Seeing as the speakeasy concept was born as a means of secretly serving alcohol, this new establishment in SS15 is interestingly ironic. Mocktails take centre stage at this halal establishment hidden behind the Sangkaya ice cream parlour. ‘A speakeasy usually needs some type of collaboration with its surrounding venues to seamlessly blend in,’ pointed out co-founder Imran Sheik. Jibril’s black and white décor, Victorian aesthetics and fun, upbeat music make us feel like we’re in the swinging sixties. Good to know: Jibril does away with some strict rules enforced by other speakeasies. For example, customers wearing slippers and shorts aren’t snubbed at the door, and the family-friendly venue welcomes kids.
While most of Jibril’s mocktails only contain three to four ingredients, plenty of trial and error went into perfecting their recipes. For instance, the Newton mocktail containing apple, ginger and grenadine syrup took 50 to 60 tries to get right. ‘Customers order cocktails to get tipsy, so with mocktails, they’re more discerning about taste. In a way, it’s more challenging,’ said Sheik.