[Shanghai 上海] Botanist

Botanist

Add: 17-2 North Xiangyang Road
Tel: 6433 0538
Hours: 7pm-2am (closed on Mon)
Price: 80-95 RMB/cocktail
Visited on: Apr 2016

So Flask is moving because of land issues (new location TBD), and in the meanwhile their second project has already opened its doors. The new bar is called Botanist, apparently they got the inspiration when watching The Martian, in which Matt Damon plays the role of an astronaut/botanist stranded alone on Mars. It’s just a matter of time before this place gets packed everyday, so let’s go now to see what drinks they’ve got…

之前介紹過的 Flask 因爲地的原因要搬家了，新的地點還未確定，而我爲了將要有一段時間吃不到他們美味 grill cheese sandwich 在難過時，老板們的第二家酒吧已默默開幕。新的店名叫 Botanist，說是看到 “The Martian火星人” 裏 Matt Damon 演的生物學家這個角色時得到的靈感。趁他們剛開幕還不需要等位，先去嚐嚐鮮。

The style of Botanist is completely different from that of Flask – it is not a hidden speakeasy, but rather a street-side bar in plain view. There are floor-to-ceiling windows that can be opened up completely, and there’s a lovely patio bound to be highly sought-after as the weather warms up. True to the “botanist” concept, there are plants everywhere in the space, and not only does that make it all green and pretty,  it actually smells really nice right near the herb wall too. And very importantly, there’s a no smoking policy at Botanist – weee!

Botanist 和 Flas k的風格截然不同，並非隱藏的 speakeasy，而是一目了然的街邊酒吧，有可以整面打開的落地窗和舒服的露台，這個春夏肯定會大受歡迎。利落的線條加上冷色調的白光，走的是有點未來感的設計。以 botanist 植物學家爲概念，空間裏四處都有植物，不僅綠油油的很好看，走近香草牆時真的會聞到淡淡的香味。此外，Botanist 室內禁煙這點更是另我開心。

The cocktail menu consists of 12 creations (to be expanded to 24 soon) divided into four categories: seasonal, refreshing, classic, and spirit forward, all are named with numbers. I started with “seasonal”, cocktail #2, made from fresh passion fruit, sage infused wine, thyme syrup, mint, tea liqueur. It’s a nice balance between sweet and tart with a touch of herbal fragrance, and can be seasoned to taste with a freshly halved passion fruit.

調酒酒單分爲四個部份：seasonal、refreshing、classic、spirit forward，所有創作以數字命名，目前有12款，據說之後會增加到24款。從 “seasonal” 季節調酒開始，我首先點了一杯#02，由新鮮百香果、浸泡過鼠尾草的紅葡萄酒、自制伯爵茶利口酒、薄荷、以及百里香糖漿組成，是一杯酸甜平衡，帶有青草香氣的調酒，更有趣的是可以根據個人喜好添加新鮮百香果。

Next was #03, fresh guava, lime juice, pineapple juice, rosemary infused rum, honey, summer cup. Pretty pink color and not so strong in alcohol, perfect for those looking for a light-hearted drink. Guava flavor not very evident though.

下一杯#03，新鮮紅心番石榴、青檸汁、鳳梨汁、迷叠香朗姆酒、馬鞭草及伯爵茶風味的金酒、和一點點的蜂蜜。粉粉嫩嫩的一杯，雖然有兩款烈酒，但酒精味不重，女孩子應該會很喜歡，不過如果番石榴的味道可以再濃郁一些就好了。

Meet Alvin, one of Botanist’s three bartenders, who first learned his craft at Marquee in Taipei, and subsequently went to Jilin, Bangkok, Hangzhou, then Shanghai (Flask). He might look very serious in this photo, but is in fact a very friendly and easy to talk to guy.

這是 Botanist 三位調酒師其中之一的小唐，從台北的 Marquee 開始學習調酒，後來陸續又去了吉林 (?!)、曼谷、杭州，後來到了上海的 Flask。認真調酒的樣子看起來有點嚴肅，不過本人很友善很能聊。

Flipping the page, and we are in the next category – “refreshing”. #11 is fresh cucumber, fresh lime juice, white coca, Frangelico, and Gordon’s Gin. Frangelico is a hazelnut-flavored liqueur, the nuttiness pairing surprisingly well with the freshness of cucumber and the slight grapefruit bitterness from Gordin’s Gin. The flavor profile is layered and not too complicated – my favorite drink of the evening.

翻到下一頁，主題是 “refreshing”。#11，由新鮮小黃瓜、青檸汁、白巧克力、Frangelico、以及 Gordon’s Gin 調制而成。Frangelico 是一款有榛果風味的利口酒，搭配有葡萄柚香氣的金酒以及清爽的黃瓜，層次豐富而不過複雜，是我當晚最愛的一款酒。

#12: fresh beetroot juice, lime juice, pineapple juice, pandan syrup, Buffalograss Zubrowka vodka. It’s all about the beetroot flavor at first sip, but that slowly gives way to a pandan finishing – very interesting and very delicious.

下一杯#12，新鮮甜菜汁、青檸汁、鳳梨汁、自制香蘭葉糖漿、Buffalograss Zubrowka 伏特加。入口時甜菜根味道明顯，最後卻以香蘭葉的香氣收尾，有點東南亞風情的一款酒，好有趣好好喝。

Botanist’s second bartender is Eric, who moved from Taipei to Shanghai just 1 month ago. A brief chat revealed him to be a funny guy with all sorts of creative cocktail ideas in his head. On a related note, the bar he used to work at in Taipei – Alchemy – was recently ranked #15 on Asia’s 50 Best Bars list. Congrats!

