Tailor Bar
Famous for its ‘no menu’ policy, Tailor Bar, led by world-class mixologist Eddy Yang is hidden behind an unassuming elevator opposite Jing’an Temple.
Name: Eddy Yang, 38
From: China
Started: age 23
Mexican Coffee (RMB90, depending on tequila used)
Ingredients: coffee, Becherovka (Czech liqueur), agave nectar, cream, Feria de Jalisco tequila.
Characteristics: bracing, zesty and creamy.
The First Glaze (RMB150, depending on whisky used)
Ingredients: Chivas 18 gives the best balance, balsamic vinaigrette glaze, ginger syrup, apple juice and sea salt.
Characteristics: sweet, salty, apple, wintery and very warming.
Tailor’s Apple Pie (RMB85)
Ingredients: chocolate bitters, egg white, caramelized icing sugar, apple pie moonshine.
Characteristics: fruity, robust and faintly spicy.
Phuket Vacation (RMB100)
Ingredients: Tanqueray No.10 Gin, coconut cream, lime juice, fresh lime leaves, Angostura Bitters, soda water.
Characteristics: tropical, creamy, lightly sparkling and herbal.
Taste Buds Cocktail Palace
Colorful by name, colorful by nature – this eclectic little cocktail bar has made a name for itself thanks to Daniel An’s bombastic booze creations.
Daniel An, 28
From: China
Started: age 23
Drink of choice? Gin and Tonic. I don’t want the bartender to spend a lot of time on making me a drink. I just want something quick!
Best thing about having your own bar? It’s like having your own home, or your own baby. Every day I wake up and want to come back here because I miss it!
Tale of Mulata (RMB98)
Ingredients: Diplomatico Reserva Exclusiva rum, chili, Sichuan pepper, dark chocolate syrup, fresh lime, basil and chocolate bitters.
Characteristics: smooth, chocolaty and spicy.
Persian Julab (RMB88)
Ingredients: Bacardi Superior, Aperol, housemade rose syrup, rose powder, fresh lime syrup.
Characteristics: tart, fruity and deeply floral.
The Tail (RMB88)
Ingredients: clove and cardamom-infused bourbon, fresh lime, black cherry marmalade, Angostura Bitters.
Characteristics: warm, spicy and sweet.
Up in the Air (RMB98)
Ingredients: Massenez Poire Williams Brandy, Eau de Vie, violet bitters, orange peel garnish.
Characteristics: fruity and refreshing.
Starling
Stepping inside this colonial retro chic bar is like being transported to an old Burmese clubhouse. On the menu are suitably tropical drinks to match.
Name: Michael Chan, 27
From: Taipei
Started: age 19
Austin Mule (RMB88)
Ingredients: Tito’s Vodka, lime, orange mandarin curd and ginger beer.
Characteristics: crisp, refreshing, spicy from ginger beer that cuts through sweetness.
Zigzag Cafe (RMB98)
Ingredients: roasted coconut-infused banana rum, Falernum (rum-based liqueur with almonds, clove and ginger) dried lime, bitters.
Characteristics: rich, nutty and aromatic.
So Fresh, So Clean: (RMB88)
Ingredients: mint-infused Hendrick’s gin, Dolin (sweet and bitter vermouth), lemon, watermelon juice, cucumber juice and aloe vera cordial.
Characteristics: tropical, fruity, crisp and refreshing.
Tom Yum Colada (RMB78)
Ingredients: tom yum spice-infused Bacardi, coconut cream, lime, pineapple and sugar.
Characteristics: creamy, spicy and rich.
Logan’s Punch
Another bar with transportive interiors, each secluded nook at Logan’s Punch has its own pop-culture theme. Drinks are an equal mix of stiff cocktails and elegantly strong punches to be shared with friends.
Name: Logan Brouse, 35
From: San Francisco
Started: Age 21
Green Lantern (RMB80)
Ingredients: Tito’s Vodka (Logan’s favorite), wasabi, apple liqueur, cucumber.
