Q&A with Matt Clements of Clementine & Co

Matt has supported numerous BITE Sussex charity events including at Brighton toy museum - credit Julia Claxton

In the run up to Christmas, Matt Clements of Clementine & Co cocktail bar talks to Nick Mosley about their unique advent calendar menu with a one-off festive themed drink every day.

Tell us a bit about yourself

As a lifelong resident of Brighton, I cherish the city’s welcoming atmosphere, strong sense of community and vibrant independent scene.

My journey into the cocktail world began at the University of Sussex, where I discovered my passion for mixology while working in a local pub. I quickly realised that creating cocktails brought me more joy than pulling pints; this revelation led me to carve out my niche in this exciting industry.

I then started working at Twisted Lemon for a few years and learnt all I could about cocktails in a more focused setting. During my time there I was very lucky and fortunate to receive the opportunity from the owners to give me the financial support to open up my own venue in Brighton and I created Clementine & Co on Duke Street to join the collection of wonderful independents in our city.

What’s the lowdown on Clementine & Co?

At Clementine & Co we pride ourselves on being a small, independent neighbourhood cocktail bar, operated by a dedicated team of just six. Our focus is on crafting high quality classic cocktails, innovative modern interpretations and exclusive signature creations.

We prioritise strong and approachable flavour pairings while remaining affordable as I strongly want to create a venue where anyone can come in and have an incredible cocktail at a great price point. To ensure affordability without compromising on quality, we offer an extensive Happy Hour from 12 noon to midnight from Sunday to Thursday and noon to 7pm on Friday.

Additionally, our £5 Cocktail of the Week – voted on by our Instagram followers – runs from Sunday to Friday. While cocktails are our main specialty, we also feature around 12 carefully curated non-alcoholic cocktails, alongside a good selection of beers and wines.

What’s going on at Clementine & Co during December?

With the festive season on the horizon, we're excited to introduce our unique take on an advent calendar.

Starting on Monday 1 December, guests can look forward to a special treat each day, revealed on our Instagram (@clementinecobtn). While the details remain a secret for now, I’m thrilled to hint at some surprises in store.

Alongside this, we’ll be rolling out a traditional Christmas menu featuring favourites such as mulled wine, Irish coffees, hot toddies and eggnog. One standout item is our Winter Sgroggpino, a delightful blend of traditional sgroggpino and kir royale featuring cassis, sparkling wine and blackberry sorbet, all elegantly served in a coupe glass and garnished with edible lime zest. I've always felt the best garnishes are the ones you can eat.

How do you contribute to the city?

I've started to take some time to consider my social impact and what I can do as a local business to help support the local community and I felt like making a donation to a charity would be a great way to start this.

As part of our advent calendar, on Saturday 13 December we’re going to be donating £1 to a local charity for every drink sold and have chosen Fareshare Sussex. There are so many amazing local charities out there but I really loved FareShare's approach of redistributing food and getting it to those who need it most. We are hoping to raise £400 which will equate to 1,600 meals.

What spirit brands are you working with in the coming weeks?

We're excited to announce collaborations with local brands, including the renowned DedBest Distillery based near Lewes that are known for their exceptional Contractors gin and GINgerbread liqueur.

This partnership has inspired the creation of a delightful gingerbread and saffron martini, crafted by our talented assistant manager, Lukas, who even made his own saffron tincture for this special drink which I'm sure if you like it he'd love to tell you all about how he made it!

We have also had Cazcabel tequila reach out so we’ll be doing a Margarita Night on Monday 8 December, featuring classic margaritas, picante del la casa's, tommy's, watermelon margaritas and yuzu margaritas all for £5.

I’m sure we will have some more festive and fun surprises along the way.

Anything else you’d like to add?

More now than ever, I’d encourage people to support local businesses. As we are seeing the high street decline, with more shops shutting in record number largely due to economic pressures put on not just business but also customers, it is more important than ever to consider where we are spending our money.

There are so many fantastic bars, restaurants, cafes and shops in our city so I’d encourage everyone to try going out, trying something new and finding out what exactly there is out there. A world full of chains would be a very sad world indeed, and certainly not one that I want to live in.

Clementine & Co, 16 Duke Street, Brighton BN1 1AH

www.clementineandco.co.uk