The Sound of Cocktails is an initiative by Rake’s Café Bar at Andaz Liverpool Street that transmutes expertly blended drinks into artfully curated playlists; the latest example of a hotel using sound to ground guests in the present.

Rake’s Café Bar at Andaz London Liverpool Street is exploring the relationship between taste and music with The Sound of Cocktails, a new menu that pairs ten cocktails with individually curated playlists.

The concept has been created by Rake’s beverage manager Guilherme Vieira and Andaz London Liverpool Street’s music curator and resident DJ Michelle Lynn. Together, they tasted each cocktail and considered how its flavours, textures and mood could be represented through music.

The resulting playlists span genres including Japanese city pop, neo-soul, quiet storm and Bollywood EDM. The idea is to give each cocktail its own musical identity while encouraging guests to discover music beyond the recommendations generated by streaming algorithms.

“People visiting the hotel would often ask me, ‘the music you’re playing sounds great, where can I find this type of music?’” explains Lynn, who has been playing at the hotel and curating its musical offering for the past two years. “So we had a chat internally about the intricacies of mixology and music, and thought, wouldn’t it be great if people could have a cocktail and then take the music with them?” 

Each pairing has been conceived with a different stage or mood of the evening in mind. “The Aftermath cocktail is very sexy,” Lynn says of the bourbon, butterscotch and absinthe-based drink. “It’s that feeling at the end of the night when you’re sitting relaxing. The flavours are velvety, so for me that translated into neo-soul.”

Elsewhere, a combination of Tanqueray gin, umeshu, grapefruit and chamomile is paired with Japanese city pop, while mango vodka, chilli and elderflower finds its musical counterpart in Bollywood EDM.

Music already plays a significant role at Rake’s. Lynn curates its Brunch Paradiso programme every Saturday, when a rotating line-up of London-based female and femme DJs performs during brunch. Guests can also choose unlimited cocktails or prosecco as part of the event.

Later in 2026, Lynn is due to begin hosting DJ masterclasses at Rake’s, allowing guests to learn basic mixing skills at the East London venue.

The Sound of Cocktails also reflects a wider shift in hospitality towards more considered listening experiences. Listening bars, vinyl rooms and other audio-led spaces are becoming an increasingly visible feature of hotels, bars and restaurants, with music moving from the background to become a more deliberate part of the guest experience.

Lynn, a longstanding resident at pioneering listening bar Spiritland, has witnessed that shift first-hand. “The whole idea of a Japanese listening bar is that it’s a space you visit to listen and digest,” she says. Reflecting on an era of algorithmic listening and constant digital distraction, she continues: “These spaces are about really appreciating the music, as opposed to it just being this background thing that nobody notices.”

The Sound of Cocktails takes that idea of attentive listening and extends it to taste and touch. Each cocktail arrives with a garnish tag, a theatrical flourish and a collectible coaster featuring artwork inspired by its playlist. A QR code links directly to the music, allowing guests to listen on their phone with headphones.

Vieira says: “Michelle has taken these cocktails to somewhere I could never have imagined. Seeing each drink transformed into its own soundtrack has added another dimension to the experience. It’s fascinating how a combination of Tanqueray, umeshu, grapefruit and chamomile can become Japanese city pop, while mango vodka, chilli and elderflower naturally find their home on the dancefloor to Bollywood EDM.”