Draft Land, Asia’s first bar to serve specialty cocktails on tap, is coming to Singapore. The bar will open on Oct 12 at Purvis Street.
Draft Land was first opened in Taipei in 2018 by celebrated Taiwanese bartender Angus Zou, with the aim of making cocktails more casual, approachable and affordable. It serves a range of mixologist-created, pre-mixed cocktails on tap, which customers can sample before they order. The concept has since expanded to Hong Kong and Bangkok, with Tokyo and Seoul outposts in the works.
Its first Singapore bar is being launched in partnership with Nutmeg & Clove, currently number seven on the Asia’s 50 Best Bars list.
Nutmeg & Clove’s bar manager Shelley Tai feels that since “Singaporeans are known for their appreciation of a vibrant and youthful lifestyle”, “the Draft Land concept, with its innovative approach to cocktails and its focus on creating a dynamic and social atmosphere, aligns well with the preferences of the local population”, she told us.
Draft Land's Angus Zou and Nutmeg & Clove's Shelley Tai. (Photo: Draft Land)
In an exclusive interview with CNA Lifestyle, founder Zou said: “The idea behind Draft Land is to put bartenders out of a job”, before quickly following up with, “Just kidding!”
At Draft Land, there are “draftenders” instead of bartenders who interact with guests, offer explanations and provide sample tasting, and, in addition, the Diageo World Class Taiwan 2009 winner continued: “We operate a Testing Room where we're training skilled bartenders” to innovate and develop new flavours.
Since automation is one of the solutions to F&B’s manpower crunch, it makes good business sense to think of cocktails within a framework like, well, bubble tea's, to give an example.
“What we're really doing is looking at the ‘drinking culture’ from the consumer's perspective,” said Zou, who was inspired to open Draft Land by casual stand-up beer-drinking culture. Importantly, that means “we can quickly serve drinks that have a consistent flavour, something that traditional bartenders might find challenging”.
(Photo: Draft Land)
Draft Land Singapore will have over 20 cocktails on tap, including six Singapore-exclusive specials crafted by renowned mixologists around the world to commemorate the World's 50 Best Bars announcement in Singapore.
The range of cocktails, priced at S$18 or S$20 each, will include about 60 per cent original creations from Taiwan, while 40 per cent will be developed by Draft Land's local team. Some selections from Draft Land Hong Kong will also be made available.
The drinks menu will include at least three non-alcoholic beverages in the afternoon (S$12 each), reducing to one or two in the evening; these should be worth trying as well, since Draft Land in Taiwan has put no small focus on developing their non-alcoholic drinks.
In addition, the bar will also serve a small menu of modern Taiwanese cuisine and bar food, such as braised pork rice, wagyu cold noodles and fried oysters.
Draft Land Taiwan's menu includes daily draft cocktails like Salted Guava Fizz, Espresso Martini and Jasmine Blossom, in addition to classic cocktails like whisky sours, negronis and Old Fashioneds. (Photo: Draft Land)
To craft the best-tasting draft cocktails, Zou has spent a lot of time experimenting.
“The biggest challenge was the ‘clarification’ technique involved in making draft cocktails – this required extensive research and iterative improvements on my part,” he said.
“Another key consideration was retaining the desired texture, and figuring out a perfect blend of gases – nitrogen and carbon dioxide – to achieve the specific mouthfeel we were aiming for, which also led us to continually search for new ingredients.”
But, does that take any of the magic out of mixology?
Tai doesn’t think so at all. “My first experience of Draft Land was in 2019 when Angus invited me over to Taipei for a guest shift. It was a memorable experience,” she recalled.
“The setting was vibrant and contemporary, with a focus on innovation and pushing the boundaries of traditional cocktail-making. The use of draft systems for cocktails was a departure from the conventional bartending practices I was accustomed to. It was exciting to see how technology was being integrated into the world of mixology, and it opened up a new realm of possibilities for me as a bartender.”
Zou asserted: “Cocktails can be an art, which I fully agree with, but cocktails can also just be a simple need. A mature ‘drinking culture’ offers a diverse range of options. That's why we're putting emphasis on the ‘lifestyle’ aspect of cocktails… something you can enjoy at any time, not just as intricate creations crafted by master bartenders.
“By doing so, we hope to attract a broader audience to the world of cocktails, thereby expanding the market. We've already seen this growth in Taiwan's 'cocktail culture’, where an increasing number of craft cocktail bars are emerging. At the end of the day, as the culture grows, I believe we'll see even more master bartenders make their mark. I believe more master bartenders will arise. For us, being a starting point to help people get into this culture is something we're pretty proud of.”
He added: “We want to shake up what people think a bar is supposed to be and introduce a fresh concept for bartenders.”
