Atlas digs into the history of bartending techniques with Preservation of Fire cocktail menu
Iconic Singapore bar Atlas has unveiled a new cocktail menu, Preservation of Fire. Created by Head Bartender Lidiyanah ‘Yana’ K along with the bar team, the menu invites guests on a journey through time, where influences and discoveries spanning centuries are celebrated via exquisite cocktails that showcase the evolving technical craft of bartending.
“Preservation of Fire’ is actually a quote from the Austrian composer, Mahler, in which he talks about how tradition is a force that can ignite innovation,” says Yana. “This menu is our love letter to the history of bartending; we can’t wait to narrate this story for our guests through a collection of cocktails that takes them on a historical journey that bridges the past with the present.”
The menu is broken into four chapters, each representing a technique used in bartending: Carbonation, Temperature, Washing, and Infusion. Four cocktails, each offering a classic style–Martini, Champagne Cocktail, Sour, and Old Fashioned–appear in each chapter, inviting drinks lovers to merge the quintessential with the modern. Each drink is listed alongside its ABV (Alcohol By Volume) to allow mindful drinking, and a fifth non-alcoholic cocktail concludes each chapter.
The Carbonation chapter opens with a gin cocktail, Priestley’s Company (28.7%, S$28), named after Joseph Priestley, who invented carbonated water in 1776. The Jubilee Royale (18.8%, S$26) brings together gin, rum, rose infused rosso vermouth, and raspberry liqueur before a splash of Champagne.
Showcasing the transformative power of Temperature, the next chapter brings Silver Bullet (19.8%, S$25 / $120 decanter, serves five), a lighter take on James Bond’s famous Vesper Martini, combining vodka and gin with the floral complexities of rose verjus and ylang ylang water; a frozen grape provides garnish, flavour and chill to the drink. Lombardi’s (15.7%, $25) transports guests to the historic pizzeria in Little Italy from which it was named, bringing savoury culinary notes of capsicum, sweetcorn, lime and chile combined with pisco, shaken with rosemary and served with a torched basil mozzarella garnish.
Washing journeys back to the 17th Century origins of the milk punch, an technique of ‘washing’ spirits with dairy or fats. This process enriches the spirit with flavour before filtration and clarification returns it to its clear form. Electric Club (34%, S$26) is a butter-washed bourbon Old Fashioned with layers of complexity, utilising the nutty essence of Frangelico liqueur alongside chocolate bitters, sherry and the botanical Amaro Nonino. Enfleurage (15.3%, $27), named after a delicate technique for extracting delicate floral scents for perfume, is a sour style cocktail combining butter washed gin with sherry, citrus and geranium, shaken with aer to provide texture.
The final chapter covers the technique of Infusion, in which bartenders steep botanicals, herbs and spices in a liquid to extract vibrant flavours. The non-alcoholic Age of Discovery (N/A, S$18) utilises Seedlip Spice with raspberry-infused Italian soda and a passionfruit vanilla syrup. On the spirited side, The Debutante (7.5%, S$25) makes a glamorous entrance by utilising the cutting-edge technique of sous pression, infusing cherries into gin, Oloroso sherry, and champagne.
Adrian Pack is responsible for the menu’s illustrations, which draw inspiration from spirits advertisement posters through history. The menu continues to feature all the Atlas favourites, from the Atlas Martini to the Atlas French 75, and guests can still select their ultimate Gin & Tonic from the bar’s impressive gin collection using an illustrative ‘wheel’ pairing flavour notes with the perfect tonic.
For more information, head over to the bar’s official website.