Lush Whisky & Cocktail's Options May Be Limited, But New SLT Bar Compensates With Creativity

The options aren't exactly abundant at Lush Whisky & Cocktail, but the bartenders certainly know how to make up for it.

This newly opened Sanlitun North establishment joins the throngs of Beijing cocktail spots that have opened in unconventional spots. The setting this time is the first floor of a nondescript apartment on one of the earliest strips to succumb to the "2017 Brickening" of the capital. But unlike many of its cocktail contemporaries, Lush has only half a dozen cocktail options, three of which are signatures.

And yet, what the bar lacks in breadth, it makes up for in depth. Its signature Peking Autumn Fog (RMB 70) is as fine a cocktail as any we've tried in Beijing. It's not overly flashy but has just enough flourishes to make it memorable, and its offbeat combination somehow works despite our skepticism. Yes that mix of torched cinnamon (to give a smokey aroma akin to the pollution from which the cocktail takes its name), Canadian maple syrup (hey, why not?), a whisked egg white, some lemon juice, a few drops of Bulleit rye for added complexity and, most importantly, a generous splash of Laphroaig 10-year scotch, with a smokey, full-bodied flavor making it a more than suitable base for the drink's overall theme. The sugary syrup and tart warmth of the whisky, not to mention the scent of the flambéed cinnamon all keep each other in check without pushing the proceedings into any indulgent extremes, keeping the flavor in a uniquely exciting spot that will appeal to a wide array of patrons. 

We loved that cocktail through and through, save for one gripe: it's perfectly suited for fall (if that wasn't obvious from its name), making it an odd choice to kick off your newly opened bar in the thick of muggy old July. We strongly recommend it regardless.

However, but the RMB 70 Wangjing might appeal to more seasonally inclined customers, because of its refreshing mix of gin, lemon juice, passion fruit, elder flower syrup, and passion purée. Lush's other original cocktail is the RMB 70 Sidecarb, made with VSOP Cognac, lime juice, and coriander. And of course, there are the usual options like a Negroni or an old fashioned (also RMB 70).

The Peking Autumn Fog's theme also, to an extent, extends to the entire bar, which relies heavily on dark tones, slices of white light and an oddly placed metal elk mount that all but screams "winter is coming," a phrase that you'll know by now even if you don't watch a certain TV show.

So while quirks abound at this bar, they remain curiously amusing. The below-average pricing for their higher-than-average cocktails also doesn't hurt. It's by no means luscious or luxurious, and yet Lush proves to be a mid-tier cocktail joint with higher ambitions and potential.

Lush Whisky & Cocktail
Daily, 7.30pm-2am. Room 101, Unit 4, Bldg 29, Sanlitun North Road (across the road from the United Nation's Children's Fund building; go around the back of the apartment building and you'll see the bar's logo) (6461 9572)
 路徒酒吧：三里屯 酒吧三里屯路三里屯北社区29号楼4单元1楼(联合国儿童基金会对面

More stories by this author here.
Email: kylemullin@truerun.com
Twitter: @MulKyle

Photos: Kyle Mullin