Speak Low
Add: 579 Middle Fuxing Road, near Second Ruijin Road
Tel: 6416 0133
Hours: 6pm-late
Price: [2nd floor] 70-90 RMB/cocktail [3rd floor] 110-220 RMB/cocktail
Visited: Oct 2015
There is a quiet little shop on Middle Fuxing Road called “Ocho” selling a neat range of bar tools, many of which curated from Japan by one of the Japanese shop owners. It’s sleek enough to make bartenders drool, but I suppose this doesn’t really concern the rest of us who don’t make cocktails for a living?
復興中路上有家安靜的小店叫做 “Ocho”，裏面陳列著各式各樣的調酒用具，聽說其中不少是老板從日本特別挑選來的精品。這些亮晶晶的東西看起來的確漂亮，不過你說，我又不是調酒師，這跟我沒什麽關系吧？
But not so quick. You see, there is something curious about this mannequin pointing its finger to the book shelf on the left…
慢，別這麽急。你看這個人偶，如此果斷的指著自己左邊的書架，是不是有點奇怪呢？
…and if you manage to see the point and slide that bookshelf open, the passage hidden behind will lead you to Speak Low, the speakeasy bar by Shingo Gokan. This Japanese bartender has garnered international fame by winning the Bacardi Global Legacy Cocktail Competition in 2012, and now splits his time between Shanghai and New York, where he runs the popular bar Angel’s Share.
如果你夠聰明（或者像我一樣是跟著朋友去的），就會發現書架其實是扇拉門，而後面隱藏的是通往Speak Low地下酒吧的秘密通道。酒吧老板之一是Shingo Gokan，這位日本調酒師在2012年得到Bacardi Global Legacy雞尾酒大賽的冠軍後一炮而紅，現在同時經營著位于紐約的Angel’s Share以及在上海開幕還不到一年的Speak Low。
Going up, the second floor is a New York style bar featuring classic drinks and classic twists priced at 70-90 RMB. Tables, bar seats, standing room, very casual. By the way, there is a no-smoking policy at Speak Low, which is a rare case in Shanghai much appreciated by non-smokers like myself.
往上走，二樓是間紐約風格的酒吧，酒單上多爲簡單直接的經典調酒，價位大約在70-90元之間。有幾張小桌，吧台座位，還有不少可以站著聊天的地方，氣氛輕松熱絡。對了，與上海大部份酒吧不同，Speak Low是禁煙的，這對像我這種不吸煙的人來說實在是太棒了。
Up on the third floor is a more intimate space featuring Japanese-inspired cocktails at a higher price range of 110-220 RMB. There is no standing room in this space, just 6 seats at the bar and a few low tables. Good jazz in the air, always a plus.
跟二樓相比，我個人偏好三樓的空間。這裏僅有吧台的六個位子以及幾張矮桌，感覺更私密安靜，而且總是播著輕輕的爵士樂，氣氛優雅。三樓的調酒風格和杯飾都比二樓複雜，價位自然也較高，在110-220元之間。
Unbeknownst to many guests, there is actually a 4th floor at Speak Low, and this room marked as “storage” is actually a private space for members. I took a sneak peek inside and saw some leather couches, a piano, and some very, very exclusive whisky bottles. Quite tempted to post a photo here, but I suppose I should let the private be private. As for how to become a member…I heard it’s by invitation only.
很多客人可能不知道，Speak Low除了二、三樓的酒吧，其實還有第四層。這個標著 “倉庫”，平時用鏈子圍起來的房間實際上是會員專用的私密包廂，裏面擺了各式各樣的頂級威士忌。雖然很想放兩張照片在這裏，不過還是不要曝光這邊客人的個人私藏吧。至于如何成爲會員嘛…據說完全是邀請制的。
Back to the third floor, which is my favorite part of Speak Low for the intimate space, the music, and head bartender Atsushi Suzuki, who has worked in Tokyo, New York, London, and Toronto before moving to Shanghai. There is an elegance and precision with the way he works, and I have yet to be disappointed by any cocktails he’s proposed – so far it’s been “like it”, “love it”, and “oh my god give me another one”.
回到樓下。喜歡三樓的另一個原因，是因爲經常可以在這裏看到Speak Low的首席調酒師Atsushi Suzuki。他在東京、紐約、倫敦、和多倫多工作多年後來到了上海，調酒手法優雅而精准，目前爲止他調出來酒都不曾令我失望。再加上他是位願意分享的人，和他邊喝邊聊，常常可以學到很多有趣的知識。
The first cocktail I tried at Speak Low is Lady Bird (110 RMB), composed of shiso-infused tequila, ume coulis, lemon , plum salt. I’ve always loved shiso in cuisine and have even incorporated it in pastry recipes, but it was my first time having a shiso cocktail…and it was love at first sip. The unique fragrance of shiso combined with sweet sour notes from plum and lemon…perfect.
