25 ml (¾ fl oz) Marras chenin blanc
25 ml (¾ fl oz) freshly squeezed lime juice
25 ml (¾ fl oz) freshly squeezed grapefruit juice
20 ml (⅔ fl oz) rose syrup
1 egg white
rose petals, to garnish
METHOD
Combine all the ingredients in a cocktail shaker, adding the egg white last, then top up with ice and shake well. Strain into a Martini glass and garnish with rose petals.
Powerfully intertwining the past and present on Cape Town’s V&A Waterfront is Zeitz MOCAA. A trove of contemporary art from Africa and its diaspora, it was fashioned out of a derelict 1924 grain-silo complex by London’s Heatherwick Studio, and was the tallest building in sub-Saharan Africa at one point. Directly above the museum, in the former elevator tower, is The Silo Hotel. Opened in 2017, featuring a private art gallery and panoramic rooftop pool, it is a commanding presence, with ‘pillow’ windows that soften the well-preserved concrete exterior. Inside, the industrial tone gives way to exuberance, the crystal chandelier-speckled guest rooms a profusion of colour – behold the baths with a view and those glimmering black-and-white striped floors. Named for the first ship to export grain to Europe, the sixth-floor Willaston Bar is just as vivid. Park yourself on a teal bar stool or one of the deep blue-green semi-circular banquettes and request an ‘Iceplant Negroni’ with Turkish fig-infused Bombay Sapphire gin and Aperol. Through those bubbles of bloated glass, you’ll be nothing short of transfixed by the appearance of Table Mountain and the harbour.
No. 36
Aberfeldy Fashion
THE CLUB BAR AND CIGAR LOUNGE AT THE OBEROI, NEW DELHI, INDIA
INGREDIENTS
50 ml (1¾ fl oz) Aberfeldy 28-Year-Old Single Malt Scotch
1 teaspoon maple syrup
2 dashes of Homemade Bitters* or Angostura orange bitters
*For the Homemade Bitters (makes 250 ml/8½ fl oz):
5 g (6–7) star anise
5 g (1 tablespoon) cloves
5 g (2½ teaspoons) fennel seeds
5 g (2 teaspoons) cracked Szechuan peppercorns
3 x 2⅓ in (10 g/½ oz) Ceylon cinnamon sticks
250 ml (8½ fl oz) vodka
METHOD
For the Homemade Bitters, put all the spices in a jar and add the vodka. Let sit in a dark place for 3 hours, stirring the mixture every hour. Strain into a sterilised jar or bottle. The bitters will keep for years.
To make the cocktail, combine all the ingredients in a mixing glass and stir well. Serve in an old fashioned glass over a sphere of ice.
A less resilient entrepreneur might have thrown in the towel if the opening of his hotel coincided with the Indo-Pakistani War of 1965, but M.S. Oberoi, who acquired the Grand Hotel in Calcutta just before World War II broke out, persevered yet again in the face of tumult. Good thing, too, because The Oberoi, New Delhi – the flagship of the Indian luxury hotel brand he launched in 1934 – was the country’s first large, modern, service-oriented property, even hiring, in an unprecedented move, female housekeeping staff. When designer Adam D. Tihany overhauled the hotel in 2018, a property where Omar Sharif, Mick Jagger and countless Bollywood stars all passed through, he was careful to respect that heritage. It looks lighter and fresher, but most importantly the jali screen in the lobby that guides people through the window-lined marble corridor, and the furnishings that summon English architect Edwin Lutyens, who masterminded the design of numerous New Delhi landmarks, are all tasteful updates. The Club Bar and Cigar Lounge, where you’ll overhear orders for a Negroni or Cognac Alexander, is a library-like room tinted in red and maroon. With punches of brass and hand-knotted rugs underfoot, it’s evident that a new chapter has begun.
To make the most out of the Aberfeldy Fashion, do as the patrons of the Club Bar and Cigar Lounge do and sip this one leisurely between puffs of a woody, spice-tinged Cohiba Robusto.
No. 37
My Heart Beets For You
SIP AT W MALDIVES, FESDU ISLAND, MALDIVES
INGREDIENTS
1 teaspoon patchouli oil
45 ml (1½ fl oz) gin
30 ml (1 fl oz) fresh beetroot (beet) juice
25 ml (¾ fl oz) lemon and yuzu juice (the bar uses fresh yuzu, but lime is a good substitute)
15 ml (½ fl oz) Ginger Syrup*
1 fresh oyster, to serve
*For the Ginger Syrup (makes 500 ml/17 fl oz):
500 ml (17 fl oz) freshly pressed ginger juice
500 g (1 lb 2 oz) caster (superfine) sugar
METHOD
For the Ginger Syrup, combine the ginger juice and sugar in a container and let sit for 6 hours. Fine strain. The syrup will keep in the refrigerator for up to 3 months.
Shake the patchouli oil with ice for about 10 seconds, then fine strain into a glass. Combine all the remaining liquids in a cocktail shaker filled with ice and shake. Double strain the into an old fashioned glass. Serve with a fresh oyster on the side.
The music- and fashion-forward W Hotels brand took a serene turn when W Maldives opened on the private island of Fesdu in North Ari Atoll in 2006. Reached via speedboat, the resort is defined by a network of wooden jettys leading to thatched-roof villas with plunge pools, most of them poised over water with circular windows that look onto lagoon fauna. The aqueous landscape, stitched together with white-sand beaches, turquoise lagoons and reefs, means that days are peppered with snorkelling, as well as diving and fishing adventures. Unwinding between activities is also a priority here – a task that’s easy to accomplish given the bungalows’ swings, circular daybeds and sun-deck loungers. Even baths are taken enveloped in fresh air. At dusk, curled up on an alfresco couch with a lychee cocktail, it’s the bar SIP that ensures this state of relaxation continues. In keeping with the W Hotels’ this-could-be-a-nightclub mentality, you’ll find an energising DJ on hand, but the main attraction is seeing the sun set in a blaze of colour over the Indian Ocean, a poignant pause before a barbecue repast around the fire pit.
Mayhem is rampant in Asia, yet there
