World Martini Day is celebrated on the third Saturday of June every year. This year, I happened to be in Penang on that day, and since I did a roundup of great Martinis in Kuala Lumpur last year, this time I decided to do a quick bar hop around Penang as well.
But first, quick recap about what makes a Martini a Martini. The “official” recipe designated by the International Bartender’s Association (IBA) calls for a 6:1 gin to dry vermouth ratio.
However, the one on the official World Martini Day website, classifies a “Real Martini” martini as “a predominantly white spirit-forward cocktail mixed with aromatised wine”, where “51% or more of a cocktail must be made of white spirit and vermouth”.
Other ingredients like liqueurs and small amounts of other spirits can also be added to a ‘Real Martini’, thus making it “loose enough to give bartenders enough creative freedom”, but “tight enough that it precludes any cocktail that’s often just called a ‘Martini’ because it was served in a V-Shaped glass”, such as espresso martinis, breakfast martinis, and pornstar martinis.
My hop around Penang was quite eye opening, as the Martinis I tried actually adhered to that particular definition, but with very Malaysian twists.
My first stop was Backdoor Bodega. Not content with being the current holders of the World’s 50 Best Bars ‘Best Cocktail Menu’ title, the bar recently launched a new-ish menu called ‘Gems Of Georgetown’, created in conjunction with its 10th anniversary this year.
The menu comprises five new drinks as well as a four bar bites and snacks, all paying tribute to Georgetown’s rich heritage, food, and attractions (do try the Teh O Rum Limau, one of the best takes on the classic Malaysian beverage I've tried so far).
But I digress. On the menu, there is also the Reunion Martini, which draws inspiration from the way Penang’s strong diaspora community turns major festivals into reunion and homecoming seasons.
The drink melds the flavours commonly associated with those occasions (lychee, chrysanthemum, tea, etc) into one floral, bittersweet and yes, strong Martini, and even comes with an entire flower chrysanthemum in it.
A quick hop next door to Good Friends Club yielded another interesting Malaysian-themed Martini - the Ulam-Chazuke.
Inspired by the Japanese ochazuke dish, this cocktail blends a Japanese spirit called Wapirits Tumugi with local rice wine, and replaces the green tea traditionally used in ochazuke with locally grown ulam herbs such as Ulam Raja, betel and turmeric leaves, thus “reflecting Japanese philosophy in a uniquely Penang way”.
It is also served in a pottery vase crafted by local artist Daoshangshao, made with Penang soil and shaped according to Japanese principles.
One of the newest bars in Penang is Nomu Co at Hin Bus Depot, which is a project by Chef Kim Hock Su of Michelin-starred Penang fine dining restaurant Au Jardin, and Adrian Foo, formerly of Jigger & Pony in Singapore.
Foo happens to make one mean martini, so I decided to ask for a classic Vesper Martini, which is also on the bar's menu.
He made me a perfectly shaken Vesper that eschews Lillet for Cocchi Americano vermouth and a homemade sake vermouth that gives it a lot more depth and complexity than the usual Lillet alone would have.
Nomu also has an excellent Sakura Martini on its Signatures menu that uses a sakura leaves distillate and the same homemade sake vermouth to add a floral depth to the gin and shochu base drink.
The next day, I began my Martini hunt at Steep Social, another relatively new Penang bar.
Helmed by bartender couple Joe Ngui and Chew Qing Ting, who used to work in established bars in Singapore, Steep Social's current menu incorporates wine an tea into a ‘Double Terroir’ concept which “weaves two settings into one glass”.
My favourite drink here happens to be a Martini - the Steeper Vesper, made with Ketel One vodka, Umenoyado Gin, Steep Social Aromatised Wine, and Bai Ya Qi Lan tea.
Here, the extra citrusy notes of Umenoyado Gin gives a brightness to the drink that is balanced out by the mellowness of tea, and smoothen further by the vodka.
After a quick stop at the newly relocated Nomad for the Nori Martini, made with seaweed-infused gin and soy sauce for strong umami notes, and umeshu for a touch of sweetness, I arrived at The Nest where I got an off-menu Daiyame Martini, made with a Daiyame Shochu that actually had a lovely lychee nose and flavour.
I was looking forward to visiting Round this time around for its new King Arthur-inspired menu, and also to try the 'final form' of head bartender WK Boey’s bak-kwa martini, which I sampled last year when he was still developing it.
Now called the Sir Agravain (after one of King Arthur's knights), it has a lovely smoky bak kwa note that melds well with the gin, and also shiso to add a hint of grassy umaminess to the mix.
For my final Martini, I took a quick ride to Baobae in Pulau Tikus, where founder Tett Lim made me one of his bespoked martinis.
The off-menu Gettou Leaf Martini incorporated gettou leaf (a Japanese ginger-like herb from Okinawa) for a drink that reminded me of a combination between Bunga Kantan and Pandan, and served as a perfect end to my Penang Martini hop.
While I would have liked to have had a perfect 10 Martini count, eight from eight bars over two days is a pretty decent count, and the variety of the drinks surprised me quite a bit as well. Here’s to more Martinis in Penang!
Michael Cheang will never get sick of having Martinis. Follow him on Insgtagram (@mytipsyturvy) and Facebook (fb.com/mytipsyturvy).
