Tokyo’s award-winning cocktail bar Mixology Salon opens up an outpost in Singapore, introducing its tea-centric cocktails to the Lion City.
Ask anyone who knows Tokyo’s cocktail bar scene for recommendations, and chances are the name Mixology Salon will be thrown into the mix. The award-winning Ginza cocktail bar by Shuzo Nagumo – considered an eccentric genius by many when it comes to mixology – is celebrated for an inventive cocktail programme that’s built around tea.
Or is Mixology Salon really a Japanese tea ceremony dedicated to cocktails?
Either way the illustrious bar is celebrated for being able to combine the art of mixology with Japanese tea culture, offering a rather uniquely cocktail experience to stand out in a city that’s chockfull of great bars.
The good news? Mixology Salon has opened up an outpost right here in Singapore.
Taking over the space in InterContinental Singapore Robertson Quay previously occupied by sustainable dining champions Mallow, the Japanese cocktail bar has replicated its Tokyo offerings to transport guests into its refined hospitality built around its signature tea-based cocktails.
While you’re free to order your cocktails a la carte, the best way to experience Mixology Salon is through its cocktail courses. Its ‘Signature Tea Cocktails Course’, for example, explores the use of different types of Japanese tea in concoctions in shockingly delicious ways.
Every aspect of cocktail preparation here is steeped in Japanese tea making ceremony; even the sencha in your gin and tonic is brewed in front of you in optimum temperature to extract maximum flavour without the accompanying bitter tannins you may expect from tea. Or the Old Fashioned that comes vivid green with matcha. We’ve tasted many a green tea cocktail and they’ve generally fallen flat, but here Mixology Salon leans into the matcha for bitterness you’d expect in that classic cocktail, while the tea’s earthiness enhances the alluring bite of the whiskey component. Or the hojicha-accented Negroni, the roasty notes from the tea adding to the floral bitterness you associate with the Italian aperitif cocktail.
For a more geeky tea experience? Opt for the ‘Gyokuro Cocktails Course’. This specialty menu takes you on a journey of gyokuro in both tea and cocktail form so you can enjoy this pinnacle in Japanese green tea in its entirety. The sublime gyokuro Martini alone, with its seductively intoxicating balance of flavours, is worth the price of this menu. You’ll even get to enjoy the savoury notes of the remaining tea leaves, tossed in a smoked oyster sauce, as an accompanying snack.
“We are excited to open Mixology Salon in Singapore and share our passion for tea-infused mixology,” says Shuzo Nagumo, CEO of Spirits&Sharing and creator of the Mixology Group of bars. “We look forward to connecting with our guests here and discovering local spices, ingredients, and insights beyond Japan from which to craft unique flavour profiles for all to enjoy.”
[Photos courtesy of Mixology Salon Singapore]
Mixology Salon Singapore
Address 1 Nanson Road, #02-07, InterContinental Singapore, Robertson Quay, Singapore 238909 (Google Maps link)
Opening Hours 4pm to 11pm on Wednesdays to Saturdays; 3pm to 10pm on Sundays; cclosed on Mondays and Tuesdays
Tel (65) 8399 0679
Web mixologysalon.sg
Facebook mixologysalonsingapore
Instagram @mixologysalonsg
