September 21, 2017

It’s hard not to be impressed with Atlas. Having only opened its doors in April, the gatsby-esque bar has garnered much attention due to its lofty ambitions to populate its shelves with over a thousand gins. Needless to say, these goals were met—the gin tower, a souped-up display of all things mildly medicinal and exotic will appease any hedonist. Atlas recently got nominated for best new international cocktail bar in Tales of the Cocktail, a recognition of its diligent efforts to cultivate within drinkers, a deeper love and understanding for the spirit, gin.

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Having been in the pipeline since its opening days, the Atlas Juniper Society is finally set to roll out its membership programme. Targeted at both gin aficionados and those who are simply gin-curious, the society aims to provide its members with an exclusive access to the world of gin. Engaging them through lessons on history, provenance and the articulate world of flavours.

I was fortunate enough to be included in the inaugural meeting of Atlas Juniper society and extremely honoured to be part of the 45 founding members. After a brief introduction, we were treated to a bit of liquid history. The vivacious Gin 1495 Verbatim, created from a recipe from a 1495 cookbook housed in Sir Hans Sloane’s (founder of the British museum) collection is unabashedly perfumed with spices, cinnamon and galangal. Possessing a sticky finish, the tipple struck me as more of a spice liquor than gin. The Interpretation, on the other hand, is the same recipe with the inclusion of botanicals more commonly used in modern day distillation. Delicious and more approachable.

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Lifetime membership to the exclusive society is set at $100. Members are entitled to privileged invitations to Juniper Society events, a personalised welcome gift, and Atlas Juniper Society pin as well as a welcome drink at the bar. The first Tuesday of the month, the society will host ‘Juniper Tuesday’ a gin tasting session and social hour led by either Atlas Master of Gin (Jason Williams), Head Bartender (Roman Foltan) or Gin Researcher (Jonathan Teo aka Bravo).

In the months to follow, Atlas will be hosting a bevy of gin-related events. Whitechapel hailing from San Francisco will be taking over the bar on September 25. Join Spanish Master Bartender David Rios as he takes you through a tasting of French G’vine gins on October 24. Then, on October 26, revel in the gin wisdom of  Maison Ferrand Alexandre Gabriel and APAC Brand Ambassador Micaela Piccolo as they unveil Citadelle Gin new bottle. Email info@atlasbar.sg to join the club.