About: “When I ran Muse on the Bund, we were above a sushi place on the 4th floor. I was eating a cucumber roll and thought, ‘How can this be better with alcohol?’ This drink is my homage to a kappamaki roll.”
PSK Punch (RMB480/800)
Ingredients: rum, Crème de Mûre, Golden Falernum (a Caribbean syrup), fresh nutmeg, cranberry juice.
What’s in the name? "PSK is a secret society at Harvard, where two of my investors were members. When Mark Zuckerberg (Facebook founder) tried to get into that club, my investor was the one who turned him away.
Salted Caramel Old Fashioned (RMB80)
Ingredients: Grand Marnier, house whisky, salted caramel, orange bitters.
About: “I was watching a cooking show, and they were making caramel. Again I thought, ‘How can we make this better with alcohol?’ Ours is sugar, butter, salt and Grand Marnier. We cook it down to make a caramel then add bitters."
Fucking Awall (RMB70)
Ingredients: mint-infused ice, bourbon and fresh mint.
About: “I made this drink after I got tired of ordering straight bourbon in bars. It’s very simple; a love letter to my favorite spirit.”
Table No.1
Name: Rick Starr, 27
From: California, Bay Area
Started: On and off since age 20
Why bartending? I was inspired by experimental mixologists in New York whilst I was an art student, and wanted to imbue my bartending with storytelling, and use influences from sculpture, music or culture.
Funniest bar anecdote? I used to have a crush on the actress Olivia Wilde. One time she came into the bar and I gushed to her how much I loved Olivia Wilde and what a resemblance she held to her. Surprisingly, she became a regular for a little while after that!
The Perfect Date (RMB95)
Ingredients: date and spice-infused Perfect Manhattan mixture, brandy, Fino Sherry, cinnamon, star anise, Dubonnet, Champagne, wood smoke and rose water
About: “I had a film noir image in my mind when I made this drink. There was a woman drinking Champagne and a man with a Manhattan in a smoky room. Sounds like a perfect date.”
Thaipache (RMB85)
Ingredients: tepache (pineapple, grains of paradise, Cuban pepper, juniper, green cardamom pods, Sichuan chili pepper, green pepper corns, lime leaf, lemongrass, palm sugar, caster sugar), dark rum and lager.
About: “Thailand meets Mexico. In Mexico they have tepache, a drink made from fermented pineapple skins. I mix mine with dark rum and lager for an extra kick.”
The Dill’s Off (RMB85)
Ingredients: dill, thyme, bay leaf infused-grappa, fino sherry, Drambuie, whey protein and a touch of brine.
About: “This drink was imagined as an anti-martini. It’s sweet, briny and herbal.”
Moroccan Mole (RMB85)
Ingredients: Blanco tequila, lime juice, basil, ras el hanout (North African spice), honey syrup, pink peppercorn garnish.
About: “A Mediterranean Moscow Mule, it’s peppery, sour, tart and very easy drinking.”
Union Trading Company
What’s behind the name? The Golden Age of cocktails was in the 1860s, when the majority of classic cocktail books were written and cocktail culture established. This coincided with the California Gold Rush and the birth of the railroads, so the name broadly pays homage to that era. The Union is a place where people from different backgrounds come together, and we’re trading camaraderie, happiness and a sense of unity.
Flowers & Tonic (by A-Ya, RMB75)
Ingredients: chrysanthemum-infused white rum, pressed lime, maraschino, lemongrass, tonic water.
Characteristics: “Refreshing, floral, tannic-y, zingy, herbal and quietly subtle.”
Sunny-D Reject (By Yao Lu, RMB75)
Ingredients: Bianco vermouth, blue gin, butterfly pea flower infusion, thyme sugar, pressed citrus.
Characteristics: “Sour candy grape-ish, tart and herbal.”
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