Shanghai Star Bartender Eddy Yang to Mix It Up at Beijing’s Park Hyatt China Bar, Mar 27-29

Kyle Mullin | Mar 26, 2018 2:30 pm | Add a comment | 2798 reads

Beijing cocktail lovers are in for a major treat, as one of Shanghai's top bartenders is set to begin his residency at the Park Hyatt's China Bar in the CBD from Mar 27-29. Eddy Yang, of Tailor's Bar fame and who now heads up the swanky, Shakespeare-themed Above the Globe in Shanghai's Jing'an area, will serve up a range of specialty cocktails inspired by some of The Bard's biggest themes. Ahead of his Park Hyatt stay, Yang tells us about what patrons can expect when they stop by to try his concoctions, along with dishing on which cocktails aren't getting their due.

What kind of drinks are you planning to prepare at the Hyatt Beijing?
For this pop-up event, I am bringing the theme of one of my bars to Beijing. Above The Globe has a mix of historical and modern classic elements all drawing from the works of William Shakespeare. So this time I prepared three cocktails based on the playwright themes history, comedy, and tragedy.

The history section is dedicated to classic cocktails that were common before the 1960s. My comedy cocktails are my own special creation and are meant to be delightfully refreshing. Then there are the tragedy cocktails, which are exactly as the name implies: strong and bitter!

The last one sounds intense, to say the least.
Yes, but when I say "strong" it doesn’t just mean alcohol volume. It's also a reference to heavier coffee or tea content. The bitterness of these drinks, meanwhile, is balanced in terms aroma and flavors.

What are some of the most underrated cocktails ever, and why should people give them a fairer shake?
I'd say Negroni. Also gin and tonic — people some says it's not even a cocktail! Then there's the Rob Roy. And there are plenty more cocktails that underrated.

Fair enough. Let's focus on gin and tonic, and what you think about it.
It's such simple, refreshing drink. But nowadays, there are more and more types of gin on our market, some great quality tonic water is produced, and thus gin and tonic has changed magnificently. Many bartenders are studying, looking for the perfect mix using different gins and tonic waters, and not only the most expensive ones.

How about the Negroni?
It's also a very simple drink, but it's hard to perfect, in the same way it's hard to entirely mess up! Ideally, it should have many layers of flavor. Instead of being the same drink from beginning till the last drop, you want to continually develop different tastes within it.

What cocktail trends do you predict will take hold throughout the rest of 2018, and why?
To answer that, we'd have to think about what happened in 2017. Shanghai and Beijing, the two leading cities in China's bar industry, have slowed down a bit and the gap between first-tier cities and second and even third are becoming smaller and smaller. In my opinion, this means the competition in Shanghai and Beijing has also become tougher because bar owners are facing higher rents, tougher location hunting, increases in staff salaries, and more difficulties. But this has pushed us to have new ideas.

We will never know what will be the new trends in the bar industry but it's clear that consumers are separated between classic cocktail lovers who understand drinks and are even knowledgeable about spirits, and douyin "photo drinkers" who always take selfies and pictures of pretty cocktails and venues for social media. If you don't keep that core idea in mind, you won't be ready for anything else.

Many people say Shanghai is a superior cocktail town to Beijing. What do you think?
I do think the bar culture and venue concepts in Shanghai are better than Beijing. This is due to history, local culture, and people. Shanghai was and still is one of the centers of the Far East since the early 20th century, meaning nightlife, imported spirits, and cocktails are nothing new. People are more open-minded here than anywhere else in China.

Eddy Yang will be the guest bartender at The Park Hyatt's China Bar from Mar 27-29. For more information, click here or see the poster below.