2016 Year in Review: Beijing's Best New Cocktail Bars
It's been a pretty banner year for Beijing's cocktail fans, with a number of new openings enlivening Beijing's already fairly packed out bar scene. Whether you're after complicated, alchemic concoctions or just a solidly made Old Fashioned, there's been a bit of something for everyone this year (as long as you enjoy drinking in Sanlitun, admittedly).
Botany
By far and away our favorite opening of the year, Botany is hidden away on the upper floors of Yongli International on the Western fringes of Sanlitun, with stunning views over the surrounding area. Botany is the brainchild of mixologist Frankie Zou, who cut his teeth at high-end venues such as Maison Boulud, TRB, and Singapore's Marina Bay Sand Hotel. Botany's signature drink is the one-of-a-kind black truffle martini (RMB 95) made with homemade Roma bitters, tropical fruit, Captain Morgan's dark rum, freshly toasted hot spice garnish, and black truffle. Other hits include the Tokyo Bay (priced at RMB 85 and featuring Absolut vodka, Japanese rice, green tea, nori tincture, and passion fruit, along with dried shiso leaves and chili shreds as a garnish) and the Such a Good Thyme cocktail (also RMB 85, made with golden tequila, thyme syrup, strawberry thyme, green bitters, and garnished with crumbled homemade Sable Breton biscuits). Botany is a must-visit for serious cocktail fans (and also makes a pretty swish spot to celebrate a special occasion).
Read our review here.
Black Moth
Taking over a big space on the fourth floor of Nali Patio, this trendy new venue is staffed by bartenders from Hong Kong, and features plenty of surrealist artwork on the walls, including a mural specially designed by none other than Dominic Johnson-Hill of Plastered 8. We first heard about The Black Moth via their mysterious Instagram account and after a lot of build up we couldn't wait to try it. Cocktails, such as the osmanthus rum sour cocktail (RMB 85), which has a generous portion of osmanthus-infused white rum, mixed subtly enough with homemade osmanthus syrup, lemon and a frothy egg white, to give it a lightly, “just right” tart flavor that never becomes overpowering, are pricey (or honestly, just about usual Beijing prices) but impressive.
Read our review here.
Mokihi No: 3
Who'd have ever thought that one of Beijing's best new bars would be housed in the dingy, tacky corridors of 3.3 Mall? Yet that's very much the case, as Mokihi No: 3 attracts cocktail enthusiasts to the unlikeliest of locales. As you make your way to the mall's sixth floor, and through the bar's unassuming entryway, you'll suddenly find yourself whisked to the prohibition era. That Mokihi No: 3 is so excellent shouldn't come as much as a surprise, since it was opened by seasoned bar owner Moto Uchiyama, better known as one of the masterminds behind the original Mokihi and other popular (but since deceased) watering holes like Apothecary and Twilight. Based on the service, price and balanced mixing of the cocktails served during our recent visit, we're sure that Mokihi No: 3 will be just as popular as Uchiyama's other bars.
La Social
Yet another Nali Patio entrant, La Social has pretty much everything we want from a bar - a well thought out (and not too pretentious) concept, a fun environment, and good value (although not necessarily cheap) drinks. In the words of former Beijinger editor Kipp Whittaker, the vibe at La Social is "delightfully vibrant, with a mix of South American (Colombian) and Chinese flair, that will whisk you away to a drug deal gone awry in a Cartagena dive bar or an underground mahjong parlor." Cocktails are creative yet fairly simple, featuring twists on classics such as the mojito. If you find yourself struggling after one too many cocktails, be sure to grab one of their arepa (think South American roujiamo), which make just about the best bar snack we could imagine.
Read our review here.
Mao Mao Chong (Guanghua Lu location)
The Jiaodoukou favorite Mao Mao Chong expanded, setting up a second branch, which couldn't be more different from the cozier original. It can easily fit 70 people and has a large kitchen, allowing this fresh venue to serve up far much more food compared to the limited range of pizzas at the old Mao Mao Chong. Owner Eric Liu is also busy tinkering an array of champagne cocktails, one of the few varieties that hasn't been overdone in Beijing's increasingly crowded speakeasy scene. Head over for a sip of Castelnau for RMB 50 per glass, or opt for a dangerously tipsy all you can drink RMB 200 in the afternoons.
Read our review here.
Mona
And finally, the first half of this year saw the opening of Mona, Dongsi's primo new cocktail bar, dishing out some uniquely tasty drinks. Cocktail whizz Charlie Guo provides the classic drinks you know and love – mojitos, Sidecars, and Negronis, just to name a few – as well as a few customized drinks with Asian ingredients, sure to make the mouths of every creed, nationality, and race, water. We also enjoy the fact that they don’t use baijiu.
Read our review here.
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Photos courtesy of Botany, Kyle Mullin, Margaux Schreurs, The Black Moth, Kipp Whittaker
