2017 Year In Review: Our Top 10 New Cocktail Havens
A cocktail bar a day seemed to open in Beijing in 2017, especially bizarro, novelty rife spots in apartment complexes like Yolee Plaza. While many of them were fun one-offs that by no means compelled us to return, a few gems popped out of the masses. From the elegant and upscale to the affordably quirky, from authentic Japanese whiskey joints to spots that pushed the envelope with Chinese ingredients – we round up our 10 new favorites (arranged chronologically from their openings/when we wrote about them) below.
Red Dog
This Sanlitun Soho cocktail haunt strikes a precarious balance, in terms of its drinks at least. Those cocktails are elaborate and distinctive (their eponymous, cherry brandy-loaded cocktail and the rum-drenched Punchline being the biggest highlights) but also not overly expensive (ranging in the RMB 65-80 bracket). The decor, meanwhile, is less nuanced, with bright bold colors abounding every which way, tantalizing your eyes as much as the joint's drinks dazzle your palate.
Atlas
Atlas, above all, amounted to a sign of things to come when we stopped by shortly after its opening in February. Is it located in an apartment complex? Check. Does it have plenty of Japanese whisky? Check. Lots of leather seating and books on the shelves, giving off a cigar lounge vibe? Uh huh. Many more cocktail bars along these lines would open in the Sanlitun and CBD areas in the ensuing months, but Atlas stood out for being somewhat ahead of the curve (though Botany and a few others beat them to it a year before, the idea was far less ubiquitous then than it is now). Also, the cocktails at this bar stood out from competitors, with the aptly named Atlast Fireball being especially satisfying. An overall attention to detail, professional service, along with drink quality and variety also elevated Atlas above the slew of apartment building imitators, many of which amounted to little more than glorified man caves with a few novel flourishes.
Press Release
One of our absolute favorite newbies of 2017, this literary-inspired bar has plenty of innovative flourishes like sous-vide cocktails like the Write Drunk, Edit Sober (RMB 65, made with thornapple infused rum) along with fun blurbs about the authors that inspired them. Typewriters and rare magazines round out the decor, and its hidden location in the basement of Topwin mall makes it a fun surprise to spring on your unsuspecting friends (when you push the button on the wall and the door opens, their mouths are sure to be agape).
Kotetsu is a refreshingly humble host
Old Fashioned
Aficionados of Japanese bar culture are sure to adore this Sanlitun Soho joint, which opened in the spring of the year. That comes courtesy of not only the wares on hand, which include a wide range of American and Japanese single malts, but also mixologist Shirakawa Kotetsu, who hails from the Tokyo prefecture of Chiba and spent years honing his craft at that locale's Bar Bagus. He's prim, proper and on point in terms of the service he provides, shaking up classic cocktails with ease. Many of those mixed drinks are simple, like the stripped-down decor, but when there's this much skill involved no further frills are required.
Good Bait
Featuring the ambiance of a black box theater, regular jazz performances, and a clientele that's dressed to the nines, this bar appears to strive for all things elegant. That's reflected in the cocktail menu, which features drinks like the Amaromance, a sweet and sour mix of Amaro Montenegro, a rye whiskey. I shelled out RMB 110 for that drink during our visit shortly after their opening in March, giving Good Bait a strong novelty for first timers and leading me to conclude that Good Bait is a good enough choice for special occasions, though more casual Beijing freshmen like Red Dog and Press Release kept me coming back more frequently, while Equis and Old Fashioned more successfully scratched my itch for all things glamorous.
Co-owner and chef Peppe hoists one of Nina's glorious glasses high
Cartoccio
Speaking of fun spots that'll keep you coming back for more, this Beiluoguxiang bar and eatery immediately gave off a homey taste of Italy when it had its jam-packed opening this past summer. Chalk that up to salty, indulgent, authentic Italian street snacks from Giuseppe Epifanio (who made a name for himself on Fangjia with Cartoccio) and to bartenders Kai Wang and Mattia Beradi, who serve up a variety of spritzes aside from the typical Aperol option, which deepened our appreciation for the Italian cocktail.
Equis
This massive bar at the Four Seasons hotel featured dazzling decor and cocktails that impressed almost as much. The latter can be attributed to the staff's creative use of Chinese ingredients like the RMB 78 Qianhai Cooler made with vodka and jasmine syrup along with fresh lemon and club soda, amounting to a lightly refreshing cocktail with an exotic twist.
InfraRouge
Enticing spritzes were also served up at InfraRouge upon its opening in late summer. Their twist on the Italian aperitif featured herbal ingredients, which gave it an Asian flare. That sentiment was carried over to the decor, which is flashy and elegant at the downstairs restaurant, while the upstairs has a darkly minimalist vibe that suits the pulsing DJ decks and lounge chairs overlooking Taikooli and the Intercontinental hotel. None of that should come as a surprise, seeing as the owners opened Shanghai mainstay Bar Rouge on the Bund prior to this Sanlitun endeavor.
One Third has an aircraft hanger stashed inside it
One Third
Sure, this one seems like a bit of a stretch, especially for anyone who has heard of its gigantic club layout and equally huge ambitions for attracting DJ's. But once you realize the bar is being handled by the mind behind now shuttered cocktail haven BBC, it's hard not to be intrigued. What's more, those barmen aimed from the get-go to up the club bottle service game by mixing more elegant combinations featuring fresh juices, abundant bitters, fortified wines, and high-quality spirits all mixed up and aged in the 100 wooden barrels behind the bar.
The Tourist
Inside Bar
Though some of the other entries on this list are more so clubs with strong cocktail options, this CBD newbie rings true to your every notion of what a 2017 Beijing speakeasy should be. It's hidden, with an antique phone and an elegant little statue in the entryway leading to a secret door that whisks you into a soothing, oh so suave lounge. Chinese ingredients like yellow wine, along with a menu written like a Confucius era poem, give this bar an exotic novelty for foreigners, and while the RMB 120 cost of some of the cocktails raised our eyebrows, we were nevertheless impressed by the vibrant, palate-tingling combinations that were shaken up and poured into our glasses.
Photos: Kyle Mullin, courtesy of Red Dog, Tracy Wang, courtesy of Old Fashioned, courtesy of Nina, Uni You, courtesy of One Third, courtesy of Inside Bar
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