Most would be familiar with the tale of Atlas - a titan who was condemned by Zeus to hold up the heavens forever after his leadership role in the war between the Titans and Athens. In some interpretations, Atlas is seen holding up the globe, Earth, and the character is usually associated with burden and endurance.
Perhaps less well known but equally storied however are the Pleiades, the seven daughters of Atlas who are companions of Artemis, the goddess of hunt. Each of the daughters (or sisters as they are referred too as well) have their own personality, story and role in the greater Greek mythos - and the basis of Atlas' new menu and bar direction.
The Pleiades-Atlas cluster is an astronomical cluster of stars, with the seven brightest stars often called the "Seven Sisters", and have been used for navigation in the past.
Of course, beyond the lore drop of Greek mythology, we are too referencing Atlas Bar - sitting within the Gotham-esque building Parkview Square in the city of Singapore. Atlas Bar is famous for many things: one being its grand Art Decor interior that stretches high into the ceiling; an entrant into the 50 Best Bars Asia across multiple years, and perhaps most impressively its whopping 1,300 gin collection enshrined in a literal tower that has its own private lift.
Source: Tripadvisor
The bar also sports an impressive cocktail menu - one that takes pages from the classics and a time, but here's where the winds are changing ever so slightly. The bar is moving towards a new direction, where stories and cocktails shape the menu towards mood and intuition. A creation by Head Bartender Esmeralda Castrogiovanni and her team, the Daughters of Atlas cocktail menu seeks to strike a balance between individuality and balance, with separate, distinctively themed cocktails that form a constellation together.
Nothing has changed about Atlas' drink philosophy, be it the classic cocktails Atlas always served, to its gin curation and champagne collection - there's always a fitting drink for the occasion, regardless the time of day. The new cocktail menu spans seven sisters (chapters): Alcyone, Merope, Sterope, Maia, Taygete, Electra and Celaeno, with its sixteen cocktails, following the day's progression from afternoon till night, going from non alcoholic serves to stiffer expressions.
It was a warm evening when I was invited down to taste test the Daughters of Atlas menu, with none other than Esmeralda explaining both the lore and cocktail of each serving.
A fun game to play if you're at Atlas is to spot the illustrations of each chapter within the physical space and bar itself (with the exception of Celaeno)!
Our first tipple hails from the Electra chapter - known to be passionate yet slightly elusive. The Apple Aria contains mezcal, bitter bianco, elderflower and green apple soda.
The cocktail comes fresh, tart, full of malic green apple flavours, which then reveals a slight smokiness and herbaceous from the mezcal. The garnish, a candied ginger, adds a lot more sweetness when had with the cocktail, but the mild spice and savoury, briny pickling juice adds a lot more depth and oomph to the cocktail, tempering the smokiness. Deceptively strong at first, but with dilution, does mellow out and allow more green apple notes to show.
Maia, the eldest of the seven sisters and the mother of Hermes, embodies strength, maturity and grounding. Our next cocktail was the Wingbeat, drawing inspiration from Greek tzatziki and is made of gin, tzatziki cordial, dill, cucumber, mint and yogurt.
A twist on the gimlet, this cocktail was light, fluffy, full of green and fresh herb flavours - personally, I got more cucumber and dill. The yogurt adds both tang and creaminess, and I am a big fan of that whey-like flavours that compliment the gentle sweetness of the cocktail. I highly recommend getting this cocktail to start a session!
Alcyone: known for her calm and clarity, with her actual star being used by sailors of antiquity for navigation - spotting Alcyone on the starry night meant safe voyages, whereas it was a bad omen if Alcyone was obscured. Cartographer is our non-alcoholic cocktail of the night (you could ask for the boozed version), inspired by banoffe pie and uses banana, caramel, malted milk and clarified milk.
I really love how strong the banana aromas and flavours were, ranging from green and underripe to estery and full, with an appreciable tartness for balance. With the chocolate biscuit, the cocktail gets a lot more pie like, like the crust and chocolate ganache, lifting the banana towards more confectionery. What I love most about the cocktail was that backing malt flavour, bringing a sense of nostalgia and depth.
Closing the tasting was Taygete, a character defined by freedom. Legend (or myth) has it that Taygete was pursued by Zeus, and the Goddess Artemis transformed her into a doe to escape her pursuer. The Doe is made with vodka, peach, passito and jasmine.
Unexpectedly, this was my favourite cocktail of the night - strong and very spirited for sure, but its very intense in floral aromas - lily, jasmine, lily of the valley on the nose. It's also very full of peach flavours, even veering towards peach blossoms and honeysuckle. It's sweet, but not cloying, with dryness coming in the form of that fortified wine. What a stunner!
For longtime fans of Atlas, the classics and signature serves of previous cocktail menus (seventeen in total) are still here to stay! Beyond the Daughters of Atlas cocktail menu, Atlas is also offering the Negroni Ritual: three negronis served side by side that offers different perspectives on the same cocktail. The Atlas Negroni spotlights the East Africa and Medittaranean spice routs, the By The Ounce showcases more warming spices of India and Southeast Asia, and New Amsterdam pays homage to the Netherlands and Europe.
Congratulations on Atlas' new direction with the bar, and we're excited to see what's next!
@vernoncelli
