Hootch

Aretha, Quincy, Jimi, Elton… At Hootch, the soundtrack practically breaks the sound barrier! After fine-tuning their skills at Cocktails at Nine in Antwerp, Yochen Verbeeck and Diego Verbrugghe carved out their own path to open up a liquid sound system in an unlikely corner of the Campine region. Soul and funk tunes play in the background as you sip their creations in the plush blue armchairs: a Beatlemania-inspired Liverpool (an offbeat Negroni made with a white rum base infused with beeswax and blackberries, €13), a very wah-wah Voodoo Child (rum, Falernum liqueur, lemon shrub, cherry liqueur, grenadine, €14.50), or a gospelizing and non-alcoholic Soul Sister (Botaniets ginger-yuzu spirit, raspberry syrup, citrus, egg white, €10). Late-night hunger pangs can easily be curbed with a tasty cheese or charcuterie board (€14 and €13 respectively), Brazilian pão de queijo with cheese dipping sauce (€11) or a handful of empanadas (€15 for eight). // Sugar Kowalczky