Coconuts Hot Spot: Copper Bar

So you’ve been to your share of speakeasies, you know every hush hush establishment’s secret doorway and you’ve had hours of banter with the mixologist at every arty hole-in-the-wall bar. What now? It’s time to dive into the realm of steampunk. Opened in November, Copper looks like a workshop taken straight from a Jules Verne novel with fanciful sketches of airships and analytical engines adorning the walls. For a place with such literary connections, they could only specialise in one drink – gin.

A beverage of choice for those with a creative streak, gin takes centre stage at Copper with somewhere between 50 and 80 labels available at any given time. The range spans standards like Beefeater and Plymouth ($12), craft favourites Sipsmith and Death’s Door ($18) and perennial top-shelf residents Botanist and Monkey 47 ($20-$22). They also have an extensive collection of house infused gins ($18) – apple, cinnamon, lemon peel, raisin, star anise and tom yam, just to name a few.

Bartender Jason Ng can whip up cocktails to your specifications here, but you won’t really have to go beyond the two most popular ways of having gin. The “T” in their G&Ts is East Imperial’s Burma Tonic, made with a family recipe that dates back more than a century, and from Mondays to Wednesdays, you can make the most of their $10 special on a chosen gin of the week.

Photo: Copper’s bartender Jason Ng

For an extra $4, you can also “martinise” anything on their list, which is the option we went for. With a base of Gabriel Boudier’s Saffron Gin, an exotic amber liquid from France driven by juniper and coriander, Ng stirred up a crystal-clear martini with Mancino Bianco Ambrato Vermouth. There can’t be many better ways to get to know a gin – the slightly sweet artisanal vermouth frames and embellishes the botanicals, making them more apparent to a drinker trying it for the first time.

Photo: Saffron Gin Martini from Copper, $10 from Monday to Wednesday

Somewhat surprisingly, considering the differences between the two venues, the folks behind Copper also run Oyster Bar at Customs House. The European menu of the latter influences the former – you can complement your drink with a terrine and rillettes platter or pork Milanese pepita (both $18) – but there are also some Asian-inspired dishes. We sampled the babi guling tacos ($18), succulent slices of spicy Balinese roast pork wrapped in lightly toasted tortillas, which paired well with the correspondingly lively martini.

Photo: Babi guling tacos at Copper, $18

Copper will be opening an upstairs dining area in early 2015, so we’ll be back soon.

Copper is at 10 Jiak Chuan Rd., 6222-5565. Open Mon-Sat 5pm-midnight (opening hours to be extended at a later date).

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