Atlas Edges: Quality Cocktails at the Chaoyang Park Corner of the Map
Some cocktail lounges serve up strong enough drinks to leave you seeing double at the end of the night. But Atlas Edges will make you swear it’s happening from the moment you step inside. That’s because the slickly designed, recently opened Chaoyang Park-adjacent whiskey and cocktail joint has two bars on each wall, mirror image style. On the left, you have a cocktail bartender, and on the right is his colleague standing in front of shelves lined with whiskey from all corners of the globe.
Two-month-old Atlas Edges is a sequel to Sanlitun south’s Atlas Whisky Bar, which we reviewed upon its opening last year. It ranked among our or favorite new cocktail joints of 2017, and the blog went viral thanks in no small part to the photo of the bizarre, brain like ice cubes that Atlas uses. Those same dimpled cubes are also used at this baby sister lounge in the basement of the new Central Park Plaza near Chaoyang Park (the one with the big black lumpy buildings, not the older one in the CBD). Yes, Atlas Edges is smaller and more dimly lit and sleekly jet black when compared to the retro aesthetic employed at its predecessor (one of its modern touches included bar lamps that you can place under your glass, an increasingly common feature that is augmented here by far brighter bulbs that leave the glasses looking they’re encasing a priceless diamond, see the lead image above for proof). All that aside, this new bar also is well stocked with whiskey and creative cocktails, just Atlas 1.0.
Highlights among the latter include the One Stage (made with cherry, cranberry, lemon and brandy for RMB 130), Gemai Daiquiri (featuring brown rice tea, lime and light rum for RMB 120), the Qing Qiu (made with green grape, basil, lime and gin also for RMB 120) and The Lion In Winter (made with brown sugar, a slice of torched pineapple, and bacon-infused whisky) The latter was especially memorable. We ordered it up because we felt like a snowball in hell on the muggy early July day that we stopped by. And while it had none of the chilling qualities implied by its name, it did live up to the “lion” part with a beastly strong kick. Let’s just say there’s enough alcohol in this one not only for patrons who like stiff drinks, but who have an even stiffer upper lip. The bacon part listed on the menu wasn't so apparent, and the pineapple was more decorative than a flavor enhancer. Really, this one is just for folks who want to be walloped by the taste of whiskey and the bitterness along with a subtly sweet aftertaste courtesy of the brown sugar.
For now, the new Central Park complex is just getting into full swing, and several of the spaces in the basement next to Atlas Edges are still vacant. But it’s poised to do well once the joint picks up more steam, and its already off to a pretty solid start, with a Luckin Cafe, Gongcha, plus The Mission and a uniquely charming Canadian cafe called Blaq up on the ground floor, not to mention the slews of offices above that, and ritzy apartment compounds nearby. And anyone grabbing grub at nearby Cravings or Pizza Saporia will likely enjoy having this slick lounge to cap the night off at, as long as they don't mind shelling out RMB 100 or more for a drink (which is becoming pretty par for course at most lounges like this anyway, despite my wallet's yelps of agony). Meanwhile the area’s residents will surely be all the more pleased to have a Sanlitun level bar in their backyard, with no need to go on long Didi journey and use a map, but instead just utilize Atlas Edges closer by.
Atlas Edges
Mon-Sun (closed on Tue) 7pm-1am. B155, Central Park Plaza, Chaoyang District (6501 9257)
甜水园街中央公园广场A7座负一层B155
Photos: Kyle Mullin, Dianping
