Male drinkers will be pleased to know that the new menu offers a Tongkat Ali-infused cocktail
Regular imbibers of Nutmeg & Clove would know the bar is one to embrace Singapore's heritage through its array of invigorating cocktails. From drinks that reflect the nation's colourful eras to festive specials, such as the orangey Huat Ah!, offered during this year's Lunar New Year, the bar may perhaps be the watering hole version of say, CBD's Lau Pa Sat - something undeniably Singaporean.
So what's new this time around?
Giving a nod to the country's alias of Garden City, the bar has churned out 12 new cocktails that embody the natural biodiversity of Singapore. The inspiration came to Founder Colin Chia when he browsed through William Farquhar’s pictorial book Natural History Drawings: The Complete William Farquhar Collection: Malay Peninsula 1803-1818, which depicts beautifully drawn illustrations of Singapore’s flora and fauna.
Segregating into four sections of Herbs, Fruits, Spice, and Flowers, the cocktails presented are reinterpretations of some classics, where a single Singaporean ingredient champions every pour.
Here we tried out four pairs of Nutmeg & Clover's concocted classics and its renditions and gave our verdict:
Flora: Bloody Mary ($18) & Dear Rose Mary ($22)
We were told that Colin makes a Bloody Mary like no other. And he didn’t disappoint. Featuring a concoction of Worcestershire sauce, Tabasco sauce, horseradish and the juice of blended fresh tomatoes (“Why use canned when you can use fresh,” Colin remarked.) before spiked with Ketel One vodka, the piquant cocktail is like breakfast liquefied, or perhaps a naughty beverage best paired with some sort of greasy brunch food like bacon and eggs. Maybe we were so impressed by Colin’s Bloody Mary that the floral version of Dear Rose Mary paled in comparsion. Conisisting of rose water, oolong tea syrup, pickled tomato, sour plum powder, mustard seeds and laced with spices infused Hendrick’s gin, the drink seemed to exude one taste profile of spicy, unlike the original which was an explosion of flavours.
Winner: Bloody Mary
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