One of the Best Bars in Bangkok

The Bamboo Bar is legendary here in Bangkok. Not only that, it’s famous in all of South East Asia actually. After all, it is ranked the number 9 bar in Asia by the Asia’s Best Bars 2018 list. It not only has great drinks, impeccable service and a great ambiance, but this place has one more great detail: it is a daily base for great jazz performers. The Bamboo Bar is special and that is no coincidence. To understand why, here is our review of The Bamboo Bar, based on our experience.

The Ambience

The well-executed renovation of The Bamboo Bar in 2015 brought to life some features of the original Oriental Hotel dating back from the 50s. The whole place is made of shiny dark wood paired with marble, rattan, and leather. The mirrors on the ceiling provide additional depth and the dimmed lights create intimacy. When you add to this a cold artisan cocktail and jazz beats in the background, it makes for an amazing experience.

The Bamboo Bar Menu

Patrons can find on the menu an extended list of drinks, from all over the world, including a list of single malt whiskeys, wines and classic cocktails. The offer gets much more exciting on the next page where gin lovers can get creative by choosing their gin, favorite tonic and garnish of choice. Our attention was caught on a list of special cocktails and when the bartender saw our interest, he offered us the house specialties. We truly like the idea of the special cocktails menu.

This so-called The Bamboo Bar Compass instantly handed over the image of Thailand, representing the five regions of the country with their own uniqueness. The signature drinks are divided by region and through them, mixologists celebrate all aspects of each region. Every region has special ingredients and its own character.

The Cocktails @ The Bamboo Bar

After an unforgettable dinner at Le Normandie is the best option to head to the ground floor for an exclusive cocktail. The choice of drinks here is extended though.  However, for me, the choice was easy: without a second glimpse, I went for the Street Artist. The street art from Penang is still fresh, so why not have a proper toast on this topic! The inspiration for my cocktail came from Chon Bury, eastern Thailand and it’s is made of Mekhong, Thai tea, coconut, and cardamom.

Mekhong is Thailand’s first domestically produced branded golden spirit also known as “The Spirit of Thailand”. It can be categorized as a rum made of 95% sugar cane molasses and 5% rice. This distilled spirit is later blended with indigenous herbs and spices to produce its aroma and taste.

Artisan Cocktails

The description of the Street Artist cocktail sounds simple, but there is more to it. The Thai tea liquor is special on its own, yet along with the fermented coconut, which is an in-house creation, it still stands out. For an artistic touch, the barista used balsamic vinegar paint, which left a nice mark and dissolved in time. By mixing all the flavors, this summer cocktail surpassed my expectations. The kick of the alcohol was subtle, the acidity went great with the coconut and the Thai tea gave sweetness and dash of freshness to this drink.

Mocktail for Vivi

Vivi like always had trouble with deciding. The bartender noticed her desperate running from one side of the menu to another and offered to help. He gave her a taste of a special ingredient from the Plantation mocktail – banana juice. They make this juice themselves by cooking and centrifuging bananas. After this tasting, there was no doubt, the sweet banana showed her the way to the Plantation.

This mocktail is inspired by outstanding Thai fruits and agriculture. Besides banana juice, it’s made of mango soda, lime juice, cinnamon, and coconut flower nectar. The intense sweet but fruity taste with the warmth of cinnamon kept evolving while the ice melted. She loved the difference between the first the last sip. The banana leaf that was wrapped around the glass kept the mocktail in the style of the plantation.

Round Two

Staying at the Mandarin Oriental Bangkok Hotel so close to The Bamboo Bar makes it impossible not to visit it – not to mention the live jazz performance, which goes on every day after 9 pm. The Bamboo Bar Bangkok live music is so uplifting that you won’t want to leave the bar. To take care of our health and to try not to promote too much alcohol here on our page, we decided to try out two more mocktails. After all, mocktails are trendy and when it comes to creations like these here at The Bamboo Bar, you’re not missing out on anything.

To see the change in the character I stayed on the East with Talad Nam, from Bangkhla. Made from dragon fruit, papaya and passion fruit, it wasn’t as fruity as I would have expected. This was mainly because of the basil used in the drink’s confection,  which created refreshing flavors that I couldn’t get enough of. A tropical sensation with a well-balanced spiciness.

The home run for both of us was the Five-Spice mocktail from the Central region, inspired by Bangkok’s Chinatown. Served in a small teapot, it is a master blend of Earl Grey tea, apple juice, tamarind paste and five-spice syrup, which we remembered from our cocktail back in Singapore. The familiar taste of the tea was present at the back, but the intensity of flavors surprised at every sip. Absolutely delicious!

Conclusion

We have a hunch that The Bamboo Bar is the best jazz bar in Bangkok. Jazz music with dimmed ambiance and extremely nice service are only the tip of the iceberg. Here we got to travel around the country without leaving our seats. It was a liquid journey for sure, and there was no need for getting tipsy to embrace the sensations of each region. Mocktails are treated seriously and so are the cocktails. Besides the drinks, we also loved the tribute to nature in the form of beautiful paper straws and all-natural ingredients.

