We get a fair share of pop-ups in this fine city, but few truly transport the original venue's look, vibe and star staff members all the way to Shanghai. But this Tuesday through Saturday at the Portman Ritz-Carlton, you can get very close to the genuine Manhattan experience of having a drink at New York City cocktail bar BlackTail, just heralded 2017's Best New American Bar at the regarded Spirited Awards by Tales of the Cocktail in New Orleans.
The famed sister of renowned cocktail den The Dead Rabbit – widely considered the best bar in the world and currently holding down the number one spot by World's 50 Best Bars – BlackTail gives visitors an immersive backward shove into prohibition era Cuba, a time when American gangsters were looking to cover up their shady operations with legitimate businesses, leading them to the cheeky move of transplanting American bars just across the lagoon from Florida. All cocktails are researched to the nines and scrupulously concocted; some taking their hats off to Hemingway, who used to frequent the island's bars; others giving winks at colonisation or nods at the drinking practices of late-1900s America. This week, you'll be able to try eight of them.
BlackTail New York
BlackTail at Ritz Bar and Lounge
BlackTail has brought not only its name and cocktails, but bits of its decor, nearly identical bar tools and glassware, a condensed version of its gorgeous 88-page illustrated menu and the venue's head bartender/bar manager Jesse Vida. The team wants Shanghai's cocktail enthusiasts to enjoy both the drinks and the environment they'd experience in New York from within the Ritz Bar and Lounge.
Perhaps the best thing they're bringing is the bar's practice of giving each guest a free BlackTail Daiquiri when they arrive, easing you into the experience and preparing the palate for its Cuban escapades.
BlackTail's swanky Cuba Libre
So about those eight drinks: like in New York, the cocktail booklet menu is divided into sections, with a little explainer at the start of each. You'll learn from 'Sour', for instance, that sours are made from only three ingredients – booze, citrus and sugar – and include the daiquiri, one of Cuba's most celebrated drinks. All eight cocktails are great, but definitely go for Blacktail's elevated take on the Cuba Libre (typically rum, cola and lemon) which raises the drink to an elegant and uncanny level via champagne for effervescence, rum, cola syrup and Italian and Angostura bitters.
The pop-up is here through Saturday, with tables available at 7, 8.30 or 10pm shifts – best make a booking, as it's sure to be slammed. All eight cocktails are 128RMB each plus that nice hotel 15 percent service charge. Click below for full details.
The Ritz Bar & Lounge Lobby Level, Portman Ritz-Carlton, 1376 Nanjing Xi Lu, near Xikang Lu (6279 8888).