From Kanye West to Slipknot—peek at the eclectic playlist of Chanel Adams, who created the drinks menu for new bar Candour
Good music is integral to a great night out, but at new bar Candour, the playlist has formed a foundation of the venue's development since the beginning. Hip hop tracks inspire every cocktail on the menu—from a strawberry and rhubarb Scotch whisky sour inspired by the 21 Savage and Metro Boomin song, Runnin', to The Chronic, a liquid-based tribute to Dr. Dre and Snoop Dogg—all devised by mixologist Chanel Adams.
Although hip hop forms the backbone of the Candour concept, Adams, originally from the US, has a wildly eclectic taste in music that charts her personal journey from studying law at university to moving to Washington DC and beginning her journey to becoming a world-class bartender under the tutelage of cocktail innovator Miguel Lancha at Barmini by José Andrés.
Adams first moved to Hong Kong to collaborate on the drinks menu at May Chow's Happy Paradise, and has since worked as commercial director for Merchants of Pleasure while beverage consulting for Double Shot by Cupping Room. In January this year, she was introduced to restaurant group Common Abode co-founders Nelson Htoo and Elin Fu, and began working as a beverage consultant on Candour, the sexiest new venue on Peel Street, Hong Kong's emergent nightlife area in Soho.
Here, she selects her five favourite tracks:
'Ultralight Beam' - Kanye West
This is my go-to song when I want to get creative and inspire myself to make my cocktails unique. The first song selection is vital for me to get in the right frame of mind and take me where I need to be in this creative process. On a personal level, it's the combination of gospel singing and Chance the Rapper's voice that I find beautiful and inspiring. Even though I am not religious, it hits home and I am able to channel these emotions into a special drink.