We must also compliment The Bamboo Bar for their dress code. It truly is nice to see well-dressed guests in a great bar like this. It’s responsible drinking at the highest level: to put it differently, alcohol is only optional, but pleasure is guaranteed. As shown above Mandarin Oriental Bangkok high tea can be completed with one cocktail in this outstanding bar. If you are a jazz bar lover, we reviewed another great bar here in Bangkok – The Woodshed Bar.

The Bamboo Bar Review Card

• 9.1/10
  ATMOSPHERE – 9.1/10
• 9.8/10
  SERVICE – 9.8/10
• 9.5/10
  DRINK SELECTION – 9.5/10
• 9/10
  PRESENTATION – 9/10
• 9.6/10
  OUR DRINKS – 9.6/10
• 9.6/10
  VALUE – 9.6/10

Price and Location

Drink prices at The Bamboo Bar are pretty much low. For a mocktail, you will pay about 7,5 USD and for a cocktail 13 USD. For a 5-star luxury hotel, this is a great value. However, if you don’t know where is the legendary Mandarin Oriental Hotel Bangkok, here is a link to the location.

The post The Bamboo Bar Bangkok – Review of the Jazz Bar appeared first on Wild 'n' Free Diary.

Ambient of The WoodShed

It’s cool! The owners most definitely have an eye for style, building this place with an impressive design. To us, the bar felt like a retreat, we felt so comfortable. In addition, the cheerful music of old jazz added to the experience and it wasn’t even live.

We were too early for the live performances, which start at 9 pm. Every day of the week there is a different band playing, so if you like a particular band, just wait for the next week. In the first place, this bar would be perfect for a themed 1920s party, with its dark wooden interior.

Drinks @ WoodShed

On the wall behind the bar is an abundant collection of craft spirits. Bartenders know what is on their shelves and are happy to tell you more about the drink you’re having. It’s quite different from the time of prohibition when alcohol production was small, here they go big. To put it differently, the menu at The WoodShed is extensive: Wine – with or without bubbles – from all around the world, liqueurs, spirits, whiskeys and all the way to the mixed drinks, where alcohol is simply an option. However, the selection is really impressive.

Our Cocktails

Vivi was craving a summer cocktail, and that’s exactly what she got: the Red. It is made with sparkling wine, homemade red currant syrup, Sloe gin and lime. It was a light and refreshing drink with a proper amount of sweetness to it. Garnished with a red currant branch, which is there for more than just looks. In other words, it’s a nice snack between the sips and adds acidity to the cocktail when combined with a drink.

The Red

The Sloe berries soaked in booze added tart richness and depth to the drink. Not to mention the fruity aftertaste, which was just another pleasant part of this drink. No wonder Vivi liked this drink so much, the Sole Gin was the favorite girls drink in the ’60s. Looks like the almost forgotten cocktail classic is having a comeback!

The Harvest

The Harvest cocktail was my choice and I liked the rich flavors of beer, Bermuda spiced rum and cocoa powder on top. The creamy texture was absolutely lovely and the cinnamon seasoning helped unravel the taste of sweet cherry. Anyway, it’s a strong drink that gives you a boost of confidence when you get the taste of the dense foam.

The upper layer is impressively long lasting and holds the decorative cocoa inscription untacked for a very long time. I saw the expression on Vivi’s face, so I just let her have some of this drink, while I went for a slightly more manly second option.

The Smoke Lingers

I selected the most gentleman’s drink on the cocktail menu, called the smoke lingers: it’s made of 10-year-old Laphroaig, Ocho tequila, espresso and house-made coffee syrup. The barman placed a burnt walnut on top of the ice cube for decoration and an intense smoky aroma. Every time I tilted the glass, the walnut on the nose added smokiness to the drink. This is a strong cocktail with coffee and leaves a slightly bitter aftertaste. Notes of leather, chocolate and nuts are all over the place, just before the alcohol kicks in. It definitely packs a punch.

Conclusion

Genuinely this place is in sync with everything, the drinks, the interior, the staff and the music. All the vintage cocktails we had were spot on for this kind of ambiance. At the same token, the hospitable feel was well present and it was nice to have a conversation with the staff. We like that all the guests have a chance to have a cocktail based on their preferences. The hands-on approach is present in The WoodShed bar on more occasions. As has been noted, the mixed drinks follow the idea of the same man who designed the interior of Harvest restaurant and The Woodshed bar.

Pricey?

The only thing we didn’t like was the prices, which were above what we would have expected them to be. Quality and finesse do come at a price and we support creative people, so we were able to swallow the pill a bit easier when thinking of that. Based on the whole experience, we highly recommend visiting this picture perfect place. If you forget your camera, we bet you’ll be back!

The WoodShed Review Card

• 9.4/10
  ATMOSPHERE – 9.4/10
• 9.3/10
  SERVICE – 9.3/10
• 9/10
  DRINK SELECTION – 9/10
• 9.2/10
  PRESENTATION – 9.2/10
• 9/10
  OUR DRINKS – 9/10
• 8/10
  VALUE – 8/10

Price and Location

The price for cocktails varies from 13 USD to 16 USD per drink, depending on the ingredients used. If you would like to try those delicious cocktails and enjoy some jazz beats, here is a link to the location.

The post The WoodShed bar Bangkok – Jazz bar review appeared first on Wild 'n' Free Diary.