Perfect coktails for Pride Month | Lifestyle.INQ

OCTOBER 27, 2022

Perfect coktails for Pride Month

Before the Poblacion pubs came about, there was Buddha-Bar—and it is still serving party lounge realness.

With a giant rainbow flag draped from its second story railing, Buddha-Bar Manila recently celebrated Pride Month with the Geisha Night soiree featuring event-exclusive cocktails.

As the DJ played hits from Cher and Abba, we talked to bar manager Krisca Labrague who recently joined in from Dubai to revamp Buddha-Bar’s drinks list.

Perfect coktails for Pride Month
Geisha? Gay “siya”! Celebrating Pride at Buddha-Bar’s Geisha Night with fun cocktails by a giant rainbow flag —PHOTOS BY IRENE PEREZ

She mixed for us Modern Geisha, a pretty vodka-based cocktail with layers of mango and blue curaçao. It’s slightly sweet, but with a slow kick.

If you like mojito, you’d love Silk Kimono—a gin and tonic with a kiwi-cucumber twist, plus refreshing mint. This is our favorite; great with food, too.

Whiskey fans could try the Nagasaki, a version of the Old Fashioned (usually bourbon, sugar and bitters), but with spiced rum. It has a dark, elegant berry taste brought about by the crème de cassis, a liqueur made of crushed black currants.

Served in a lowball glass, Flower Town is actually fruity, and topped with a real daisy. It has rum, coconut, mango and passion fruit, and reminds us of piña colada.

Perfect coktails for Pride Month Perfect coktails for Pride MonthAsian Persuasion was all about exotic eleganza. It’s a tall bamboo tumbler of rum and fragrant chamomile.

The Geisha Night drinks are limited-edition specials, but they can be requested from the bar, so it’s kinda a “secret menu,” Labrague said.

We also asked her about the bar-tending mystery of putting two straws in a drink when one or none would suffice: “First is for stirring, the other is for sipping, and a spare since paper straws get soggy.”

The Ultimate

On any night, guests may order the signature cocktail, The Ultimate, a combination of “secret rum mix,” maraschino liqueur, Cointreau, pineapple, passion fruit and almond milk presented in a trumpet glass.

Perfect coktails for Pride Month
The Ultimate rum cocktail

Did you know that the first Buddha-Bar was established in the late ’90s in Paris? The Manila branch has been around since 2012, and got popular for its bar chow: sushi rolls, deep-fried dim sum, caramel popcorn.

Marketing manager Arvin Blanco said there will be a new “modern Asian menu” soon, so diners can revisit the OG Instagram-friendly Makati hangout with plush couches, a grand staircase and literally a golden Buddha.

Visit https://buddhabarmanila.com

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