今晚的第一杯是Lady Bird (110元)，由紫蘇味的龍舌蘭酒、梅子醬、檸檬、和梅子鹽調制而成。我一直都很喜歡用紫蘇入菜的料理，也曾經將紫蘇融合到我的甜點食譜中，不過喝到紫蘇調出來的酒還是第一次。紫蘇特殊的香氣搭配梅子和檸檬的酸甜，實在完美。
Speak Low (120 RMB), composed of Bacardi Superior, Bacardi 8, Pedro Ximenez sherry, matcha, and kinako, is the cocktail that won Shingo Gokan his champion title of the Bacardi competition. As he used to study Japanese tea ceremony, he took the idea and combined that with sherry to make this signature drink, served in a glass dusted with kinako (soy bean powder) and kuromitsu (Japanese black honey), accompanied by two thin slices of chocolates.
第二款Speak Low (120元)， 由Bacardi Superior, Bacardi 8, Pedro Ximenez雪莉酒、抹茶、和黃豆粉組成。酒吧和這款調酒同名，並不是巧合，其實Shingo當年就是以這款出色的作品贏得了Bacardi的世界比賽。Shingo結合了自己學習日本茶道以及在雪莉酒吧工作的經驗，將兩個概念融合爲這款特別的調酒，最後和兩片巧克力一起呈現，非常有趣。
Spirited Away (? RMB) is a creation by Atsushi that’s not on the menu, composed of G’vine gin, vermouth blanc, yuzu, black pepper, and wasabi. I was unsure whether I would like this since I’m not a fan of the pungency of wasabi…but well, why not give it a try. I had a few sips without wasabi then stirred in the spoonful, and to my surprise, it wasn’t pungent at all. Instead, it incorporated wonderfully with the rest of the drink, rendering the flavor round and complex. What?! Give me another one.
不在酒單上的Spirited Away (?元) 是Atsushi的特調，由G’vine琴酒、白苦艾酒、日本柚子、黑胡椒、和芥末組成。平時不喜歡芥末衝鼻感的我本來並不覺得自己會喜歡這款調酒，不過在好奇心驅使下還是決定試試。先在沒加芥末前喝了兩口 – 嗯，柚子的香味非常棒 – 讓後鼓起勇氣把芥末混了進去。結果實在太令人驚訝了，芥末不僅不衝鼻，而且和其它原料很好的融合，讓整杯調酒的風味更圓潤更深邃。
Snapped a photo of this Pumpkin Nog (120 RMB) ordered by another client, composed of Yamazaki, kabocha (Japanese pumpkin), milk, shoju, mirin, and cinnamon. No more tolerance that evening to try this but I’m definitely coming back for it.
這是別的客人點的Pumpkin Nog (120元)，由山崎威士忌、日本南瓜、牛奶、焼酎、味醂、和肉桂組成。當晚已經喝多了，不過我下次一定要再回來嚐嚐這個。
Yet another drink from someone else: Green Dolphin St (120 RMB), brown butter-infused Bacardi 8, banana, milk, cold brew coffee, brown sugar, se salt, black pepper, parsley. Why yes that surely is a dolphin perching on the cup rim.
另一位客人點的Green Dolphin St (120元)，由焦糖奶油味的Bacardi 8、香蕉、牛奶、冷泡咖啡、黑糖、海鹽、黑胡椒、和歐芹組成。放這張照片的原因是因爲那只香蕉做的海豚實在是太有喜感了。
And as if all that wasn’t already cool enough, they brand their ice cubes with the “Speak Low” logo.
還有一些小細節，比如在冰塊上烙印Speak Low的字樣，都非常用心非常酷。
Just about everything on the menu at Speak Low looks interesting. There’s the Serenity Royal with lychee-cello, ruby red grapefruit, raspberry sorbet, champagne, the Sweet Lorraine with Absolute Elyx, tomato water, lemon, green tomato confiture, tomato confit, basil, Okinawa sea salt, and the French Concession with chestnut-infused Armagnac, marron glacé, creme de cassis, cigar smoke…now if that’s not a dessert in itself, I don’t know what is. Please, someone stop me from coming here every week.
除了剛才介紹的幾款，Speak Low酒單上其它的酒看起來也都非常有意思，比如由荔枝酒、紅葡萄柚、覆盆子冰沙、和香槟調成的Serenity Royal，或是由Absolute Elyx、番茄水、檸檬、青番茄果醬、九層塔、和沖繩海鹽調成的Sweet Lorraine。哦，還有一款由栗子雅文邑、糖漬栗子、黑醋栗酒、和雪茄煙做成的French Concession，聽起來也太像一道美味的甜點了。哎，誰把我拉住，別讓我每周都往這裏跑啊…
Speak Low 彼樓
地址: 復興中路579號，近瑞金二路
電話: 6416 0133
營業時間: 6pm-深夜
價位: [二樓] 70-90元 [三樓] 110-220元
造訪: 2015年10月