In a market saturated with fancy-ish cocktail bars and leather-clad whiskey lounges, it takes a lot to stand out.
Scratch that – it doesn’t. It just takes really, really good drinks. And the stuff in The Black Moth’s glasses ranks somewhere above excellent and just below supernatural.
Its wonky, asymmetric glasses, that is. Nothing at The Black Moth is typical, from the entranceway that plays documentary narration about moths, to the main room’s decor – a hodgepodge of tiny sculptures and pop art. Indeed, the assortment of conversation starters on display here leads us to dub this place A Great Spot For a Date, albeit a date you’re willing to spend RMB100 per cocktail on, so don’t make it a Tinder one.
Make that RMB120, by the way, if it's the Truffle Martini you're after. Not for the faint of heart, the drink is heaven for truffle fans, hell for those who would rather not have a cocktail that could be described as ‘earthy.’
Other mixes are less controversial. We love the undeniably sultry Cumin Gin Sour (RMB85), which comes topped with a dried pineapple and sprinkled with a spice typically reserved for yangrou chuan’r. Equally satisfying is the Hot & Numbing Margarita (two adjectives we’re more likely to associate with the symptoms of menopause than with drinks, RMB85), with chili powder along one half of the rim. The Mandarin Old Fashioned (RMB120) is an elegant twist on a classic – if we were into traditional gender norms we’d say the citrus notes feminize what is typically a manly drink. But we’re not, so hey, you’ll just have to try it yourself.
The Black Moth’s drinks put this place on par with some of the city’s mixology titans. We didn’t think we’d ever say this, but here goes: We’re happy to have another high-end cocktail lounge in Beijing.
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