked by real security to make sure it was sealed. From here, you are given some basic rules before you enter into the venue, which include basic house rules and what to expect during your time. All this information is also sent in advance when you book, so worth having a read before attending.

Once you enter into the building, you meet with one of the guards and he introduces you to prison life and gets you prepared for your sentence. This includes kitting you out with your very own orange jumpsuit which you wear during your stay. Before taking you to your allocated cells, the guard mentions that we may want a comfort item to take in with us. This was key as you need something to smuggle your alcohol in as if the warden caught you with alcohol then, you would be in some serious trouble. We took a pillow and managed to slip our bottle of vodka in without any questions! There is plenty of fun and quirky ways to smuggle though. 

We were then shortly guided to our cell. Each cell is slightly different but all serve the same purpose, it is your home for the rest of the experience. There are 10 cells in total, which take different size groups. So if you book in large groups or small groups, you may be required to split or share accordingly depending on the session and how busy it is. We were fortunate on our session and got our own cell! 

Our cell included some comfy seats, a few stools and even a toilet to be used as a seat. We even had a sink (which obviously didn’t work). There is plenty of room to get changed in your orange jumpsuits in your cell and plenty of places to put your items. Whilst you are getting ready, you will meet one of the serving inmates, which are the bar staff. They will come and take your alcohol from you and ask how you like your cocktails. Whilst you have no control of what concoction you’ll get, you can mention you like them fruity, sweet, bitter etc.