
Drinking with Weapons and Toys
Matt Whiley and Rich Woods – the guys behind your favourite bars, books, and booze lists – have joined forces to bring you drinks design collective, Weapons and Toys
words by Will HALBERT
A Match Made in Hackney

Not content with running one of the world’s best bars, Scout’s very own Matt Whiley and Rich Woods, have joined forces once again to front up the Hackney-based bar and cocktail consultancy agency, Weapons and Toys. One of their most recent projects comes in the form of a set of new menus for our long-time friends at The Zetter Townhouse. With a focus on ten weird-and-wonderful ingredients all known for their unique, therapeutic benefits, both the Clerkenwell’s ‘Cures & Curiosities’ and the Marylebone’s ‘Potions & Punches’ menus are equal parts surreal and sophisticated.
Cures & Curiosities
Eternal Martini

Legend has it that quartz stones aid concentration and improve memory, making them the perfect modifier for the classic, memory-muddling, mixological mainstay that is the classic Martini. Now, we can’t account for the veracity of the science behind such off-the-cuff claims, but we can’t say we care all that much when a cocktail looks and tastes this good. Using a delicate blend of quartz stone-washed gin, strawberry vermouth and almond flower, Matt and Rich have come away with a twist on a Martini that’s so good it quite literally glows.
Sustainable Sipping
Matt Whiley takes five from his Antipodean adventures to talk about the Zetter menus’ more sustainable flourishes
First off, tell us a little about yourselves and how Weapons & Toys came to be?
Rich and I have been friends for a few years and both being in the industry, have always wanted to collaborate. Last year, an opportunity arose to collaborate with Adam Handling so we decided to combine our skills and set up a drinks consultancy. And so, Weapons and Toys was born! The name of the lab is inspired by all of the exciting tools we use to make the drinks come to life.
Can you tell us a little bit about the inspiration behind the new Zetter cocktails? Is there a running theme throughout the selection?
We collaborated with The Zetter Townhouse on the menu’s theme of Cures & Curiosities and Potions & Punches, using 10 ingredients known for their healing properties to develop cocktails that are all linked by the concept of therapeutic and medicinal elements. Woven throughout the menus are the stories that bring the townhouses to life; we’ve included the quirky and fictitious townhouse owners in the process (Aunt Wilhelmina and Uncle Seymour), who ‘discovered’ the 10 ingredients on their travels and are now sharing their findings with their guests through this unique cocktail selection.
How long was the creative process behind the new menus? What were the main challenges along the way?
We worked for a few months to develop the collection, followed by some tweaks and changes in the weeks before the launch. Unusually, there actually weren’t many challenges, the process was pretty clear. We had
a vision and the final goal is always that the guests try the menu and are blown away by the taste, the story and the presentation.
Beyond just making great drinks, was there anything you were looking to achieve with the latest menu?
When you enter The Zetter Townhouses, there’s already such a sense of it being a true ‘down the rabbit hole’ experience. With this menu, there’s a new story to tell. We wanted to take that escapism and run with it, using the menu to transport guests to a whole new world through our choice of ingredients to really help write this chapter of Aunt Wilhelmina and Uncle Seymour’s stories.
Palo Santo, yarrow, catnip, elf oil, there are a fair few exotic ingredients in the mix here. What made you want to experiment with them in the first place, and what do you think they bring to the table?All of these ingredients have some sort of perceived health benefit to humans – whether they’re old wives tales or proven to be naturopathic, we wanted to base the menus around ingredients that remedy certain ailments. Palo Santo is actually an interesting one – it’s supposedly a ‘holy wood’, burnt to cleanse rooms of evil spirits in the same way you burn sage. So in very unique ways, each ingredient is linked in the sense that they’re said to heal, cleanse or cure but never compromising on flavour.
Are these all pretty boozy concoctions. Will you be featuring a few low/no ABV options too?
Of course, we’re always conscious of promoting responsible drinking. This particular menu has a few stiff drinks for those who want a boozier taste but also features a couple of spritz style options which is lower in alcohol. There’s also a great non-alc selection on the menu which we’re looking to grow over the next few months. Our general rule of thumb is to keep it balanced and ensure there’s something for everyone.
Do you have any personal favourite cocktails from the upcoming collection?
The Vetiver & Peach Spritz is definitely my favourite on the Clerkenwell menu. There’s one on the Marylebone menu called the ‘Enchanted Martini’ which is infused with Quince Tea Kombucha and I just love the flavours. Those two are definitely my favourite to taste-test.
Are there any elements of the latest Zetter menus that are particularly sustainably-minded?
Rich and I are mindful of the environment whenever we set up our menus and of course, the Zetter team share this focus so in this collaboration we placed a lot of emphasis on when, where and how we went about sourcing ingredients. For example, we made a conscious effort to buy locally in London and we put practices in place to really assess how much we need of a product in each drink, to avoid over-ordering and wastage.
How important has the concept of sustainability become in the wider context of the bar industry?
It’s a big theme in the industry at the moment but as we move into the future, sustainable practices should be commonplace in all bars. Just across the board, we should all be mindful for the state of our planet and the part we can play to help.
Are there any sustainable steps that you’d like to see more bars taking in their day-to-day operations?
I personally witness a huge amount of over-ordering – it’s the simplest practice to adjust and improve on. Reducing the quantity of perishable items ordered if you’re noticing wastage and being mindful of delivery frequency can drastically minimise your contribution to emissions. Little tweaks in these practices can make a huge difference to the industry as a whole.
Potions and Punches
Healing Punch
Palo Santo isn’t exactly the first thing one expects to see on a cocktail menu, but here it is in all its shamanistic glory. Hailing from the coasts of South America, this ‘holy wood’ not only adds a touch of pine, mint and citrus to the woodfire warmth of the Healing Punch’s Scotch-forward credentials, but brings a little aromatherapy to the alchemic blend. The addition of clarified rice milk adds further body to the mix. All of which makes for an almost restorative tipple that gives a whole new meaning to the idea of drinking responsibly. Again, don’t quote us on the science of that.