Beijing Boyce

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After a hectic Saturday spent running about town, with stops at China World Phase III, where the city’s highest restaurant and bar – Grill 79 and Atmosphere – are slated to open in a few months, and at Cafe Europa, where The Wine Republic uncorked some 50 wines for tasting, with the New Zealand Pinot Noir being particularly tasty, I headed to Paddy O’Shea’s to meet up with the Beijing SantaCon group that had been plowing through the city’s pubs since noon.

I brought five unfinished bottles from The Wine Republic and held an impromptu tasting thanks to Karl “Who’s Your Paddy?” Long, who, in the spirit of the season, waived the corkage fees and provided some glasses. I then tagged along with about 50 “Santas” to Fubar, where the third level looks nearly complete, and fueled up on some Sweet Bees – Manuka honey vodka and ginger ale – and a ho-ho-hot dog.

Kudos the organizers of this event.

“A Breath of Fresh Air”

“Making a M1NT in Beijing”

“A Refreshing Retreat”

“Beijing’s New Cool Spot”

“M1NT CH1LLS BE1J1NG”

Holy Crobar, it seems we might be denied all of the above headlines given that it looks unlikely M1NT will open in our fair city – at least not any time near its proposed debut on New Year’s Eve.

The RMB42 million plan had been to open a 1500-square-meter venue on the third and fourth floors of one of those buildings beside the Park Hyatt. A few months ago, things apparently fell through and there was talk M1NT — known for its shark tanks and inspiring love-hate comments from patrons in Shanghai — would seek space in The Place. Hard to tell since M1NT seemingly doesn’t answer emails from mere mortals.

A story in this weekend’s South China Morning Post makes it sound like things have soured somewhat at M1NT (my highlights):

Nightclub entrepreneur Alistair Paton, who once battled celebrity chef Gordon Ramsey over his London establishment, has left Hong Kong for good.

Paton arrived in the city and launched members club M1NT on Hollywood Road, Sheung Wan, with Andrew Lewis in November 2006.

But those close to the club say relations between Paton and others involved in M1NT, including many members and shareholders, have soured over the months. “It was a business decision,” one of them said.

Lewis, who was a school friend, said the split with Paton was “amicable” and that he was still a minority shareholder, although he would play no role in running the club. “I’m the one running the club now, and Alistair will concentrate on Shanghai.”

Hat tips to fellow twitterites @niubi and @AlexBowman

Lux.Me? No, Lux.You!

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With a name that ranks up there with I-Ultra Lounge and Single-Edged Eyedid, new Workers Stadium bar Lux.Me is slated to open in the northeast corner of Workers Stadium in three days, according to the staff. I peeked inside the place and it had the air of a mini Chocolate-LAN — similar chandelier, elaborate high-backed chairs, shiny stuff…

You can take the man out of Beijing, but you can’t take Beijing out of the man (sorry, folks, that mercury you inhale daily is in your system forever). Regular contributor The Village Grouch, on sabbatical stateside, reports some “booze news” at home that should be of interest to the burgeoning cocktail scene here.

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“Ever the vigilant servant of the Beijing community, The Village Grouch was watching Friday night’s installment of “The Rachel Maddow Show” by the eponymous American liberal commentator. Maddow promised throughout the show that she would have “booze news.” Indeed she did.

“The Obama White House has been holding a series of cocktail parties since the new president took office in January. Maddow had been eager to get news of the events, and more specifically, of whether cocktails were actually being served, and if so, which ones. On Tuesday, December 15, she attended one of the parties and found out for herself.

“Of particular note were three distinctive American cocktails: The Emerson, the Stone Fence, and the Robert Frost Cocktail. The Emerson, which Maddow described as a “pre-Prohibition cocktail,” uses old tom gin, “a slightly sweetened old school kinda gin that hasn’t been drunk widely in about two generations,” sweet vermouth, lime juice, and maraschino liqueur. That last ingredient is not to be confused with maraschino cherries. Maraschino is a bittersweet liqueur that “old Italian ladies pour on their fruit salad,” she said. “That whole drink was awesome, it was my favorite,” Maddow said of the Emerson.

“Next was the Stone Fence, “a classic colonial era drink that Derek [Brown the bartender, see below] put his own little spin on.” The drink features apple jack, “which was George Washington’s favorite spirit,” apple cider, Fee Brothers aromatic bitters and mint. “Totally delicious,” the host said of the drink.

“The Robert Frost Cocktail, which Maddow said was “the drink not taken by me,” is made with sherry, white port, bourbon, sugar and orange bitters. This drink was invented by famous D.C. bartender, sommelier and food/booze writer for The Atlantic Derek Brown.

Download the episode from the U.S. iTunes Music Store, it’s free. You can also watch the last segment online here – scroll to the bottom to “Adventures in White House cocktail investigative photojournalism.”

“The Stone Fence is of particular interest to the Grouch. The key ingredient is Apple Jack, a sort of apple brandy that is made by one distiller in the entire world: Laird & Co., about five miles from where the Grouch grew up in New Jersey. This is the second prominent mention the otherwise obscure maker has received just this month: men’s magazine GQ also included Laird’s Apple Jack in a recent “Winterize Your Bar” feature. Usually two appearances like this in major media, and Laird’s location in suburban New Jersey, warrants a New York Times trend story, but we shall see.

Anyone, all three of these sound like a recipe for an interesting evening event at Apothecary. Since the Grouch’s current stay makes it more likely that a bottle of Apple Jack could be acquired, seems we are already one step closer to realizing that dream.

George Washington would approve (pic: Laird)