Visiting Mixologist Stuns With Rapid-Fire Bartending at Atmosphere

Luca Cinalli is over at Atmosphere at China World Summit Wing making craft cocktails 80 floors up and at top speed until Saturday (May 17) – make sure to catch him if you can. Cinalli hails from London's Nightjar bar, which was voted the second best bar in the world by Drinks International 2013.

Really though, Cinalli didn't need any fancy introduction to impress us. It was enough to observe the mixology maverick in action. When he swung that cocktail shaker, his arms moved so quickly, they looked like they were made of rubber. He tossed around spices and poured liquors using sleight of hand. We half expected the cocktails to disappear before they even reached our table.

See for yourself in the video above where he prepares The Scotsman (through, apologies, toaster filters and prancing deer). Cinalli is known around London as "the king of garnishing," which explains why it looks as though he went shopping for his cocktail ingredients in a fairy forest. The Scotsman is fleece flower infused Scotch whisky, sweet sesame paste, fresh lemon juice, egg white, fake licorice soda, and calamus dust. Calamus dust.

When I Bing-searched "calamus dust," I got this:

So there you go. Blame Bing if you want, but the proof is in the pudding.

Here's the deal straight from Atmosphere's press release:

"Luca, who overwhelms customers with his speed, is equally impressive with his consistency. His movements behind the bar are mesmerising and evoke the style of a world-class magician. The audience never knows quite what he is doing."

For more information on this magic man or to make a reservation, call 8571 6459 or email restaurantreservations.cwsw@shangri-la.com.

Photos: Jessica Rapp