Gin House's New Dongzhimen Digs Offers Personalized Cocktails
Gin is the name of the place, and the name of the man behind the bar. But it likely won't be what's in your glass whenever you stop by this oddly monikered Dongzhimen haunt. Yes, Gin House's shelves are stacked with bottles of 12-year-old Yamasaki (RMB 100 per glass), 10-year-old Glenorah (also RMB 100 per glass), and higher grade whiskies like 40-year-old Glen Ord.
Granted there are bottles of gin on hand, along with vodkas and other spirits. Whatever. Owner 张迎松 – his English nickname being Gin – is primarily a whisky man, and stocks his shelves as such. Aside from choosing from those dozens of bottles, you can also have him mix up a pretty mean cocktail. As is the flavor de jour, Gin has decided not to make any specific cocktail menu but instead ready a drink for you after you let him know your preference for a glass of something sweet or bitter, stiff or light and breezy, and so on.
He started by shaking a Talisker Storm Scotch based drink that featured fresh lemon juice, some syrups and a bit of hay straw for aesthetic purposes (the latter of which really only succeeded in making it look weird). Looks aside, it was a piercingly tart cocktail that'd easily please anyone averse to sugary beverages.
To show off his range, Gin then made us a Tanqueray gin (finally!) based cocktail with lime juice and cucumber that he crushed and sieved in front of us. Though we're more partial to strong stiff drinks, this smoothly sweet cocktail was simply irresistible, boasting a refreshing crispness that made it ideal for knocking back on a hot day. Upon opening a year ago, the bar was situated directly across the street, but a few months ago they moved and the bigger patio certainly made that worthwhile.
All that, and the rugged man cave-ish vibe of the interior, along with a patio big enough to seat a dozen patrons, make Gin House a fun whisky and cocktail destination. Better still: there's hardly anything else in spitting distance, so anyone living nearby or passing by on their commute home will certainly be grateful to have a solid bar in their neighborhood. Sadly there's not enough on offer here to draw folks from further away. No matter; Gin seems more than content to regale regulars with bottles of malty goodness and cocktail mixed to suit their individual tastes.
Gin House
Daily 2pm-2am. 18 Xinyuan Xili Middle Street (15001290752)
新源西里中街18号（渔阳饭店西北角)
Photos: Kyle Mullin
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