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Forecast for the next six months at London's Borough Market: cloudy with a chance of Buckfast

Published:  15 July, 2015

Self-styled culinary researcher and contemporary food designer Bompas & Parr has created a walk-in cloud of breathable cocktail which will go on display to the public in London at the end of this month.

The Alcoholic Architecture installation is described by the outfit as "the world's first alcoholic weather system for your tongue where meteorology and mixology collide".

The installation also features a bar where guests will be able to order liquid cocktails from a menu that complements the profile of the breathable one.

It will be in London's Borough Market from July 31 for six months. Ingredients for the cocktails will be sourced from the market.

The drinks brands used will mainly be those made by monks - such as Chartreuse, Benedictine, Trappist beer and Buckfast - as the installation will be in the shadow of the UK's earliest gothic cathedral and on an ancient monastery site.

Guests will wear protective suits to enter the cloud and Bompas & Parr has worked with respiratory scientists and chemists to calculate safe dwell times.

The cloud is composed of spirits and mixers in a one to three ration and is made by the use of humidifiers which saturate the air.

Alcohol enters the bloodstream through the body's mucus membranes - mainly the lungs but also the eyes.

Bompas & Parr say that breathing in the cocktail means it bypasses the liver, requiring 40% less consumption to feel the usual alcoholic effects. Visibility will be less than 1 metre.

Bompas & Parr director Sam Bompas said: "Creatively the installation draws inspiration from Borough Market's produce, medieval history and weather to create a sci-fi fantasy where meteorology and mixology collide.

"Visiting Alcoholic Architecture will generate the same sort of awe and wonder we have all probably experienced when gazing up at the night's sky."

Keith Davis, managing director of Borough Market, said: "We're always interested in partnerships that explore food and drink experiences in innovative and interesting ways. We're proud of our 1,000-year heritage but events like this continue to prove Borough Market's relevance today."

Alcoholic Architecture is at One Cathedral Street, London SE1 from July 31. Tickets for one-hour time slots cost £12.50 for peak times and £10 for off-peak from bompasandparr.com

Bompas & Parr was founded by Sam Bompas and Harry Parr in 2007 as a craft jellymonger.

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