Why the nasi lemak cocktail and its ilk are here to stay
Today, locals have found new love for uniquely Singaporean drinks, as bartenders here continue to challenge what may sound like another crazy attempt at milking the novelty. Five years ago, many would call a chicken rice-flavoured gin martini just that. But then they learned how nicely a bespoke liquor made with ginger, pandan leaves, garlic, parsley and some sesame oil (the key flavours of chicken rice) went with a little vermouth and a juniper-focused London Dry Gin.
These days, nearly every drink festival here will boast a spotlight on local brews. “I would say the idea of locally inspired cocktails was in every country or city around the world from the beginnings of bars; it’s always one of the most popular ideas and inspirations behind cocktails,” said Adam Bursik, bar manager at The Library on Keong Saik Road, who highlighted the concept’s appeal with both locals and foreigners. “Locals love to see their most popular ingredients transformed into something unexpected, and for tourists, it is a (new) way to explore local flavours.”
He added that the trend is driven by a new way of bartending, which is about thinking local and acting global, but stressed that it is about creating drinks that appeal to the consumers’ palate. But these can include some rather adventurous ingredients — from ginseng to bamboo leaves, rice and vinegar.
Of course, it is encouraging when something such as Tess Bar and Kitchen’s Seah Street Power Nasi Lemak cocktail goes down well with the regulars. The drink was first concocted for the Jio You Cocktail Club event in March this year, a pop-up bar that showcased cocktails inspired by popular local hawker dishes. Its creator Steve Leong, who is also the man behind cocktails inspired by chicken rice, bak kut teh and prawn noodles, said he starts with identifying and understanding the key elements and flavour profiles that make up each dish, finding alternatives such as barley in place of the rice, to create a balanced and delicious drink.
Another example is Jigger & Pony’s coffee cocktail, dubbed The Liberties. “With coffee gaining a steady reputation as a trendy beverage in town, we channelled our inner local hipster in the creation of this cocktail,” said a spokesperson. “We wanted the drink to encompass a local twist and settled on two very local flavours that complement each other perfectly — coconut and pandan. Coconut water is infused with cold brewed coffee to balance the bitterness, producing a mixture that blends perfectly with the rich and creamy Teeling Irish Whiskey.”
“Using local ingredients requires a different thought process,” said resident bartender Nur Veronica at Hotel Jen Tanglin Singapore’s Rumpoles Bar. She has come up with five hawker-inspired cocktails for the National Day celebrations. “We need to balance the overall flavour composition of the cocktail from start to end, and at the same time, present the local ingredient well. This can be anything from recreating the earthy bitterness of kopi-o, like I tried to do with Kopi-B, to hitting the right balance of sweet and sour in TEH-Ice.”
The latter is one of her personal favourites, a vodka-based ode to local teh-o limau ice that is served in a “plastic bag”, as is the bar’s rendition of the Singapore Sling. “There is certain enjoyment or ‘shiok-ness’ to drinking from a plastic bag, and I wanted to give the Singapore Sling that same privilege.”
Speaking of which, The Raffles Singapore team of talented bartenders has updated its iconic 101-year-old cocktail with the creation of the Raffles 1915 Gin Sling, made with lime juice and its Raffles 1915 Gin. The bespoke gin, crafted by London’s artisanal spirit distillers Sipsmith, is only available through Raffles Hotels and Resorts.
Various events celebrating the art of cocktails are also held at the Raffles Singapore’s Bar & Billiard Room, said the hotel’s head bartender Aron Manzanillo, who recalled a Kaya Colada that was created at one of the events. “The rum-based cocktail was served in a coconut shell, and presented a combination of the popular local kaya with the classic pina colada, offering a fruity and tropical flavour, and blended perfectly with our home-made kaya foam,” he shared.
So, could one of these eventually find its place with some of the world’s most recognisable classics? It would be challenging, said Manzanillo. “Most of the classic cocktails that we know today were created a long time ago, mostly in the late 1800s and early 1900s Gilded Age era, during the rise of industrialisation and globalisation.”
But maybe, if we grow to love it enough, the world will come to appreciate the likes of a barrel-aged rum and kaya cocktail. Who wouldn’t drink to that? — TODAY
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