It’s All in the Mix: Cocktails & Jazz with Apothecary’s Leon Lee

Multicursal mastermind Leon Lee, previously of jazz-spot OT Lounge, has opened a new bar, Apothecary, in Sanlitun’s Nali Patio. His partners in the venture comprise a dedicated team of fellow Beijing food and drink impresarios (Max E. Levy – Chef du cuisine at The Opposite House’s Bei, and the duo behind Er whiskey bar: Motonari Uchiyama and Daisuke Onishi). Together, this brain trust has created a contemporary cocktail bar infused with the buzz and vigor of a vintage New Orleans joint, boasting a vast selection of fine beers, liquor and Creole food. Agenda sat down with Leon to discuss cocktail crafting, the inspiration behind Apothecary and jazz in Beijing.

What is the concept behind Apothecary?
It was inspired by Japanese bartending techniques, combined with a long lineage of vintage American cocktails, and complimented by contemporary Creole cuisine and bar snacks. The idea was to create a sophisticated and comfortable space for food and drink lovers. The value is in the quality of our products, friendly service, and the cheerful environment.

What distinguishes a good cocktail from an average one?
Attention to detail. Apothecary strives to do a lot of little things well in hope that the whole is more than the sum of its parts. You can watch our bartenders at work and get a little hint of the strides cocktails have made in this latest international mixological renaissance.

The hardship of the job is drinking a lot of mediocre cocktails to arrive at one we feel is worthy of serving our clientele. When I see their faces light up and their shoulders deescalate, it’s worth it.

What makes Apothecary different from other cocktail bars?
Well, it’s possible that 50% of our cocktails appear on no other menu in Beijing. Each cocktail we put on the menu is researched, tested and refined several rounds over to make what we feel are high quality drinks at a price that reflects value. Our signature is the care we invest into every detail of the process of making a good drink: from the ice blocks that we chisel into cubes (the water we used has been distilled four times), to the flavor profiles of each brand of spirits, and whether it compliments or detracts from the other ingredients, to the dilution depending on the glassware. I’m not sure how much time other bartenders take in exploring this stuff, but a chef at a restaurant would consider these factors, so why shouldn’t a bartender?

What made you choose a Creole inspired menu for Apothecary?
New Orleans is not only the birthplace of American jazz and the American cocktail, but also the capital of Creole cuisine. New Orleans Creole food is an old colonial fusion cuisine – not unlike Macanese or French-Vietnamese cuisines – with centuries of development and maturation influenced by French, Spanish, Italian, African, Native American and Cajun cooking methods and ingredients. For years, many restaurants also served cocktails and the bars also served Creole food, so in New Orleans, food and drink has been immersed together for some time: they complement each other perfectly. It wasn’t necessarily a choice we made, but a matter of how to understand the heritage and look for our own ways to express it in a way that works for where we are and who our clientele is.

Who’s in the kitchen cooking the dishes?
Max E. Levy, chef de Cuisine of Bei is a New Orleans native and my business partner. He cut his teeth in NYC at some of its finest establishments (The Tasting Room, Megu, Craft, Jewel Bako, Sushi Yatsuda, etc). Max’s treatment of his hometown cuisine is infused with culinary techniques, old – like the blackened fish in the blackened sea bream salad – and new – he applies molecular gastronomy methods to our gumbo and red beans & rice. Apothecary’s take on Creole food is from a contemporary perspective: To lose a lot of the fat and cholesterol without sacrificing flavor and heartiness. We really should have changed our name to “Handmade” to accurately frame our credo; it would definitely be easier to pronounce than Apothecary!

Can you describe Apothecary in three words?
How about four, and a hyphen? Culinary cocktails, hand-crafted eats.

You mentioned New Orleans being the origin of jazz. What do you think of the Beijing jazz scene?
I opened OT Lounge (now defunct) in an effort to inject some fresh energy into the Beijing jazz scene and have had the opportunity to get to know an emerging generation of jazz musicians. I hope to know these people for a good long time and build a community together, similar to what SambAsia has been able to accomplish with Brazilian samba.

