6 Must Try Cocktails at Barules Cocktail Club

You may have walked past the bright red telephone booth on this quiet strip of Fengyang Lu in the Former French Concession. If you haven’t yet stepped through the red door, do yourself a favor and peak inside. 

Enter the first floor bar and you will find yourself immediately immersed in a London-style cocktail bar. The drinks and the vibe are poppy and light-hearted. 

While they want the drinks to be the focal point, they also pay homage to world’s class bartenders with an extensive wall of bartending world stars. The really cool thing is that many of the well known bartenders have come in for guest bartending shifts. These are the photos with signatures, if you are curious. 

Owner, Sam Kuan, has been recognized in the Diageo World Class Bar Competition, but sees his true calling in tending bar. That’s not to say that he doesn’t spend ages creating whole menu concepts and drink recipes, because he does and the results speak for themselves. 

Bartender, Mike Zeng, preparing Popeye the Sailor

The new menu on the first floor takes inspiration from quirky childhood heroes such as Popeye the Sailor, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles and Indiana Jones with additions of fruit and vegetables to satisfy your appetite. 

This spinach (RMB 90) doesn’t claim to make you strong, but it can make you drunk 

The Popeye homage is electric green with a base of Zubrowka, a Polish vodka with a pleasant herbal flavor. This mixed with spinach juice, white vermouth, Midori, honey, lemon juice and celery bitters results in a shockingly electric green beverage with a surprising fresh and vibrant cocktail with a hint of sweetness. It’s served in a “spinach” can and topped with a pipe of lit, smoky ginger. The pipe turns into a straw for an experience best described as fun. 

Cowabunga (RMB 95) takes the concept of a Bloody Mary and turns it on its head 

A drink entitled, Cowabunga, tastes like pizza which makes sense given the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles reference. The baked barley, oregano, dried tomato, lime juice, chili vodka, tequila, and port wine topped with mozzarella cheese foam makes for a drink that tastes like pizza on first sip then recedes. You will keep drinking trying to put that full flavored pizza flavor back on your palate, which makes you both thirsty and hungry for more. 

Raiders of the Lost Ark (RMB 95) is a creamy tea and coffee flavored drink 

Raiders of the Lost Ark, is as the name suggests, based on the Indiana Jones movie. As a result the ingredients and preparation hint to Egypt. Rum is infused with Roiboos tea then mixed with Amarula cream liquor, butter fat washed Frangelico, and espresso. Sweetness comes from fig and date palm puree, then a final added touch of cotton candy that melts into the drink. It is the perfect cocktail for a milk tea lover. 

Rule #1: bartender is always right, Rule #2: if bartender is wrong, see rule #1

Head upstairs to the bar within a bar and you will see why the bartenders at Barules wear cooks coats. The drinks created upstairs are flavored with painstakingly house made syrups and soups. 

Once upstairs, the music shifts to jazz and blues standards and the crowd is a bit more restrained. The drinks are carefully prepared with handmade ingredients in advance then quickly assembled to order with a bit of showmanship at the bar.

Sam Kuan prepares a drink by flaming it in a Turkish mug

Spring Still Far (RMB 140) is a hot cocktail that combines Eastern and Western Flavors

This drink was developed for women who are experiencing pain during their period, because proprietor, Sam Kuan, wants to make sure that everyone can drink, any time of month. Layers of sweetness come from longan, date syrup, butterscotch schnapps, nutty cascara and it is all fired dramatically in a Turkish coffee mug before being poured into adorable ceramic bird. 

The Bumblebee (RMB 120) is a playful twist on a daiquiri created for the ladies

This cocktail has a nice mix of savory popcorn crossed with concentrated honey flavor from the popcorn bee pollen syrup. Havana Club rum, lemon juice and a final squeeze of lemon oil make this a drink that you won’t want to stop drinking. It is presented dramatically in an orange flower decorated cup with an edible honeycomb and popcorn garnish. 

Autumn Milk Punch (RMB 120) comes in an adorable pale yellow chick mug

For the Autumn Milk Punch, they cook chestnut sour milk in advance that is then spiked with Plantation rum and tapioca. After mixing, the beverage is aerated with a dramatically long pour resulting in a light creamy beverage with a boozy backbone. 

Get yourselves over to Barules and see what other fun they are having playing with food in your cocktails!

Address: 51 Fenyang Lu

Tel: [phone]

Hours: Sunday to Thursday 7pm-2am, Friday & Saturday 7pm-3am

Email: [e-mail]

WE ARE HIRING

Video Host

Looking for an enthusiastic and bilingual, on-camera personality to host a new video series for top restaurants, hotels and bars around the city. Get your passport ready, as there will opportunities for international travel.

We are also looking for a skilled videographer and director

All interested applicants please send your resume and show reel to [e-mail]

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