By Holley Long
One thing I love about Orlando is that there is no shortage of unique and niche spots opening all the time. One spot that recently opened is HighT, a cocktail lounge with an Alice in Wonderland theme, where you can try some drinks, and enjoy a brief escape from the real world.
We were fortunate enough to be invited by High T Orlando to enjoy this wonderful experience, and highly recommend it to anyone who's an Alice in Wonderland fan!
The Lounge
As soon as you climb the steps into HighT, you are completely and totally surrounded by all the marvels of Wonderland. The cocktail lounge is decorated from floor to ceiling with playing cards, mushroom-shaped lights, flowers, fluffy critters, and more—it’s as if you’re truly having a tea party in a garden.
There’s a balcony, on which you can sip your drinks in a grassy dreamworld and watch downtown Orlando come alive for the night. There’s a room with an E-Vape hookah, which you can enjoy with Absolem the caterpillar. There’s even a room with a floor that gives the illusion of falling—talk about going down the rabbit hole!
Drinks and Treats
The decor isn’t the only thing that’s photo-worthy at HighT. The drinks look like they were pulled straight out of a fairy tale. We ordered four of them to get a range of aesthetics and tastes, and none of them disappointed.
First, we had the “Maybe I’m Dreaming,” which came with a little butterfly souvenir. The tea-infused saketini is made from Haku Japanese vodka and “snow maiden” sake, then topped with lychee-flavored clouds of sugar floss. It’s literally a dream.
Next, we tried the “Travel by Hat,” a tropical mixture of different types of tea, Drumshanbo Gin, and Fassionola Saturn variation. The cocktail arrives in a top hat glass, decked out with playing cards and feathers. Make sure you drink this one with a straw so you don’t disturb the pretty arrangement. 
Things got curiouser and curiouser when we ordered the “Handsome Swine.” The flavors of the little cocktail include Don Julio Reposado, passionfruit, Ancho Reyes, xome xocotl mole, and, interestingly, bacon.
The drink comes with a piece of chocolate-dipped bacon, topped with chili threads, volcanic salt, and, get ready for this, chapulines, which, if you don’t know, are grasshoppers. Have you heard the expression, it tastes like chicken? Well, the chapulines didn’t taste like chicken, but they were alright.
To cap off the night we enjoyed the “Sleepy Talk.” The espresso martini is the picture of coziness, served in a mug on a puffy pillow plate. The frothed cocktail of tequila ocho reposado, Mr. Black and house pumpkin 6 spice blend is meant to be sipped slowly so you experience every flavor. It also comes with a dormouse cookie to curb your sweet tooth.
If you want something even sweeter, you can order one of HighT’s delectable pastries. We had the Twix of Hearts, a vanilla tart shell filled with caramel cream and salted caramel, then topped with dark chocolate. Absolutely lovely.
The Experience
The cocktails and decorations were wonderful, but I have to say the best parts of the experience were the interactive elements. Throughout the evening, Wonderland characters come out to join your tea party, including Alice herself. She sat with us for a while, and she was friendly and chatty, and she even ate a chapulin with us!
Alice also mentioned that the Red Queen visits guests on the weekends, but she warned that we should dress well if we want to meet her. HighT has a dress code, so guests may not be able to enter while wearing athletic clothes or anything that might offend the Queen. If you plan on visiting, it might be a good time to find puffy shirts, gloves, and sophisticated top hats, lest you want heads to roll.
Musicians also perform throughout the evening, including pianists, violinists, and saxophonists. If you want to feel fully immersed in the music, you can reserve the Red Queen’s Piano Lounge for your party and sit around the piano while sipping drinks and enjoying a special dessert only available in the lounge.
Overall
I could spend hours in this totally immersive space, just taking in all of the details. Though it’s a picture-perfect spot, photos truly don’t do it justice. It’s definitely something to experience for yourself, so next time you’re in downtown Orlando, make a reservation for a night at HighT!
Downtown Orlando
Downtown Orlando is a center for a lot of unique shops and restaurants. The area is very centrally located for most people in Central Florida, with plenty of restaurants, shops, and venues within walking distance. It’s known for its tall buildings, apartments, and nightlife, but don’t discount the daylife offered by a lot of these venues!
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