Delicious cocktails, with a twist.

Late last year, Dublin's first 'bring your own cocktail bar' opened its doors. Drop Dead Twice is located on Francis street right across from the Tivoli theatre and they're serving up some of the best cocktails I've ever tasted. And the strongest. But unlike other cocktail bars, you can't just show up to Drop Dead Twice with a bit of cash and expect to have your drink-related needs met. Instead, you book yourself a table for either two or three hours. Two hours will get each person four cocktails and requires them to bring about 200ml worth of their own alcohol or, in other words, a sneaky naggin. Guests hitting up the bar for three hours can expect between six and seven cocktails, all made from their 350ml spirit of choice. I opted for the two hour slot, because it was only Thursday night and I didn't really feel like battling an intense Friday morning hangover. I brought a naggin full of a vanilla flavoured vodka with gold flakes (because I'm extra). https://www.instagram.com/p/BYNXBXzF-3Z/?hl=en&taken-by=jadehayden At Drop Dead Twice, bar staff mix your cocktails specifically to your own personal taste. Just tell them what flavour combinations you love, what you hate, and what you've always been a little bit keen to try, and they'll shake up the cocktail you've always wanted but never had the chance to taste. My first drink was made with vanilla vodka, apple juice, egg whites, and cinnamon.  ... And it tasted the way it looked - unreal. There were a lot of thoughts running through my mind while I drank this cocktail. Most notably - how could something that was predominantly made from apple juice be so creamy? The cocktail tasted like liquefied apple pie... in a good way. It was a divine drink to start the evening with and I could have easily put away about five more of them. My second drink was made with vodka and a special watermelon syrup.  The (other) class thing about Drop Dead Twice is that they make a lot of their cocktail syrups themselves, so you actually won't get to taste them anywhere else. This drink included a watermelon syrup and it was probably my favourite cocktail of the evening. It went down way easier than it should have. My third drink contained vodka, passionfruit, and orange.  This one felt like I was drinking a smoothie, but I was absolutely not drinking a smoothie. You could easily hit up the gym, knock back one of these lads, and feel like you'd had a pretty healthy day. You wouldn't even know you'd just consumed 50ml of alcohol (the standard amount that is used in each of Drop Dead Twice's cocktails, by the way). Very good shout. My fourth and final drink was an espresso martini made with vanilla vodka, a tiny bit of Guinness, and some other ingredients I can't really recall because I was on my fourth cocktail. Really, what better way is there to end an evening than with an espresso martini? Not too strong, not too weak, not too heavy on the coffee that you'll be lying awake at 5am wondering where the night went. And, seeing as we had a little bit of alcohol left over, bar staff were kind enough to mix us up a couple of raspberry shots for the road - which was pretty sound, in fairness. Two hours in Drop Dead Twice will set you back €25 per person between Thursday and Sunday, and €15 per person on Wednesday. The three hour slots are slightly more pricey, costing €30 per person between Thursday and Sunday, and €25 per person on Wednesday. You can book yourself a slot here.