Bar Schnapps is a well-renowned watering hole for those who consider themselves to be among Nottingham’s hardcore late night drinkers.

Opening its doors a mere hour and a half before midnight strikes, this is certainly not the place to visit for a quiet comfortable drink.

The Venue
Bar Schnapps is down a small alley, off the less than opulent St James’ Street, and you'll need directions to it if you're not in the know.

If you're lucky enough to arrive when there's no queue, you'll be ushered through a secure locked door by a lone bouncer and enter the only part of the bar that has seating. Turning immediately back on yourself you find the bar. It's not far and you'll soon realise Bar Schnapps is tiny.

Get there before midnight and you'll be able to get a drink with ease and with any luck find yourself a seat either at the front or, even better, at the back of the bar where there is a small but sufficient mezzanine.

However, stroll in after midnight and you'll find the area directly in front of the bar bottle-neck busy, and finding anywhere to stand comfortably - let alone sit - is a war of attrition. Your only choice is to go with the Schnapps flow and succumb to the chaos.

It would be fair to say that when leaving Bar Schnapps you may feel the need to wipe your feet, especially if you've made a trip to the loos which are downstairs at the back of the bar. And if you've made the mistake of wearing flip-flops you'll feel like taking a shower. But you probably wouldn't notice the lack of cleanliness (if you don't go to the loo, that is) as the whole bar is immersed in a cleverly deceptive orange glow.

The People
If you are expecting to walk into Bar Schnapps and be served by a dour-faced doll then think again. The bar staff in this place are leading the party. They've been known to dance on the bar and knock back the odd shot in between serving customers.

An eclectic crowd walks through Bar Schnapps doors and staff from Nottingham's other bars beat a path to it once they've knocked off for the night. Students who've been in the city long enough to know their way around are frequent visitors to Bar Schnapps, and it's a sort of safe bet bar if your night is not panning out as planned.

It is not uncommon to see the odd bow tie brigade stood next to lasses in white Lycra, who are being watched eagle-like by P-Diddy wannabes sulking in the corner. Bar Schnapps is so diverse no one feels out of place or completely at home.

It stays open until 4am on Sunday through to Thursday and then until 5am on Friday and Saturdays, so the late night lovelies who don't want the party to end turn up at Bar Schnapps to drink in the dawn.

The Drink
On draught there's Red Stripe, Guinness and Hoegarden and the fridge is always full with delightfully chilled beers, alcopops and the increasingly popular premium ciders - it isn’t difficult to find a decent drink here. Their house vodka goes for £1.50 a double and they have a reasonable offering of refined spirits with most mixers.

If it’s cocktails or wine you're after they do offer a small variety of each, but you may be well-advised to steer clear as the wine is not very agreeable and the cocktails are (i.e. - Blue Lagoon - vodka, blue Curacao and lemonade) so unimaginative they're hardly worth it. And, of course, they sell a selection of schnapps.

The Last Word
Bar Schnapps isn't somewhere to go every night of the week, but as a last stop drinking spot it is hard to find anywhere with as much individuality.

If you can stand the occasional sardine-like feeling and the less than salubrious toilets then this place is worth a look.