The Keefer Bar

The Keefer Bar
The Keefer Suites is Vancouver’s
newest boutique hotel
accommodation, and the gem in
newly-revitalised Chinatown. Inside,
glows a rarer jewel—the discreet
and uber-trendy Keefer Bar.
The cocktail menu is apothecary
shop-meets Chinese medicine,
with drinks created to soothe
ailments and balance one’s good
mood. The inspiration behind the
cocktails are classic pre-prohibition
imbibes, influenced by Antoine
Amedee Peychaud. He specialised
in making his own brand of bitters
in 1880’s New Orleans, which he
mixed with cognac or brandy to
cure the ailments of his customers.
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This eventually led to the invention
of the Sazerac cocktail.
The Keefer Bar pays homage to
its Chinatown location by adding
the element of traditional Chinese
medicine, with ingredients sourced
from local markets and herbalists.
Surprises include astralagus, a root
used for immune deficiencies; Luo
Han Goa, a fruit extract nearly 30
times sweeter than sugar and used
as a natural sweetener; magnolia
bark, a bitter and warm root that
helps the digestion; and yunzhi,
which stimulates the immune
system.
The Keefer Bar’s signature
cocktails include the Dragonfly,
concocted of dragonfruit infused
gin, pearl sake, ginger syrup, lemon
and magnolia bark tincture. The
Keefer Club, which sports gin,
redcurrant, yunzhi syrup, lemon
and egg white, and the China Doll,
which seduces with vodka, yuzu
marmalade, grapefruit, sparkling
wine and red ginseng tincture.
~ Jobina Bardai
CANADA
The Keefer Bar
135 Keefer Street
Vancouver Chinatown
Tel No: (604) 688-1961
www.thekeeferbar.com
may-june 2011
bar
Lillet
Lillet is a French aperitif enjoyed
over ice with a slice of lemon. Its
namesake, the Lillet bar, is a similar
shot during your trip to Germany.
Situated at the lobby level of Le
Méridien Stuttgart, Lillet is inviting
with it’s tastefully decorated bar
area that calls out to you, even if
you are only passing by to dine at
the hotel’s restaurant.
It did not take me long to accept
the invitation and I perched myself
on the barstool one evening. The
exhaustive menu that took me
nearly 25 minutes to go through,
left me totally confused as to what
I should order. At which point,
the smiling bartender came to
my rescue and recommended a
Passion Fruit Daiquiri. And wasn’t
my drink divine! A jumbo-sized
may-june 2011
glass of passion fruit muddled
with ice, topped with a sprig of
elderberry and sugar-sprinkled basil
leaves started my evening.
The sheer number of items on
the menu spoils you. Aperitifs,
hard liquor, a variety of cocktails
made with champagne, brandy,
gin, vodka, rum, tequila or whisky,
wonderful Mai Tai’s, a whole wide
range of ancient wines, alcohol-free
cocktails for those in the mood
and of course, beer. The predinner cocktails were especially
delectable and trying out one of the
many flavoured shots should be an
adventurous move too. Oh, and the
Ultimate James Bond Martini is an
absolute must-have.
A platter of olives and cheese
is served as a complimentary
dish, while you also have a whole
bunch of snacks to choose from.
Panini, burger, pizza, salad, tart,
crème brûlée with fruits, cheese
platter—what complements your
drink best?
Saturday nights, post 9, are the
best at the bar with live musical
performances and sees a fair
number of patrons. The general
atmosphere in the evenings is
enjoyable as guests unwind after a
long day with a drink in their hand
and laughter in the room.
~ Sonali Shah
EUROPE
Le Méridien Stuttgart
Willy-Brandt-Strasse 30,
70173 Stuttgart, Germany
Tel: +49 711 22210
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XtraCold
Icebar
Amsterdam, often known as the
City of Sin (sins that anyone would
gladly commit!), is any tourist’s
delight. From Madame Tussauds
to the Anne Frank Museum to the
myriad of sex clubs, the largest city
and the capital of the Netherlands
has something for everyone. When
you just feel that you are drained
off every single ounce of energy,
the thought of a 4D ice bar instantly
revitalises you to walk a little more
until you drop yourself into the
realms of…a lot of ice!
The XtraCold Amsterdam
houses two fun areas—the
XtraCold Lounge also called
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‘Some like it hot’ and the XtraCold
IceBar AKA ‘Some like it cold’.
The Lounge area is where you
can get yourself some cold and
hot drinks as well as delectable
and contemporary cocktails and
finger food. After sipping a drink
at the Lounge, with a group of
approximately fifteen people, I
headed to what I was truly looking
forward to—the IceBar. Of course,
before stepping in, I was given a
special thermal jacket, gloves and a
headgear, which would allow me to
survive the extreme cold.
Never before had I seen or
experienced something like the
XtraCold IceBar. It wouldn’t be
incorrect to say that my world was
frozen as soon as I stepped into
this area! The walls, the bar, the
seats and even the cocktail glasses
are frozen here. As we got busy
admiring every inch of the interiors,
Roxanne, the charming lady
bartender, made us comfortable
with some drinks. We were given a
choice between a Smirnoff cocktail
and a Heineken XtraCold beer…I
chose the latter to keep myself
warm. The exciting environment
of the IceBar was matched by the
lively music that was being played
in the background. While all of us
may-june 2011
were ready to groove a little, we
couldn’t afford to do so as the
special floor got a little slippery,
and felt doubly so thanks to the
frozen glasses that were often
slipping out of our hands.
After a bit, we put on the 3D
glasses and made ourselves
comfortable on the ice seats, as
it was now time for a short tenminute 3D movie. Made especially
for the XtraCold IceBar, literally
within a minute of the movie, I felt
as if I was one of the characters
in it. What an amazing sync of
the movie and the concept of the
place!
After the movie, Roxanne
served us another round of
drinks. And then, we all got busy
posing at the bar and the various
ice structures, including a huge,
king-size throne that’s made of
(no points for guessing!) – ICE,
while Roxanne captured us on her
camera.
The ambience of excitement,
interiors, LED-lighting, icesculptures, music and the 3D
movie, all come together to give
you the ultimate ice experience.
How I wished that I could spend
some more time at the IceBar,
but, alas, all good things come
to an end! I bought one of the
pictures clicked by Roxanne, and
took home a memory of this lovely
experience…Here’s hoping you
take home yours soon!
~ Benaifer Mirza
AmsterdAm
Amstel 194-196
Amsterdam
Netherlands
1017 AG
Tel no: +31 (0)20-320-5700
www.xtracold.com
may-june 2011
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