Jack be nimble: One of 2017's most promising new cocktail bars has sprung up this month in a Damansara Heights office building basement, brought to life by native Melburnian Callan C. Green & Californian James Estes, two deft hands who've picked KL to house their first bar after years of mixing drinks from London to Dubai.
Jack of hearts: The Jack Rose team has a winning way with making customers feel welcome & comfortable, offering up warm smiles at the entrance, a charming introduction to the illustrated menu of witty potions, & an easy-going briskness in how each cocktail is served & cleared. Start with the bar's namesake - the Jack Rose is more than a century old, immortalised in Hemingway's The Sun Also Rises, blending applejack with lemon & grenadine for a fruity creation that'll leave you craving seconds (RM49++ for 100proof, RMRM39++ for 80proof). Other sweetly pleasurable concoctions for fuss-free sipping include the ultra-refreshing Lisa Laird (RM29++; Laird's Applejack, ginger ale, lemon) & The Devil's In The Details (RM35++; temptingly sultry with Cimarron tequila, suze, pickled pear, lemon, lime, bitters).
You don't know Jack ... at least, not until you've tried the bar's more unorthodox tipples; the Claypot Negroni is dark & deep, featuring Fords Gin, Mancino Rosso & Campari, aged for a few days in an Italian vermouth claypot (RM39++). For the slightly adventurous, Give Peas A Chance deserves consideration, with snow pea-infused vodka furnishing an intriguing foundation of flavour, spiked further with junmai sake, lemon, salt & pepper (RM39++). End your evening with Don't Forget The Delaware, a memorably complex compound of Rebel Yell Rye Whiskey, Cherry Heering, Campari, Fernet Rinse & bitters (RM45++). Jack Rose is a strong addition to KL's bar scene, poised to blossom into a neighbourhood favourite; note though that the music here can seem relatively loud, with 2Pac blasting from the speakers by 7pm.
Jack Rose Kuala Lumpur
B1, Wisma E & C, Lorong Dungun Kiri, Damansara Heights, Kuala Lumpur.
Tues-Thurs, 5pm-1am; Fri-Sat, 5pm-3am. Tel: 012-689-0020
Tues-Thurs, 5pm-1am; Fri-Sat, 5pm-3am. Tel: 012-689-0020
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