Atlas, one of Singapore many world-leading bars, has launched a new drinking menu with a list of cocktails displaying innovative techniques, unusual ingredients and, as you would expect, many delicious flavour combinations.
The menu, called Sense of Place, has been developed by Head Bartender Jesse Vida along with the Atlas team and takes guests on a tour of European Art Deco architecture through its seven chapters.
Jesse said: “Sense of Place pays homage to Atlas and what it means to our guests and ourselves, a place that we can all identify with and feel special.
“We wanted to connect our guests to the architecture of Atlas and many grand Art Deco landmarks through our cocktails. We look forward to welcoming guests to Atlas and for them to explore their connections to these magnificent structures.”
Each chapter features an Art Deco landmark from Europe, from the iconic Battersea Power Station and Teatro Éden, to lesser known examples of Art Deco architecture such as the Helsinki Central Station.
Here’s what the Atlas team had to say about each of the chapters in its new menu:
Chapter One: Luminary Landmark (No-Alcohol)
The opening chapter of the menu captures the glamour of Art Deco architecture with Parkview Square where A Atlas TLAS resides. Inspired by the era’s greatest cities, it serves as a stunning portal to the European destinations it was inspired by.
Atlas invites guests to partake in a world-class cocktail experience, even if they are refraining from alcohol. Luminary Landmark – a wholly No-Alcohol chapter – features four complex and balanced drinks created with the same thoughtful consideration paid to flavour as their alcoholic counterparts.
Inspired by the motifs representing Singapore, Vanda Mist (S$12) is a bittersweet, creamy no-alcohol cocktail with fresh grapefruit, almond syrup, salt, cinnamon and cream served on crushed ice.
Chapter Two: Dreaming In The Dark
Dreaming In The Dark brings guests to the charming Teatro Éden in Lisbon, Portugal, in the city’s historic square, Praça dos Restauradores. During its heyday in the 1930s, crowds would clamour to watch the latest silent films in this fine Art Deco theatre designed by notable Portuguese architect Cassiano Branco. This chapter celebrates the golden age of film and pays homage to the salmon-pink façade of Teatro Éden and its bustling neighbourhood.
A milk punch based on yoghurt, Arcade Melon (S$22) made with London dry gin, orange liqueur, Port, cinnamon, clarified milk, and cantaloupe is inspired by the early days of Teatro Éden when it was home to a market. Enjoy the soft fruit-forward flavour of melon, commonly enjoyed during the summer in Portugal.
Chapter Three: Promise of Progress
Travel to the heart of Madrid, and visit one of the first skyscrapers to rise in Spain during the Literary Silver Age, the Edificio de la Unión y el Fénix Español. Its crowning phoenix perched atop the summit of the building, a sign of re-birth and new opportunities.
Enjoy the effervescent Sun Gate Spritz (S$23), a low-ABV cocktail with a raspberry infused sherry blend, dry vermouth, peach, a house-made rosemary syrup, and royal botanic tonic, garnished with a chocolate fragment with freeze-dried raspberries. Light, tart and a perfect warm weather cocktail.
Chapter Four: Emporium of Hope
La Samaritaine revolutionised the shopping experience, making its labyrinthine aisles of ready-to-wear accessible to all. Parisians were hopeful during the economic growth of the Second Empire, and Samaritaine became an avenue connecting people across social and intergenerational divides, declaring that style is a right, not a privilege.
Pont Neuf Daisy (S$25), named for the oldest standing bridge in Paris, features a blue cheese infused Cognac and Calvados made with apples from Normandy, grappa, plum, elderflower and fresh lemon juice and garnished with elderflower dust. Savoury, fresh and tart.
Chapter Five: Palace of Peace
The National Basilica of the Sacred Heart from Brussels, Belgium, is a magnificent church with a distinctive copper green dome that sits atop the Brussels skyline on Koekelberg Hill, a city within a city. The architectural design by Albert Van Huffel won the Grand Prix at the 1925 Exposition Internationale des Arts Décoratifs et Industriels Modernes, the seminal world fair that marked the birth of Art Deco.
Sunset Hill(S$24), the first drink of the story references the stunning view from the Koekelberg hill where the Basilica stands, mezcal, pear, gentian, curry leaf, lemon and aer. Savoury, refreshing, with a hint of smoke.
Chapter Six: Electric Powerhouse
Battersea Power Station is an iconic landmark of London, generating energy that powered Buckingham Palace and the Houses of Parliament during its early days. In 1977, a rouge inflatable pig escaped from its tether during a Pink Floyd album cover shoot, halting air traffic and forever cementing its status as part of the city’s indelible history.
During WWII, pilots used the smoke plumes from the iconic cylindrical chimneys as a beacon home. This inspires Vapour Guide (S$25), peach oolong-infused American vodka, English gin, bianco vermouth, rosé aperitif. Spirit-forward and herbaceous.
Chapter Seven: Men of the Future
Experience the romance of rail travel with the final chapter, Helsinki Central Station in Finland designed by Eliel Saarinen in 1919, a modern structure that was well ahead of its time. The Helsinki Central Station’s with its Finnish granite façade, is guarded by four stone giants bearing glowing lanterns in their stone hands.
Anethum Granite (S$24), the first cocktail from the chapter features an aquavit base made in-house by infusing vodka with juniper, peppercorn, cumin, fennel, caraway, cardamom and lemon. Garnished with a delicate fennel frond, it is bold, savoury and bittersweet.
In addition to its seven chapters the new Atlas menu also features and extensive G&T selections, including the new ‘Bartender’s Choice G&T’ which does what it says on the tin and allows guests to enjoy a G&T selected by Atlas’ award-winning team.
The menu also includes the keystone Atlas Classics such as the Atlas Martini (S$25), Orange Blossom Martini (S$28) and the Atlas Espresso Martini (S$24). Guest can also enjoy a flight of these classics with ‘An Atlas Suite’ (S$38) a flight of three petite martinis.
Atlas has collected a number of awards in its time and has featured in the World’s 50 Best Bar listings every year since it opened. In 2019 Atlas won Best International Cocktail Bar and World’s Best Spirits Selection at Tales of the Cocktail’s Spirited Award, then collected its third crystal plate in 2020, winning World’s best Cocktail Menu. The bar ATLAS currently ranks seventh in Asia’s 50 Best Bars and most recently was listed at No. 16 in the World’s 50 Best Bars 2021.
