First Glance: Maltail

Maltail is a new classy cocktail joint across from First Floor on the Sanlitun back street. At their grand opening on Monday night, we were lucky enough to try some of their fine sips that are sure to raise a couple eyebrows. 

With two menus, one consisting of six pages of cocktails and the other all whiskey, there is a gigantic selection to choose from. Most of the cocktails run between RMB 50 to 70. We first ordered the Bubbling Ginger (RMB 60), a house special, consisting of sparkling wine, gin, lemon juice and ginger syrup. We really enjoyed the spice of the ginger and the grape fizz of the wine, and it was a generous helping that filled the oversized glass.  

Next up was the Jungle Bird (RMB 50), a very drinkable mix of black rum, Campari, lime juice, pineapple, and simple syrup. With a fruity but not too saccharine base, the proportions were heavy on the spirit side, and just enough of that fruity zest was added to make it all go down easy. 

Maltail is attempting to add a sort of speakeasy class to the Sanlitun strip, an area generally filled with questionable bars of varying class and aesthetics, but we have to say they are doing a great job in terms of price, quality, and creating a comfortable venue to throw a couple back in the evening. 

That being said, much of the style reminded us of Hidden House, including the lighting and the staff uniforms. Though not much deviation in terms of style, it is definitely more spacious, with an intimate area upstairs that would be great for larger groups. This along with the warm lighting and nice selection of lounge-friendly tunes coming from the speakers, added to the comfortable and swanky vibe. Just make sure to check it out before it gets bombarded by the booze hungry savages of Sanlitun.

Photos: Kipp Whittaker