Village Blues Bar is poised to resuscitate the Corporate Area's nightlife.

Stalwarts knew the Village Café back in 2001, the original outdoor bar in Kingston to hear bands like Black Zebra.

"You can walk over to the DJ and ask for (anything) and the DJ should be able to play. (There's) not a situation where it's going to be dancehall all night or whatever genre. We are defined by the people that come here. What they demand is what we create," said Robert Collins, owner of Village.

The people have spoken and Village has listened. Tuesday Night Live will be back and drink creations like 'Who Stole The Gator?' (based on the club's former stuffed reptile) will replace the absent 'Village Duppy'. Village continues to be a trendsetter, snagging international DJs like DJ Smiley, fixing new line-ups and collaborating with bars on the North Coast, even enlisting an airline for short flights coast to coast for "the ultimate experience" in club hopping!

"We want to achieve something completely new. We're looking at the people who aren't going out. Our aim is to bring Kingston's nightlife back," he said. Extra-adventurous couples ask Collins for 'The Blue-Eyed White Dragon'. This mysterious flaming blue shot featuring Blue Curaçao is exclusively made by Village.

"A lot of couples have been married because of that drink," Collins chuckled, "because it makes you so happy." Between that and their 'Don't Be Blue' martinis, which "you can't have just one" of, Kingstonians better prepare for an uninhibited night. And these all just get better during Bar Week.

- Text by Grace-Ann Black, Gleaner Intern

Village 'Don't Be Blue' Martini

Ingredients

1oz Smirnoff Vodka

1/2oz Triple Sec

1oz Blue Curaçao

Lime juice

Sweet syrup

Lemon drop rimming sugar

It's definitely sweeter than you'd expect a strong blue martini to be, which is what makes it irresistible.

Photos by Winston Sill/Freelance Photographer

Village's Don't Be Blue Martini.

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Your watering hole justgot better!

Come July 27-31, your favourite watering holes will never be the same again. They will actually be better than ever for the inaugural Bar Week. Every day will be something new; Monday will be Bailey's night with complementary Bailey's original Irish Cream; Tuesday will offer two-for-one Guinness; Wednesday, two-for-one Smirnoff Vodka; Thursday, two-for-one Red Stripe and Red Stripe Light, and the week ends with complementary Johnnie Walker on Friday.

Keep checking The Gleaner for further details.

Participating bars

Christopher's

Cuddyz

Pure lounge

Medusa

Escape 24/7

Susie's Bar

T.G.I. Friday's

Pier 1

Twisted Kilt

Village Blues Bar

Jamaica Bobsled Café

The Pub

Margaritaville Ochi Rios

Blue Beat Jazz Martini

Bar by the Sea

Fiction