At gin parlour Maze, drinkers are encouraged to enjoy the juniper-based spirit any way they like.
Maze's bar | Photo: Shaffiq Farhan/Malaysia Tatler
Coffee saloon by day and gin parlour by night, Maze at Menara Lien Hoe is another welcoming addition to the growing number of speciality bars springing up around town.
Gin drinkers will be pleased to know that the bar has over 100 varieties of gin bottles (and growing) to offer in an eclectic setting that draws influences from many different styles of decor.
The bar hopes to give both gin newcomers and veterans the chance to taste the juniper-based spirit in whatever way they like.
How? With the bar's gin sum cart of course. What's a gin sum cart you may ask? Remove your mind's image of tea house ladies pushing carts full of steamed dumplings and instead swap it with a cart full of fruit, vegetables and artisanal tonic waters to garnish your gin of choice.
Maze's gin sum cart | Photo: Shaffiq Farhan/Malaysia Tatler
Drinkers who order the cart will find cuts of kiwi, cucumber, apple, pineapple, mango and all sorts of interesting choices to pair with their spirit. A number of artisanal tonic water choices are also available, making for a fun and engaging experience that will keep you coming back for more.
Some of the choices available on the gin sum cart | Photo: Shaffiq Farhan/Malaysia Tatler
Of the gins we sampled with our gin cart experience, we recommend having Gold's gin with grapefruit or Caorunn gin with kiwi, honeydew and cucumher.
In the cocktail department, here are four top pics:
The Reviver
Photo: Shaffiq Farhan/Malaysia Tatler
Made with Gordon's, fresh lime juice, black berries and elderflower, The Reviver is a drink that is ideal to start with. Taking a sip will immediately bring the taste of the gin to the front but the heavy berry notes come next, making for an interesting play on flavours.
Love Potion
Photo: Shaffiq Farhan/Malaysia Tatler
If cupid were to craft a cocktail, it might look something like this. A pretty drink topped with floral petals, the drink itself is an alcoholic take on one core ingredient: rose. A rosey taste with a smooth kick of Ford's gin at the end, the drink has a frothy top to play down the honeyed notes, resulting in a feminine flavour profile.
Lemon-Gin Fizz
Photo: Shaffiq Farhan/Malaysia Tatler
If you prefer your gin more sour than sweet, this cocktail should be right up your alley. While the Lemon-Gin Fizz looks intimidating because of it's matte chalice, the drink itself is quite tame. It is an easy-to-pick-up light bodied drink with a blast of lemon at the end.
Sangria
Photo: Shaffiq Farhan/Malaysia Tatler
A gin-soaked take on the popular sangria cocktail, the drink itself tastes more like wine than gin. Easy to drink with subtle influences of fruit and gin, its sweetness make it an ideal choice to sip on all night. Also available in a white wine version.
There's another gin-focused bar in town: read our review on Pahit