Cocktail geeks, you don't have to travel up to Tokyo to try Shuzo Nagumo's molecular gastronomy-inspired cocktails. Armed with a sizeable arsenal of his very own spirits redistilled to infuse Japanese elements like miso and hinoki wood chips, the man will be guest bartending at 2am:dessert bar for a two-week-long cocktail and dessert pairing gig.
To allow ample showtime for the cocktail sensibilities of his two Tokyo bars – codename MIXOLOGY and MIXOLOGY Laboratory – his first week here (4-8 November) will put the spotlight on Japanese ingredients with drinks like the lightly-perfumed wasabi gin tonic ($14) and frothy green tea cappuccino ($22), sweetened with Japanese kuromitsu molasses and fortified with Grey Goose and dark chocolate liqueur.
Week two – 9 to 14 November – will see a technical turn in his drinks making process. Expect combinations like a buttery Laphoraig whisky with gorgonzola-tainted Hennessy in a blue cheese martini ($22), and Gustro chocolate martini ($22) served in a bag imbued with rich oak wood fumes for a sniff and sip flavour experience.
Realising the similarities in approach and thought that her desserts bear with Shuzo's drink creations, 2am's chef-owner Janice Wong has matched his innovative cocktails with her plated desserts. Ask for a recommendation to put a sweet cap to a night at the bar. Mia Chenyze