The Bamboo Bar

"Head bartender Jamie Rhind took a different approach when creating drinks for Bamboo Bar’s Thailand-inspired “Compass” menu. Instead of trying to mimic dishes as cocktails, he uses the food as inspiration by using the same ingredients but combining them in his own way. Like Hang Lay, a take on northern curry gaeng hung lay, which mixes Phraya Rum with zesty turmeric, ginger and tamarind. Teetotalers will be impressed by Khao Lam, a combination of smoky sticky rice, coconut, and beans that does the snack of sweet custardy sticky rice in bamboo tubes justice." - Veronica Inveen

"The Bamboo Bar, located in the Mandarin Oriental hotel—Bangkok’s Grand Dame—is a legendary home to jazz. Some might call this a jazz bar with great drinks; others say it’s a cocktail bar with great jazz. Either way, guests have enjoyed The Bamboo Bar since 1953 (though, it was redone in late 2014, with leopard- and zebra-print cushions and cane furniture); the iconic space has hosted the likes of Ray Charles, Duke Ellington, Dionne Warwick, Louis Armstrong, and Mick Jagger. The cocktails show their respect for the history of the bar—and for Thailand. The Thaijito, a rum concoction with crushed ice and muddled lemongrass and brown sugar, has been on the menu for decades—it’s a favorite drink of Pierce Brosnan." - Ashley Niedringhaus

"Jamie Rhind, The Bamboo Bar, Bangkok Poison Of Choice: Tom Kai Gai. It is named after a famous Thai soup that is made with coconut milk, ginger, kaffir lime leaves and lemongrass. The soup has been deconstructed and revamped into a refreshing highball. Inspiration: “We want to take people around Thailand through cocktails. This cocktail is from the Central region called Ari, which has lots of markets that sell amazing street food. People from all over the world come to Thailand for its food, so it’s great to be able to bring it to other countries. For the Tom Kai Gai cocktail, we fat-wash tequila with coconut oil to grab its flavour and texture before shaking the mixture with lemongrass syrup, lime, kaffir lime leaves and coriander bitters. The cocktail is then topped up with ginger beer." - Kenneth Goh