Let’s drink a cocktail!
Let’s not. The typical cocktail is a predictable, sickly concoction; comprising a small amount of cheap alcohol into which has been stirred assorted syrups, with a finishing dash of tap water; served in a hotel bar with Kenny G as your musical companion. Stick a crappy plastic umbrella in the top and charge a stupid price. Then there are the names; embarrassing to request and bearing no relation to the contents. “Can I have a Long, Slow Comfortable Screw Against The Wall please?” That’s going to get you more than you were expecting in Pattaya; especially if your waitress has unusually large hands.
Given my disdain for anything that purports to be a cocktail, how on earth did we find ourselves in a cocktail bar in Singapore last week? Blame Trip Advisor. Browsing the various attractions, I discovered that the number one rated restaurant in Singapore was a place called Bitters & Love; and its rating was not so much for the food; but for the extraordinary drinks they served. Of course we had to check it out.
We met up with friend Tic and consumed a nice bottle of white by the river, and then indulged she who must be obeyed’s desire for large crabs by eating large crabs; most of which were splattered across the table and our clothes. Suitably refreshed and partially replete, with took our pepper crab stained clothing for a walk to find Bitters and Love.
It was not easy to find. Even with a GPS screaming “here! here! here!”, it was not obvious. There was a humble looking restaurant called The Shoebox Canteen with a few wooden tables and a couple of customers, and on a bench outside there was a dog that looked like a chihuahua that had recently been inflated by a bicycle pump. We later found out his name is Baileys and he is the official bouncer. But step past the canteen to the back of the building and you find yourself in a dimly lit bar with a lot of bottles vying for your attention.
There is a menu which offers some standard cocktails; but that is not how best to enjoy your experience. Turn instead to the very extensive list of spirits, choose one, and then tell the staff how you want your cocktail. Fruity? Sour? Sweet? A whiff of frangipani? Or if you can’t decide then just say “surprise me”.
Gin is my favourite tipple. The list of gins was long; and most of the brands were completely unknown to me. So I asked the very attentive lady who was taking our order for some suggestions. She ran through the list and described the tastes. I settled for Botanist gin and said I wanted it not sweet but a little bit fruity (actually I can’t recall exactly what I said because by the time we left I had very little recall of much of the evening). What I received was this:
That’s a raspberry on top, and there was fresh raspberry juice in the drink, along with other stuff which I forget; but the taste was sublime. More please.
If I recall correctly, and I probably don’t, I had a total of four gin based cocktails. Each was with a different gin, my favourite of which was Monkey 47.
By the time I got to the last drink I was in “surprise me” mode, mainly because I couldn’t think of any new combinations (in fact I couldn’t think of very much at all, they are generous with the spirits). I was duly surprised; and in a good way.
Tic and my wife were exploring different alcoholic delights and were similarly impressed. And it wasn’t just the drinks. The bar itself is quirky and interesting:
Complementing the experience was the friendliness of the staff and the two owners; the first brought over their only bottle of some very special Spanish gin and gave us a taste. Then the other owner brought this for a sample:
There were bar snacks too, and all in all it was an extremely pleasant experience. I still wouldn’t go into an ordinary bar and order a cocktail; but I would love to go back to Bitters & Love and work my way through the rest of their gin selection.
I would like to tell you the cost of our experience, but I can’t. After Tic bought the wine and the crab, I insisted that he at least allow me to buy the drinks. He agreed, and then secretly deposited his credit card with the cashier so I couldn’t buy the drinks either. Thanks again Tic; next time it is on me.
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All shots with the E-M1 and Summilux 25mm at F1.4. Shutter speeds down to 1/6th second and ISO up to 1600.*