Shake It Up in Shanghai With Our 5 Favorite Pearl City Cocktail Bars

Kyle Mullin | Sep 27, 2017 2:30 pm | Add a comment | 1345 reads

Think of Beijing and Shanghai not as rival cities, but as a pair of highly recommended cocktails placed before you on the bar. Beijing is a dirty martini that’s potent, fun, and gives you a rough-and-tumble buzz. Meanwhile, Shanghai is a pricier item that goes down smoother, leaving you feeling refreshed and refined.

Both locales boast robust cocktail scenes, with Beijing’s seeming to have more new openings than the bubbles found in a spritzy drink. Yet, Shanghai’s pool seems more aged and established, at least according to nearly everyone we’ve spoken to in the capital’s lounges and speakeasies (the spiel usually going something like: “This is great, but have you tried x bar in Shanghai?”). Decide for yourself the next time you’re in the Pearl City by trying our top five favorite Shanghai cocktail joints.

Union Trading Company
When asked for Shanghai recommendations, many in-the-know cocktail aficionados start with this award-winner (pictured above). And there’s little wonder why, with owner (and former Houston resident) Yao Lu having outfitted this quintessentially Americana bar with a range of cocktails aged in charred oak barrels.

The benefits of that aging are obvious – deeply rich, distinctively smoky flavors for cocktails like the Dead Man’s Gun (made with heated single malt, blended Scotch, honey, and a few bitters and spices) and the El Bandito (made with Reposado Tequila, Oloroso sherry, apricot brandy, and orange bitters). These barrel-aged options are pretty pricey at RMB 150, but they are also guaranteed to be 150ml each and, considering their expert prep, are well worth splashing out on. Other options include a range of seasonal specials priced in the more reasonable RMB 80-95 range.

The menu is rounded out with upscale pub grub like truffle fries, chicken wings, and their eponymous burger. What left us unanimously praising Union, however, was its drink menu and its fun, low-key, Old West atmosphere.

64 Fengyang Lu, Xuhui District (021 6418 3077)
徐汇区汾阳路64号

Sober Society (third floor of Sober Company)
Sober Society made some serious noise when it opened in early 2017, which couldn’t be more starkly juxtaposed to its cozy, intimate, and softly lit ambiance. While those features make it perfect for a date, it can’t quite accommodate the demand of thirsty throngs (during our visit, the line ran out the doorway).

That enthused response arguably makes Sober Society an even bigger winner than owner Shingo Gokan’s older, smaller, but nonetheless still popular Speaklow bar. Chalk Sober’s success up to creative cocktails like the RMB 120 Second Flush, made with distinctive ingredients like Darjeeling tea, elderflower, rose water, grapefruit, and soda for a refreshingly bubbly and light concoction.

No cocktail on Sober’s specialty menu is below RMB 100, with most falling in the RMB 100-130 range, putting it on the costly side. One is even RMB 180, a price that’ll have some patrons in need of a seat and a glass of ice water, but more reasonable once you know that it features high-quality Yamazaki whisky and fine-grained wasanbon sugar.

99 Yandang Lu, Huangpu District (021 5309 8261)
黄浦区雁荡路99号

Above the Globe
Every watering hole has at least one bar stool bard. You know the type: an extroverted patron wowing his pals with jokes and monologue-worthy tall tales. However, the relatively new Above the Globe (its figurative curtain went up in February) has an ambiance truly worthy of great performers, thanks to the Shakespearean characters etched onto the walls and the Old English Cathedral-style arches behind the bar.

Owner Eddy Yang, proprietor of the recently closed but soon to be relocated Tailor Bar, has ensured that fans of that older venue will be all the more entertained by Globe thanks to its fun, theater-themed cocktails.

Those drinks are divided into three sections. First up: tragedy. Think aptly bitter, potent concoctions like the RMB 100, coffee, vanilla, and Remy VSOP cognac-laden Sleep No More. Then there’s the comedy section with fruitier, more palatable drinks like the RMB 110 A Midsummer Night’s Dream, made with Botanist Gin, white and sparkling wines, passion fruit syrup, and lemon juice. Finally, we have the history section, which has appropriately aged offerings like the French 75, made using either cognac or gin, simple lemon juice, and champagne, and priced at a historically high RMB 210. And while cash-starved bit players won’t be able to afford a drink at the Globe, this bar is particularly well suited for established stars with a taste for the finer things.

7/F, 1013 Beijing Xilu, Jing’an District (173 1736 9152)
静安区北京西路1013号7楼

Liquid Laundry
The homemade craft brews and delectable grub have helped make this gastropub hugely popular, which comes as no surprise considering owner Kelly Lee’s prior experience at Boxing Cat, Sproutworks, Cantina Agave, and other Shanghai mainstays. But the cocktails at Liquid Laundry (also pictured at top) have also earned their own renown.

Standouts include the RMB 80 Revolver, which features French press-infused bourbon, amaro, bitters, and the much lighter Dr. Lee’s Tonic, made with Tanqueray gin, celery shrub, lime, sea salt, and tonic.

K. Wah Centre, 2/F, 1028 Huaihai Zhonglu, Xuhui District (6445 9589)
徐汇区淮海中路1028号嘉华坊2楼

Botanist
True to its name, this bar carefully sources locally grown organic herbs and other key ingredients before storing them on site in a “vertical self-sustaining herb wall” to help make Botanist’s cocktails as fresh as possible. The owners’ prior cocktail lounge, the now-defunct Flask, was fancier but this newer establishment has an airy, open concept, and the added bonus of street-facing seating.

They decided to forgo quirky drink names and instead just number the menu items, coinciding nicely with the laboratory-themed decor. Some of the cocktails are floral in both aroma and appearance, thanks to the colorful petals dropped inside, the aforementioned herbs, and sometimes even bell peppers or other fruits and veggies that are hollowed out so the boozy mixes can be poured inside.

17-2 Xiangyang Beilu, Jing’an District (6433 0538)
静安区襄阳北路17-2号