db Drinks: Flair at The Ritz-Carlton, Xi’an

During his visit to China’s Shaanxi Province, Douglas Blyde delves into the “surprisingly thoughtful” cocktail offering of The Ritz-Carlton in Xi’an.

Speedy lifts bring guests closer to culturally inclined cocktails at Flair bar on floor 27 of Ritz-Carlton hotel in capital of Shanxi province, Xi’an, the starting point of the Silk Road, and home of the Terracotta Warriors.

Design

Fronting the five-star’s lobby, a bright oval fountain commissioned by designer, Peter Remedios, joins its watery reflection to form the salient, fortunate figure of eight. Fed by eight rivers, according to lucid bar supervisor, Adam Chen, the area is famed for its eight scenic sites, alluded to in an all-new eight-strong menu. Uniting components from East and West, and often appointed thoughtfully vessels, drinks were designed by Beijing-based consultant mixologist, Colin Li. A sage of liquids, Li’s expertise ranges from wine, rice wine, and whisky, to sake, shochu, and even mineral water.

Drinks

Drawn from a menu novelly printed on the ribs of a traditional hand fan, we tried a trio of Li’s creations, interpreted by resident head bartender, Tavio Tian – as well as one of Tian’s off-menu endeavours.

However, well before entering Flair, we encountered one of their fatigue-busting cocktails in our bedroom. Taking the original name of the city, ‘Chang’an’ was presented over four shot glasses, comprising the local Xi Feng Jiu baijiu, pineapple juice, elderflower cordial, and lemon juice, plus ice and a shaker, and rosemary to garnish.

Embodying a tenet of Confucianism that a person should not be judged by their appearance, what looked at first like an unpromising, frothy, albeit-flower adorned Piña Colada turned out to harbour complexity. Named after the perpetually snow-capped Mount Tabai, ‘Tabai Snow’ combined Szechuan pepper and kumquat-infused Polish vodka with homemade hop syrup, cider, freshly whipped cream, lime, and orange Angostura bitters, resulting in a richly textured, long-lived, reassuringly bitter, grown-up drink.

Next, ‘Morning Bell’ referred to the bell tower of the city’s albeit 148ft tall, Small Goose pagoda, dating to the Tang era. Rung abruptly in front of guests in allusion to the ritual of morning monks, rosemary smoke was sensuously wafted over the drink from a brass model of the temple bell. This brightly united bedfellows, Cognac and Cointreau with pineapple and passionfruit.

Continuing the theatrics, ‘Caotang Smoke’ took the name of the temple at the foot of Mount Guifeng which is where tea-sipping monks translated the Buddhist Tripitaka. Cue Li’s use of a classic Chinese tea cup presented on waves of incense-infused smoke romantically representing those of the temple’s geothermal well. This delicate vessel brimmed with a contrastingly heady blend of tea-coloured Cognac and rice wine.

Dishes

While executive chef Andy Cai offers famous hand-pulled Xi’an noodles, as well as Cantonese and Teppanyaki cuisine, at other culinary outposts throughout the hotel, Flair favours fragrant South East Asian dishes such as a depthtful scallop-dotted Singapore laksa, and a light prawn and pomelo salad. When we challenged Tavio to deliver his own cocktail creation, he chose the latter as inspiration for ‘Gardenia’. Building on the base of Citadelle, a barrel-aged, sugar cane-enriched, Old Tom gin from France, he brought lime, elderflower, and cucumber together in a tall flute, applying a kaffir lime leaf from chef Cai’s kitchen as the finishing touch. Flair also offers well-aged USDA prime Angus striploin from a prominent, illuminated locker. To finish, scented with Grand Marnier, Cai’s signature dark Valrhona chocolate cake had almost as many tiers as the Ritz Carlton has floors.

Last word

Despite its generic exterior, this Eastern outpost of Ritz-Carlton delivered a surprisingly thoughtful, bespoke drinks menu in Flair. We eagerly look forward to the next instalment of their seasonal menu – perhaps the ‘Chang’An’ show by the mind behind the Olympics ceremony, performed at a purpose-built theatre, could provide the inspiration? There, antiquity meets AI, replete with dancing Terracotta Warriors, and a robot gyrating to the soulful tunes of an ancient ocarina.

Ritz-Carlton, No.50, Keji 2nd Road, Yanta District, Xi’an, Shaanxi Prov. 710075, China; +86 029 8881 8888; ritzcarlton.com