Botanist 另一位調酒師 Eric，是一個多月前才剛從台北 Alchemy Bar 過來的上海新鮮人，說起話來也是歡樂感十足，而且腦子裏似乎隨時都會蹦出很另類的調酒點子。話說，Alchemy 最近在 Asia’s 50 Best Bars 裏得名第15，恭喜恭喜。

Next category “classic”, cocktail #21 is made with fresh grapefruit juice, rose tea, lavender bitters, edible flowers, Prucia plum liqueur, and Aperol. The rose flavor is too strong for my personal preference, though I love the bouquet presentation.

接下來進入到 “classic” 經典調酒，#21由新鮮葡萄柚汁、玫瑰茶、薰衣草苦精、和 Prucia 李子利口酒調制而成。這款酒玫瑰味道偏重，不是我個人的最愛，不過捧花的造型實在太可愛了。

#22 butterfly pea infused gin, edible flowers, Dulce Vida tequila, Stolichnaya vodka. The purple color, so vibrant that it’s almost intimidating, is 100% naturally obtained by infusing butterfly peas in gin. The cocktail is simply presented in a martini glass with pansies, an elegant look that I adore, but the flavor is ultra strong – not surprising given the three hard liquors that go into this drink – and I wasn’t able to take more than a few sips.

#22 顔色鮮豔的令人又著迷又害怕，不過這炫目的紫色是通過浸泡蝴蝶豆于金酒裏釋放出來 100% 純天然的顔色。在馬丁尼杯子裏簡單的以三色堇裝飾，非常優雅，不過味道可濃烈的很，除了金酒以外還有 Dulce Vida 龍舌蘭酒和 Stolichnaya 伏特加…我是喝不完這一杯的。

Hugo is Botanist’s third bartender, I didn’t get to talk to him much this evening and only know that he used to work at The Roof on Yongjia Road. By the way, he is the one who created the intriguing purple cocktail above.

這次沒有機會跟 Botanist 第三位調酒師 Hugo 多聊，只知道他之前在永嘉路上的 The Roof 工作（上面這款美麗的調酒就是他設計的）。三位調酒師互相認識似乎已經一段時間了，雖然店才剛開，不過默契非常好，坐在吧台前喝酒完全可以感受到裏面輕松愉快的氣氛。

Last category, “spirit forward”. #31 is Botanist’s twist on Negroni, made with fresh orange, rosemary, G’vine gin, La Quintynye Vermouth Royal, Campari. Amazing fragrance, love.

酒單的最後一頁是 “sprit forward”，想必是酒精味比較重的創作了。#31 是 Botanist 版本的 Negroni，由新鮮橙子、迷叠香、G’vine 金酒、La Quintynye Vermouth Royal、和 Campari 組成，香氣迷人，我非常愛。

Last drink of the night, #33. I actually couldn’t take anymore but had to order one for photos – the lightbulb presentation is absolutely gorgeous. The composition is fresh lime juice, rosemary, pear liqueur, rose water, Martin Miller’s gin, white grape vinegar…Well, I can’t say I disliked the flavor, but the rose+rosemary+pear+grape combination is really complicated and got me confused. But the lightbulb presentation is just too beautiful (can’t help but repeat myself again).

當晚的最後一杯#33，其實明明已經喝不下了卻硬要點來拍照。晶瑩剔透的燈泡裏裝著無色透明的調酒，美極了。成份有新鮮青檸汁、百裏香、梨子利口酒、玫瑰水、Martin Miller’s 金酒、白葡萄酒醋…說不上不喜歡，但玫瑰+百裏香+梨子+葡萄這個組合著實複雜的讓我非常困惑。可是它好美（忍不住再說一次）。

Botanist’s food menu is still under construction, for now there are small plates like shrimps in olive oil with garlic and parsley, vegetable sticks with house-made dill ranch sauce, potato fries with house made herb aioli and dill lemon mayo, Spanish chorizo cooked in sherry wine and rosemary, seasonal fruit salad with micro herbs…yes, they put a bit or herb in everything, and it’s yum.

Botanist 的菜單還在測試中，目前有橄榄油蒜香蝦子、西班牙香腸、薯條、蔬菜條、水果拼盤等小食，樣式不多，不過都加了點跟香草有關的巧思。比如薯條搭配的是自制的迷叠香紅椒蛋黃醬和檸檬莳蘿蛋黃醬，西班牙香腸則是用雪莉酒和迷叠香炒過。好吃。

I’m a fan of Botanist’s herbal fresh concept, and am impressed by how creative the cocktails can get in terms of both presentation and flavor. I haven’t even finished their current cocktail list, but am already looking forward to the new creations that will soon grace the menu. Be back very soon.

自 Botanist 兩周前試營業以來，我已經來過三次了（…到底是有多愛喝酒）。喜歡這裏草本新鮮的概念，也很佩服每款調酒的造型和風味都能做得如此獨出心裁，現有的酒單都還沒喝遍，卻已在期待他們之後會推出的新作品了。這個春夏，一起來植物學家拈花惹草吧 :)

Botanist

地址：襄陽北路17－2號
電話：6433 0538
營業時間：7pm-2am（周一休）
價位：調酒 80－95元
造訪：2016年4月