Can you tell us a little bit about SambAsia Beijing?
SambAsia Beijing was created out of a very successful week-long workshop I curated for the now-defunct Dashanzi International Art Festival (DIAF) 2006. I saw a need among young people here for this type of community and decided to invest in nurturing this energy to fruition. We’ve got a long way to go still in realizing our vision in creating a full-fledged samba school and I am grateful to have received the support of the Embassy of Brazil, the Governor’s Office of the State of Bahia, and BRAPEQ (a ‘Brazilians in Beijing’ community group). BRAPEQ invited our members to Salvador, Bahia to perform as part of world-famous Olodum. There are people who spend the better part of their samba lives hoping to perform with Olodum and we were really fortunate to have the opportunity. Being accepted as family by the Brazilian community in Beijing is about as high an honor as we can hope for – Obrigado Brasileiros!

Where do you like to go to catch some live jazz in Beijing?
I go wherever the musicians are playing. In this city jazz musicians are ranked under DJs and rock bands, so live jazz is usually an un-ticketed performance, meaning the musicians make pennies compared to the DJs and rockers. You don’t want to know where I’ve ended up to hear good live music!

Any suggestions on who to check out?
I’d say go hear these musicians anywhere they are playing. I believe these are the young lions of Beijing’s up-and-coming music scene:
- Guqin master – Wu Na
- Pianist/composer – Xia Jia
- Trombonist/composer – Yang Ming
- Beijing New Music Ensemble
- Mamer
- Huzi (best known as the masked guitar man in Pet Conspiracy)

Where do you enjoy going in Beijing for a good dining experience?
It really depends on what I’m feeling like, who I’m with and how much cash is burning a hole in my pocket. Bei for sushi; Private Kitchen 44 for suan tang yu (酸汤鱼); Maison Boulud for a very long brunch; Mosto for lunch; Manzo for the Nagoya-style chicken wings. For comfort food, I have been going to e.a.t. recently for the omelettes, sausage and pepper sandwich, croque madame, lasagna, apple tart and scones with the best coffee in town.

What Beijing bars do you frequent (besides your own)?
Kuroki-san at Ichikura is one of my favorite bartenders and I go there now and again to hang out. Other than that, I go to Er for some bourbon with my kimchee-bacon pizza.

Apothecary
Tue-Sat 6pm-late. 3/F, Nali Patio, 81 Sanlitun Beilu, Chaoyang District. (5208 6040) 朝阳区三里屯北路81号那里花园3层

Bei
Mon-Sat 5.30-10pm. B1/F, The Opposite House, Bldg 1, The Village at Sanlitun, 11 Sanlitun Lu, Chaoyang District. (6410 5230, info@beirestaurant.com) www.beirestaurant.com 朝阳区三里屯路11号三里屯Village1号楼瑜舍地下1层

Er
Daily 6pm-2am. 1/F, Longbao Dasha, 36 Maizidian Jie, Chaoyang District
(6591 5926) 朝阳区麦子店街36号 龙宝大厦1层

Ichikura
2/F, Chaoyang Theater, 36 Dongsanhuan Beilu, Chaoyang District. (6507 1107) 朝阳区东三环北路36号

Maison Boulud
Mon-Fri 11.30am-2pm, 6-10.30pm; Sat-Sun 11am-4pm, 6-10.30pm. Ch’ien Men 23, 23 Qianmen Dongdajie, Dongcheng District. (6559 9200) 东城区前门东大街23号

Mosto
Daily noon-2.30pm, 6-10.30pm. 3/F, Nali Patio, 81 Sanlitun Beilu, Chaoyang District. (5208 6030) 朝阳区三里屯北路81号那里花园3层

Private Kitchen
44 Daily 11am-11pm. 44 Xiguan Hutong, Beixinqiao, Dongcheng District. (6400 1280) 东城区细管胡同44号

Sake Manzo
1) Daily 11.30am-2pm, 6pm-midnight. 27 Liangmaqiao Lu, Anjialou, Chaoyang District. (6436 1608); 2) Mon-Fri 6pm-midnight; Sat-Sun 11.30am-2pm, 6pm-midnight. 1/F, Yilongfang, Yilongtai Apartment, 28 Panjiayuan
Nanli, Chaoyang District. (8770 8767) 1) 朝阳区安家楼亮马桥路27号; 2) 朝阳区潘家园南里28号漪龙台公寓伊龙坊1层