Hello, Millie Milliken again, back to talk to you about hotel bars.
The late, great Anthony Bourdain once said: “Don't drink at your hotel. Find out where the people who work at your hotel do their drinking.” Now I’m not one to question the wisdom of one of the most admired food (and drink) writers in modern history, but I wonder if Bourdain may have been staying at the wrong places.
When a hotel bar is done deftly, it is one of the most rewarding drinking experiences there is. From The Savoy’s American Bar in London, once frequented by Marilyn Monroe and Neil Armstrong, to the invention of the Singapore Sling at Raffles Singapore, hotel bars play an outsized role in the cocktail industry’s richest history.
But what makes a hotel bar good goes far beyond its famous clientele and signature serves. They have an unenviable task when it comes to keeping guests happy: from introducing tourists to the flavors and hospitality of a new city, to giving locals something unexpected or unmissable, all while providing sanctuary for solo business travelers, regular guests, weary families, and VIPs.
A good hotel bar should root you geographically while simultaneously taking you on a journey; it should showcase unfamiliar local ingredients, while also making its guests feel at home; and it should make those who want to be anonymous remain so, while in the same breath make them feel completely, unabashedly seen. It’s a deftly choreographed dance that can only score a perfect ten when a bar team has practiced it over, and over again.
I’ve been lucky enough to watch that dance numerous times over the last 12 months. From my hometown of London and a Eurostar journey away in Paris, to a three-day trip to Bali, a pilgrimage to Singapore, and a riotous time in Mexico, it’s been a pleasure to remember some truly good hotel bars around the world.
Around the World in Hotel Bars
American Bar, Gleneagles, Scotland
I've been lucky enough to stay in some of the world's most extraordinary hotels, but I never tire of a trip back to the timeless beauty of Gleneagles. Soaring ceilings, rich oak paneling, mohair furnishings – the Glorious Playground has never looked so good in recent memory and having been the backdrop for my parents’ wedding over 30 years ago, it holds a special place in this drinks writer’s heart. I’ve shot some clays, petted some Highland cows and held birds of prey at arm's length during numerous visits, but a stay is never complete without slipping through the velvet curtains of its American Bar. A homage to 1920s glamour (when the hotel was built), it feels good to dress up and lower yourself into one of its plush sofas for a deftly turned classic cocktail, beautifully presented signature serve or, of course, a dram from its vast but cleverly curated whisky list. I’ve raised many a glass of all three to my lineage.
Kioku Sake Bar, Raffles at The OWO, London
You’d be forgiven for not associating London’s Whitehall with the proverbial ‘good time’, but recent years have seen welcome new additions thanks to the headline-worthy opening of Raffles at the OWO. Part of that opening also saw the arrival of Kioku, a small but, in my mind, perfectly formed listening bar which also happens to house Europe’s largest collection of sake. There are lots of intimate nooks to enjoy any of the 140 bottles on offer, but a cocktail at the curved bar, set to the sound of a rotating roster of vinyl, is my favorite way to enjoy this bar, often solo. Served in carefully sourced and swoon-worthy glassware, they feature homemade ingredients like shiso leaf absinthe, wasabi distillate and gingo sake vermouth alongside familiar (and unfamiliar) Japanese flavors in familiar cocktail formats. Be sure to grab some snacks too which come from the renowned restaurant upstairs.
CopperBay Lancaster, Hotel Lancaster, Paris
Fancy drinking in a hotel that was home to film star Marlene Dietrich for three years? Well, you can: the Hotel Lancaster (which just celebrated its 100th birthday) is where you’ll find CopperBay Lancaster, just a stone’s throw away from the Champs-Elysees. The cocktail menu pays homage to the hotel’s most notable guests from its past, while also celebrating French ingredients from Cognac and Armagnac to pastis and the bar’s own gin too. It’s worth noting that I had one of the best non-alcoholic cocktails I’ve tried here: the Monsieur is made using bitters, Crodino, thyme water and black balsamic vinegar. Anywhere that stocks magnums of green Chartreuse will always hold a special place in my heart too.
Sora, Rosewood Phnom Penh, Cambodia
As far as bar views go, I can’t say I’ve seen many better than the one at Rosewood’s Cambodian property. Sora soars on the Phnom Penh skyline – level 37, to be precise – of this beautiful behemoth. Inside, well-pitched lighting turns the lofty main room into a dark but airy space, while outside, a spacious deck is the ideal spot for those without a propensity for vertigo to take in the Mekong River and more. As ever, I’d opt to sit inside at the bar (or if in a pair, in the armchairs that face outwards onto those views) and chat to the young and passionate bar team, especially when it comes to learning about the local spirits and ingredients that pepper its cocktails. Its current menu, Alchemy of Anime, blends Japanese and Cambodian inspiration, with flavors like sesame, peanut butter and banana bringing something comforting to the classics.
The Hudson Rooms, Capella Hanoi, Vietnam
One of the perks of having a sibling living in a foreign country is the obligatory annual trip to visit. And when that trip is to Vietnam, even better. I’ve had the chance to watch the cocktail scene evolve in giant-shaped footprints since my first visit nearly ten years ago, and Capella Hanoi’s rooftop bar, The Hudson Rooms, is now a regular stop off on my visits. Taking 1920s Grand Central Station as a visual starting point, the corner wrap-around bar is the perfect perch for starting with champagne and caviar as the sun sets on the city of the soaring dragon, before digging into its train travel-themed cocktail menu of cleverly elevated classics, or exploring the whisky and oyster pairings. Oh, and if you think I told you about its secret whisky bar Track 61, no I didn’t.
