Behold the curated cocktail
'After work' at the St Regis Bar might mean two Orchard Omens for the price of one
THERE’S NOTHING quite like kicking back with colleagues after work with a cocktail or three close to hand, and the St Regis Bar makes such evenings even more special with its lofty panoramic views and two-for-one prices between 5 and 9pm.
Not are these any ordinary cocktails. The bar has a new “After Work” menu featuring light and refreshing cocktails for labour-weary minds in need of reviving.
At the St Regis they’re right into the industry jargon, so you’ll be offered “curated” cocktails made with “artisanal” spirits, including among the gin & tonics “boutique” gins and “premium” tonic waters.
The temptation, when your own spirits are shredded after a long day’s grind, is to say, “Just give me a beer.” And they do indeed have some terrific Italian craft beers and British ciders.
But you’re doing your soul a favour when you sample a curated cocktail. The term means that someone knowledgeable has selected the best ingredients – white spirits, French and Italian aperitifs and sundry complementary enhancements like the bitters, syrups, infused oils, fruit and even vegetables and herbs.
The gin & tonics represent a nice no-frills approach. You can even choose your own tonic.
East Imperial Original is touted as “the Champagne of tonic water”. East Imperial Burman derives from sugar cane. And, perhaps most intriguing of all, Fever Tree Mediterranean mingles botanical oils, spring water and quinine from the titular “fever tree” (Vachellia xanthophloea) of central and southern Africa.
Surely, in the kind of work you do, a shot of quinine is appropriate at the end of the day.
Good tonics deserve excellent gins, and the selection available at the Regis is quite diverse in flavours. For East Imperial Original, the recommended companions are Kristall G Limited Batch and Iron Balls from Thailand, G’Vine Floraison from France and Edinburgh gin, from Scotland, of course.
East Imperial Burman likes to party with England’s Gordon, Tanqueray and Bombay Sapphire. The Fever Tree tonic is an even better curative with Germany’s Bitter Truth Pink, Hendrick’s from Scotland and France’s G’Vine Nouaison.
The drinks come with rock ice and herbs and fruit chosen to bring out the inherent aromas.
Check out the “gourmet cocktails”, made with local spirits. The fragrant and excellently named Orchard Omen is a concoction of Ciroc Snap Frost, a popular grape vodka, and La Quintinye Royal Vermouth Blanc from France.
The “orchard” in the name refers to the other essential ingredients in this astonishing tipple – cold-pressed pineapple and puree of yuzu, the Japanese citrus fruit. Everything’s topped off with lemon, mint and a bouquet of fresh fennel.
Another great cocktail is called Proximity, aptly named because it puts varied familiar flavours together in one well-balanced drink. The local ingredients in this one are tangerine, mandarin orange, apple, betel leaves and a little cardamom, all softening the kick of Iron Balls gin. A perfume of coconut, pineapple, juniper, ginger and lemongrass rises from the glass.
The long-stretching bar has a string of food stations and a DJ keeps jazzy tracks purring in the background until 8pm. After that you get musicians playing more jazz, both plugged and unplugged.
You Deserve It
- “After Work” at the St Regis Bar in the St Regis Bangkok (next to the Rajdamri BTS station) is being thoroughly enjoyed every weekday from 5 to 9pm.
- Find out more and book a visit at (02) 207 7777.
