Step aside, craft beer craze. 2018 is looking to be the year of gin, which ranks among its new champions Just A Drink Maybe (with a gin collection at 120 labels and climbing), Marriott Marquis Queen’s Park new rooftop spot, A Bar, and another branch of Iron Balls Bar in Phrom Phong (cozying up to neighbors Sing Sing Theater and Quince). Brace yourselves for an onset of juniper-tinged cocktails.

 

 

Gone are the days when we ordered a G&T and asked the bartender only, “What gin do you use?” We’ve wizened up, realizing that Schweppes is a sure route to ruining even the hardiest gin. The new question is, “What tonic do you use?” Here we give thanks to Bangkok Soda (available at 1881 by Water Library, Issaya Siamese Club and Namsaah Bottling Trust) for introducing to the local market craft soda made with real fruit and fresh ingredients. Their Siamese Tonic acquires its bitter finish not from quinine (originally employed for its malaria-fighting qualities), but from a natural mix of lemongrass, pomelo peel and kaffir lime leaf. In imported-product news, San Pellegrino also just brought to Bangkok its light, Italian tonic. 

 

 

 

 

The local sourcing trend is finally catching on among bartenders. If Thai cuisine’s variety of flavors is any indication, we’re in for a world of unique combinations based on local ingredients. Recently opened Asia Today and The 88 are rigorously devoted to showcasing Thai ingredients, while over at Eat Me and Ku Bar, they have been whipping up drinks using local ingredients for a while. 

 

 

 

 

Rum and Thailand go way back. The mojito, arguably this country’s most popular cocktail (followed, probably, by the Long Island Iced Tea), is rum based. Thai craft rums like Malai, Chalong Bay and Issan are infiltrating drink menus long dominated by foreign rums. On top of this long history is a newfound love carried forward by rum-specialist bars like Tropic City and Asia Today.

 

 

 

Niks Anuman-Rajadhon (Teens of Thailand, Asia Today) showed up to our BAD Awards back in November in a T-shirt that read, “Fuck plastic straws.” Well, he’s not alone. Broccoli Revolution replaced its plastic straws with morning glory stems, and Old Town's Seven Spoons and Hazel’s underwent their own sustainable conversions, employing a variety of eco-friendly plastic substitutes: bamboo, Pyrex glass and stainless steel. Meanwhile, Mad Moa has been serving up its cocktails with lemongrass straws. We expect to see other venues follow suit.