Origin Bar, Shangri-La Singapore, Singapore
Tucked away from city’s more metropolitan areas, Shangri-La Singapore feels akin to a Bond villain’s lofty lair just off Orchard Road. The lobby of this concrete jungle-esque hotel is as dramatic as it gets, yet walk past the living walls, Herculean pillars and stone art features and you’ll find the quiet beauty of Origin Bar. Taking old-school travel as its aesthetic jumping off point, it takes inspiration from local flavors and history to guide its cocktails, with ingredients ranging from kimchi and lychee, to calamansi, Thai tea and nacho powder. Cocktail presentation is serious business here too, so be ready for theatrics. On my visit, the entire bar team was made up of women, too – a sight that always makes my heart sing.
Beach Club, Desa Potato Head, Bali
You got up at 5am for sunrise sound healing, spent the day exploring Balinese temples, and now it’s time to listen to the lapping of the Indian Ocean with a well-deserved drink in hand. May I suggest, then, that you head to Desa Potato Head, a tropical oasis which puts sustainability at the forefront of everything it does. The cocktails are no exception, with the bar team working with local farmers, artisans, and distilleries to create a ‘circular’ program where ingredients are used across different drinks to reduce waste but never compromise on flavor. While every single one of its five outposts serves its own distinct purpose, it was the Beach Club which surprised me the most on my whistlestop visit early last year. Its unassuming bar turns out some exceptionally refreshing cocktails to a remarkable number of people over the course of the day. I loved the homemade non-alc Banana Coffee Tonic and the Bina Colada, which uses mesoyi, nutmeg and pineapple-infused arak. Be sure to try some snakefruit too.
Zapote Bar, Rosewood Mayakoba, Mexico
On one of my many trips to Mexico to research my recently published tequila book, I was lucky enough to head to the coastal region of Playa del Carmen to stay at the extraordinary Rosewood Mayakoba. Lush surroundings, seamless service, abundant natural beauty and sensational produce make this a favorite of the hotel portfolio’s properties. But what really cinches it is the bar. Zapote Bar, named after the eponymous tree native to the Yucatan province, might just be the most fun I’ve ever had at a hotel bar. The design is tactile, clean, living-room-esque and a tribute to local artisans; its cocktails are clever riffs on the classics, and an agave tasting room is where it’s at for local spirits; but it really is the hospitality and atmosphere whipped up by the team that made me rethink what a luxury hotel bar can be.
Silver Lyan, Riggs Hotel, Washington DC
Nobody does it quite like Ryan Chetiyawardana (aka Mr Lyan) and his first permanent Stateside outpost was celebrating its fifth anniversary when I visited during an alarmingly swampy July last year. Luckily, I felt like one of the cool kids after descending into the former bank vault at the Rigg’s Hotel in DC where Silver Lyan – resplendent in mid-century furnishings – turns out the Lyan standard of unorthodox, mind-bending serves (its current menu uses ingredients like Riesling ink, fish sauce sherbert and, um, concrete). I’d die happy if the ethereal Silver Apple Martini (using vodka, clarified green apple, Capreolus ‘1000 Trees’ eau de vie and bisongrass) was the last cocktail to pass my lips, and the jello shots with champagne chasers are also inspired. Tater tots, crispy cold bottles of Miller High Life, and a charming team too? Make all my cheques out to Silver Lyan.
Champagne Bar, Four Seasons at The Surf Club, Miami
Just when you think you’ve had your fill of palm trees on a trip to Miami, may I suggest you head to the Champagne Bar at the Four Seasons where they beautifully complement its domed ceilings, conservatory-style furnishings and wooden accents. Dating back to the 1930s, The Surf Club has been a playground to some of the world’s most well-drunk figures: Winston Churchill, Elizabeth Turner, Noel Coward. Now, it lets the likes of me into its resplendent Champagne Bar, where it houses Miami’s largest collections of champagne, while also turning out clean and classic cocktails. It leans into its beach-adjacent and playful locale, with fun serves like Cosmos, Palomas and an Espresso Martinis, but its Martini list is also worth a visit.
Millie Milliken
Diamonds for Whenever
A 55th anniversary might not immediately strike you as a landmark, but we should never let such arbitrary rules get in the way of a good dram. That seems to be The Macallan’s ethos on such matters after it launched a new whisky to celebrate the 55th anniversary of the James Bond film Diamonds Are Forever.
It’s the second time The Macallan has bottled something in honor of 007, after celebrating the franchise’s 60th year (a definite landmark) with the release of six bottles in 2022. Although this new release doesn’t have quite the same synergies as that brand partnership, it is nonetheless a wonderful whisky with some rather lovely design touches to boot.
The whisky is an age-stated vintage from 2007 and, rather unusually, uses Rioja red wine casks mixed with sherry-seasoned American and European oak. At an intimate launch event inside Duke’s Hotel, London, lead whisky maker Russell Greig said red wine casks are extremely rare within the distillery’s aging stocks.
Although the cask may have been selected to fall in line with the film’s plot (Bond’s knowledge of wine helps him defeat the bad guys), it’s also the most interesting thing about this whisky. Drinkers rarely get the chance to experience anything other than sherry-seasoned Macallan, and this has an extra juicy touch that hints at a significant influence from those wine casks.
This bottle is not cheap (£600 / $820), but it’s also a very good Speyside whisky. Anyone already endeared to The Macallan’s sherry-seasoned style will fall in love with this. For Bond fans, as the liquid goes down, a piece of the film’s script begins to appear on the inside of the label.
Tasting Notes
Nose: Luscious red berries on top of the classic Macallan scent: vanilla bean, dried fruits.
Palate: Coffee-flavored chocolate, powdered sugar followed by dried cranberries and subtle dryness. A touch of water takes out those drying tannins and releases even more dried fruit: cherries, dates, figs.
Finish: Dried fruits, dark chocolate, raw almonds and a lingering spice.
