When Bangkok's award-winning mixology meets Hyderabad, you don't miss the invite. Saturday night was the 1970 Bar x Visk Bar Takeover at Taj Deccan Hyderabad — Pond & Bank, the bartending duo from Bangkok's 1970 Bar, taking over Visk for one night, in partnership with The House of Suntory.
1970 Bar takes its name from the year Dusit Thani Bangkok itself opened, and it lives inside the hotel — so the name is basically a nod to the property's own history. Also, this wasn't my first Taj bar takeover — they've been doing a run of these lately, and I hope it keeps going.
The menu was built entirely around Suntory's Japanese spirits — Toki Whisky, Roku Gin, Haku Vodka — each one anchoring its own cocktail: Bird And Serpent, a smoky tropical highball of Toki, pineapple and coconut under a smoked foam; Made of Iron, a velvety clarified milk punch of Toki, banana, sherry and coffee; Stockman, a crisp Roku Gin highball with clarified grape, melon and Riesling; and Unscripted, a silky clarified yoghurt milk punch of Haku Vodka, pineapple and peach, finished with pineapple and passion fruit caviar.
Watching Pond and Bank work was the actual show — clarified milk punches, smoked garnishes, ingredients I wouldn't have paired on my own, all handled with the kind of precision that only comes from running a bar that's genuinely considered one of the best in Bangkok.
An unforgettable night of world-class bartending, refined flavours and the kind of luxury hospitality Taj Deccan does well. Filed under Binger Diaries — no verdict needed, just a very good evening.