Draft Land will open on Oct 12 at 24 Purvis Street.
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Draft Land was first opened in Taipei in 2018 by celebrated Taiwanese bartender Angus Zou, with the aim of making cocktails more casual, approachable and affordable. It serves a range of mixologist-created, pre-mixed cocktails on tap, which customers can sample before they order. The concept has since expanded to Hong Kong and Bangkok, with Tokyo and Seoul outposts in the works.
Its first Singapore bar is being launched in partnership with Nutmeg & Clove, currently number seven on the Asia’s 50 Best Bars list.
Nutmeg & Clove’s bar manager Shelley Tai feels that since “Singaporeans are known for their appreciation of a vibrant and youthful lifestyle”, “the Draft Land concept, with its innovative approach to cocktails and its focus on creating a dynamic and social atmosphere, aligns well with the preferences of the local population”, she told us.
Draft Land's Angus Zou and Nutmeg & Clove's Shelley Tai. (Photo: Draft Land)
In an exclusive interview with CNA Lifestyle, founder Zou said: “The idea behind Draft Land is to put bartenders out of a job”, before quickly following up with, “Just kidding!”
At Draft Land, there are “draftenders” instead of bartenders who interact with guests, offer explanations and provide sample tasting, and, in addition, the Diageo World Class Taiwan 2009 winner continued: “We operate a Testing Room where we're training skilled bartenders” to innovate and develop new flavours.
Related:
Since automation is one of the solutions to F&B’s manpower crunch, it makes good business sense to think of cocktails within a framework like, well, bubble tea's, to give an example.
“What we're really doing is looking at the ‘drinking culture’ from the consumer's perspective,” said Zou, who was inspired to open Draft Land by casual stand-up beer-drinking culture. Importantly, that means “we can quickly serve drinks that have a consistent flavour, something that traditional bartenders might find challenging”.
(Photo: Draft Land)
Draft Land Singapore will have over 20 cocktails on tap, including six Singapore-exclusive specials crafted by renowned mixologists around the world to commemorate the World's 50 Best Bars announcement in Singapore.
The range of cocktails, priced at S$18 or S$20 each, will include about 60 per cent original creations from Taiwan, while 40 per cent will be developed by Draft Land's local team. Some selections from Draft Land Hong Kong will also be made available.
The drinks menu will include at least three non-alcoholic beverages in the afternoon (S$12 each), reducing to one or two in the evening; these should be worth trying as well, since Draft Land in Taiwan has put no small focus on developing their non-alcoholic drinks.
In addition, the bar will also serve a small menu of modern Taiwanese cuisine and bar food, such as braised pork rice, wagyu cold noodles and fried oysters.
Draft Land Taiwan's menu includes daily draft cocktails like Salted Guava Fizz, Espresso Martini and Jasmine Blossom, in addition to classic cocktails like whisky sours, negronis and Old Fashioneds. (Photo: Draft Land)
To craft the best-tasting draft cocktails, Zou has spent a lot of time experimenting.
“The biggest challenge was the ‘clarification’ technique involved in making draft cocktails – this required extensive research and iterative improvements on my part,” he said.
“Another key consideration was retaining the desired texture, and figuring out a perfect blend of gases – nitrogen and carbon dioxide – to achieve the specific mouthfeel we were aiming for, which also led us to continually search for new ingredients.”
But, does that take any of the magic out of mixology?
Tai doesn’t think so at all. “My first experience of Draft Land was in 2019 when Angus invited me over to Taipei for a guest shift. It was a memorable experience,” she recalled.
“The setting was vibrant and contemporary, with a focus on innovation and pushing the boundaries of traditional cocktail-making. The use of draft systems for cocktails was a departure from the conventional bartending practices I was accustomed to. It was exciting to see how technology was being integrated into the world of mixology, and it opened up a new realm of possibilities for me as a bartender.”
Zou asserted: “Cocktails can be an art, which I fully agree with, but cocktails can also just be a simple need. A mature ‘drinking culture’ offers a diverse range of options. That's why we're putting emphasis on the ‘lifestyle’ aspect of cocktails… something you can enjoy at any time, not just as intricate creations crafted by master bartenders.
“By doing so, we hope to attract a broader audience to the world of cocktails, thereby expanding the market. We've already seen this growth in Taiwan's 'cocktail culture’, where an increasing number of craft cocktail bars are emerging. At the end of the day, as the culture grows, I believe we'll see even more master bartenders make their mark. I believe more master bartenders will arise. For us, being a starting point to help people get into this culture is something we're pretty proud of.”
He added: “We want to shake up what people think a bar is supposed to be and introduce a fresh concept for bartenders.”
Draft Land will open on Oct 12 at 24 Purvis Street.
Related:
Continue reading...