How well do you know your celebrities? Manhattan bar at Regent Singapore puts you to the test.
Sleek cocktail bar, Manhattan, debuts their third menu inspired by six personalities from New York City: Anthony Bourdain, Ella Fitzgerald, Eleanor Roosevelt, Robert Downey Jr., The Ramones, and Vera Wang. They’re each given three concoctions that assistant bar manager, Gabriel Carlos, and his team have come up with based on key and trivial events in their lives.
The list of tipples run the gamut of flavour profiles ranging from tiki-based cocktails to the almost dessert-like 3000 in a riff off Robert Downey Jr.’s favourite flavour of ice cream. It’s best to ease into the night’s debauchery with Kukuihaele, a drink that evokes the sunshine and sea breeze on the island of Honolulu where Vera Wang was proposed to.
The fashion designer, famed for her resplendent bridal gowns, once pursued a career in figure skating, which gives us the Kiss and Cry. Taking its name from where figure skaters would wait for their results post-competition, the cocktail uses Arc Gin from the Philippines that contributes a sweetness, which is tempered down by Campari and citrus fruits such as grapefruit and lemon.
Eleanor Roosevelt, the longest serving First Lady of the United States and civil rights advocate, is honoured with three cocktails that speak of her outspoken nature. One of which is the Milkorno, a yellow corn meal and skimmed milk mixture Americans were encouraged to supplement their meals with.
As a tipple, it’s a full-bodied corn and smoked pepper punch with Del Maguey Vida mezcal and Michter’s Straight Bourbon Whiskey topped with grilled baby corn spiced with cajun seasoning.
Perhaps it’s not surprising that the concoction that makes the strongest impression comes from the bad boy of the culinary world—the late Anthony Bourdain. Notorious for being a heavy smoker, he was able to sit through 22 courses at French Laundry thanks to Thomas Keller’s tobacco leaf-infused coffee custard.
The Cigarette Break replicates a drag, but without the nicotine and tar, in the smoky Bowmore 12 Year Whisky tipple with hazelnut and espresso liqueur. With it comes a coconut biscotti ‘cigarette’ rolled from rice paper.
Manhattan’s new additions to the concise food menu too reflects the drinks. There’s Chicken Shawarma Wraps, a nod to that closing scene in Marvel’s Avengers, and Tuna Tartare that is reminiscent of the poke bowls from Hawaii.
Manhattan is located at 1 Cuscaden Road, Level 2 Regent Singapore, Singapore 249715. Tel: +65 6725 3377.
