At Bar Trigona, it's clear that sustainability and provenance are key considerations when crafting cocktail menu. Tatler catches up with bartender Marcus Kwok to gain more insight on this subject. 

See also: Backdoor Bodega Founder Koh Yung Shen on His Journey to Becoming One of Asia's Best Bars

Working closely with the local communities when it comes to crafting your cocktail menu has obviously worked out well for you. Can you tell us more about this?

The main thing is to raise awareness about Malaysian ingredients. It's true that other bars here are adopting local ingredients as well but we take it to the next level by making it more fun and sustainable. We demonstrate hat you can use these ingredients to make your own cordial or syrup, and even ferment them. So there are different ways of using the ingredients. 

What are the challenges?

Sometimes the ingredient itself poses a challenge. For instance, in our last menu we focused on four herbs. It was easy to work with pandan and lemongrass as they are quite common, but pegaga herb was more unusual. The first time we tasted it, it was bitter and grassy, and it took some time for us to figure out how to incorporate it in a cocktail because we really wanted to highlight it. So we tried a lot of different ways. We couldn't make it into a syrup because it's too bitter. We ended up fermenting and turn it into kombucha. Then we added sugar. The pegaga kombucha was sweet and sour. 

So you literally transformed its flavour profile?

Yes, we masked the bitterness. Whenever we work with an unfamiliar ingredient, the first thing we do is understand its DNA, understand its flavours. After that it becomes easier.

How do you decide what to focus on when it comes to creating a new menu?

First, the supply (of ingredients) from the farm must be consistent. It won't do to have supply this week and none the next week. Second, I always make sure that the drinks can be understood by our guests—I won't do something crazy. At the same time, I want to do something local that showcases Malaysian culture.

Tell us more about the claypot-aged cocktails you have here.

We approached different Four Seasons bartenders around the world and asked them if they wanted their cocktails to be featured here.

Any highlights?

Seelbach by Ashish Sharma (Bar Trigona's former beverage manager). I wanted to highlight him because he was part of the opening team. And he created this cocktail specifically for this bar and for this claypot. 

How does ageing a cocktail affect its flavours?

We usually age it up to 10 days to make the cocktail more rounder, smoother and cleaner. If I serve you two Old-Fashioned, one freshly made and one aged in claypot, you'll find the latter to be smoother and mellower.

Are classic cocktails still important to have on the menu?

They are a must. They are important because all cocktails came from classic cocktails. We get a lot of our inspiration from classic cocktails. 

What makes a good cocktail menu?

When it's more than just about the drinks. The drink breaks the ice to inspire someone to find out more about it. We like to share stories with them and for them to learn something. We have something called honey tasting, so if the guest expresses an interest to learn more we will bring out some honeys for them to try. 

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