Sometimes good things arrive in small packages, other times larger, far larger ones. In the case of The Orientalist Spirits in the shape of the larger than life Singapore nightlife entrepreneur Michel Lu and his blitzkrieg campaign of bar takeovers across Europe’s top cities to launch his spirits brand The Orientalist Spirits.
Stars from Asian bars
A number of us were lucky enough to be invited to an afternoon tasting at one of the apartments operated by The COMO Metropolitan Hotel on Park Lane, which I confess is one of my favourite London hotels, sadly the heydays of the Met Bar on the ground floor are long gone but Nobu is still going strong. At the tasting we sampled the ‘Origins Vodka’ (clean but with a great mouth feel and a distinct but subtle Asian nuance), the ’23 Imperial Rum’ (a real banger, mellow, not too sweet, but full flavoured), and the ‘Dragon 8YO Whisky’ (smoky). All these spirits are crafted in Asia with base spirits from a number of Asian countries producing distinct flavours reflecting their pan-Asian heritage. then we were served a number of cocktails including a Vesper Martini, a Mandarina featuring their ’23 Imperial Rum’, a Jaggery and Miso cocktail using the ‘Dragon BYO Whisky’, and a Nori and Coconut one using their ‘Origins’ vodka. All were well made, showcasing the spirits well, and were generously poured. Though perhaps midafternoon cocktails might not be recommended by many doctors.
THE ORIENTALIST SPIRITS TAKEOVER of the ABAR at THE MANDARIN ORIENTAL HOTEL MAYFAIR.
What a feeling dancing on the ceiling in ABAR.
The following night was the Orientalist Spirits bar takeover at Abar, in the Mandarin Oriental Hotel in Mayfair. Despite having to make one’s way to Abar via the cavernous Akira Black restaurant which exuded cavernous airport terminal vibes, the adjacent bar was welcoming and busy with invited movers and shakers from London’s night time economy to check out the cocktails. These were expertly blended by top mixologists from some of Asia’s leading bars, who were assembled like the Avengers for a series of bar takeovers around Europe by Michel Lu and his team. All the cocktails were excellent, they were novel with strong regional flavours influenced by the nationality of the different mixologists. At least that’s what I remembered the next morning.
These well crafted spirits are available at a number of select restaurants, bars and clubs around central London but also direct from: https://www.theorientalistspirits.com
If anyone fancies buying me a drink my favourite is the 23 Imperial Rum.
THE FACTS:
The Orientalist Spirits online shop: https://www.theorientalistspirits.com
The COMO Metropolitan Hotel: http://bit.ly/4fCGpQP
The Mandarin Oriental Hotel Mayfair: https://bit.ly/3YV1FeM