Cocktail? Have a My Thai!

Life can get awfully tiresome if you have to keep ordering the same old cocktail every time you go out. That’s not what God had in mind at all. Fortunately the devout drinks engineer at the Mozu Bar at lebua has had another epiphany and created a fresh array of “twisted classic” cocktails to nourish the soul anew.
“This time,” says master mixologist Ron Ramirez, “we’ve taken a futuristic approach to five classics, maintaining their traditional flavours but adding love, care and a passion for detail, combined with exquisite delivery, to create finely crafted, futuristic masterpieces that redefine luxurious poolside-bar service.”
It sounds too good to be true until your lips are pursed around the edge of the mesmerising Liquid Martini. It’s f-f-f-freezing, as in liquid-nitrogen freezing – probably the coldest martini on the planet that’s not actually a block of ice. Have vodka or gin, stirred or shaken, with an olive or a twist.
The celebrated Cosmopolitan is now the Nitropolitan, with Absolut 100, Cointreau, cranberry juice, orange liqueur and a lemon splash, shaken and poured over a sachet of dry ice and orange peel. They garnish it with cotton candy “if you so desire” (as if anyone would ever say no). This is a truly refreshing, yet substantial drink to perk you up big time.
Like Trader Vic, who travelled the world in search of new flavours and spices, Mozu’s head bartender travelled until he found what he was looking for here in Thailand. Ramirez then transformed the Mai Tai that Vic “invented” in 1933 into what could become the “Thai national drink”, the My Thai! White and dark rum, dry orange liqueur, fresh basil leaves, kaffir lime leaves and syrup, orgeat syrup, lime and pineapple juice – pressed, churned and shaken.
The Caipirinha, pride of Brazil, has undergone a makeover to become the Red Velvet Caipirinha. This recipe comprises overripe orange muddled with Brazilian cachaca, a splash of Thai lime, crushed, muddled, churned and topped with Shiraz wine.
The original Clover Club, named after the Philadelphia men’s club where captains of US industry met in the Bellevue-Stratford Hotel, dates back to at least 1910. A century later, Ramirez replaces the usual fresh raspberries with blackberries, then adds London dry gin, Creme de Mure liqueur, lemon juice, pasteurised egg white and pineapple nectar. It’s shaken and frosted with pineapple.
The Twisted Classics cost Bt590 and are available “until further notice”. The well-stocked bar also serves standard cocktails from Bt400. A small beer is Bt320.
Cafe Mozu is also the hotel’s all-day-dining venue, with a breakfast buffet, authentic Middle Eastern and Indian, Thai, wok-fried Chinese, traditional Japanese, classic American deli, wood-fired pizzas, and pastries made with the finest French flour.

Tippler’s tower

The Mozu Bar is at Cafe Mozu in the Tower Club at lebua and lebua at State Tower on Silom Road. It’s open daily from 6pm to 1am.
Get more details at www.lebua.com/cafe-mozu.