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When you think of Myanmar, French wine and Italian cold cuts probably don’t come to mind, but MOJO is setting out to change that. At this one-of-a-kind venue your mission is to relax, unwind and connect over a menu made for sharing. Here, management serves up a brilliant mix of Mediterranean and Indochine cuisine and tapas, along with an impressive list of wines, cocktails and shots, all designed to be enjoyed by groups of friends around large tables.
The decor is minimalist but unpretentious – think bare brick walls and wooden beams – the atmosphere is laid-back but festive, and there’s always something on. Come for the sangria jugs and tapas and stay for the themed party and all-night dancing.
highlightCategory: Drink
Creative cocktails, cool brews and local haunts
The Library: Singapore’s jazzy cocktail den
They say knowledge is power, and this speakeasy delivers in spades, serving up potent potions – if you can find it. Hidden among the cosmopolitan hustle of Keong Saik Road, the Library facade is an ever-changing pop-up shop. Whisper the password to the shop attendant (ask at the Study next door for the magic words) and step through a secret mirrored door into a clandestine wonderland. Let waves of moody blues and jazz wash over you as you take in the wall-to-wall display of liquor.
Here, cocktails aren’t the average fare – wildly imaginative and handcrafted to precision, they’re dazzling and delicious to boot. Get splashin’ with Shrub-A-Dub-Dub, a bubbly concoction of Ford’s gin, Amaro Montenegro, peach puree, lemon, ginger shrub, Moroccan bitters and a dash of Moscato D’Asti, served in a miniature bathtub (rubber ducky included). Drinks are hard on the wallet at around US$15 a pop, but who can say no to a tipple in a tub?
Sinking beers at the end of the world
It started as a dream concocted in a cell in the old Hobart Gaol, back in the 1820s. Today it’s one of the world’s most beautiful brewing establishments, crafting draughts, lagers and stouts with waters sourced from Tasmania’s Mount Wellington.
Take a tour of the gothic sandstone establishment – more a castle than a factory – and learn all about ex-con Peter Degraves and his brother-in-law Major Macintosh who made it their business to supply Australia’s island state with a generous supply of beer. After uncovering the brewery’s history, including the great fire that burned Cascade into an ashen shell back in 1967, and hearing how the beverages are made, you’ll shrug off your hi-viz vest and sample four different refreshing ales and ciders.
Beer Buffs Unite in Brooklyn
There was once a time, not so long ago, when Williamsburg wasn’t somewhere people visited. Now things are different and, even if they weren’t, it’d still be worth crossing the bridge to visit Brooklyn Brewery. From Monday to Thursday, the crew here runs bookable Small Batch Tours – part history lesson, part guided tasting – where you can ask questions and chill out afterwards.
On the weekends (it’s a no-tour zone on Friday), it’s a bit more laissez-faire with tickets for afternoon tours available on site an hour before. Order some pizza nearby, grab one of the seasonal brews and enjoy the atmosphere.
Brewing at High Altitude
The village of Monstein above Davos – most famous as the host city of the annual World Economic Forum – is home to the highest brewery in Europe. The tour of BierVision Monstein begins in a vintage bus, where you’ll learn about Davos and its spectacular landscape, before moving on to the historic village and finally the brewery.
From a small homebrew operation started by four mates back in 2001, this is now a fully fledged, full-scale operation. During this leg of the tour you’ll taste the beer at all stages of the process and hear about the challenges facing the brewers way up here in the clouds. The tour ends with a glass of either pale Huusbier or dark Wätterguoge, and a plate of award-winning beer cheese made by co-founder Andreas Aergerter.
Beers and Sake at Kiuchi Brewery
Originally a sake producer, Kiuchi – located in Naka, one-and-a-half hours by train from Tokyo – expanded production in 1996 and now creates Hitachino Nest beers using many of the techniques developed during almost 200 years of making rice wine.
Join the head brewer on a tour of the ultra-modern facilities, from brew house to bottling line, and take a taste straight from the tank. You’ll also get to check out the historic sake brewery, operational since 1823. It all finishes with a tasting of both beer and sake. Kanpai!
Après-ski at the legendary MooserWirt
Want to get a taste of the pub rumoured to sell more beer per square metre than any other in Austria? Then best head to St Anton’s Mooserwirt, just one of the legendary après-ski haunts on the run from Glazig to St Anton. At 3pm, the shutters are closed and the club begins – alternatively you can try and find a place on the packed sun terrace.
Before you hit Mooserwirt, though, you might want to have a sneaky stein and schnitzel further up the mountain at the Krazy Kanguruh. Next door at Taps is a little quieter if you want to ease into the afternoon. The other slightly more sedate (but hardly quiet) option is Griabli, with live rock, soul and blues from about 3.30pm each day.
Sip Cocktails at a Bali Sunset
There are few better places to catch a Balinese sunset than El Kabron, perched on the edge of the cliffs of Bingin Beach.
With Spanish cuisine complemented by sangria and a cocktail list to quench any thirst, this Mediterranean-style bar and restaurant feels a long way from the madness of the more touristy areas of Bali.
Get there an hour or so before sunset and laze by the pool watching the surfers line up for the Bingin break that has made this beach an increasingly popular destination.
South Island session
It’s an old-fashioned Dunedin beer house that specialises in traditional ales. Speight’s Brewery is a South Island institution, and the brewers still use the same equipment and techniques today as their predecessors back in the 1940s.
Go on a tour and you’ll get to see, smell, touch and taste the ingredients that go into Speight’s finest. Understand the beauty of the bumps and gurgles of the hand-operated machinery and hear why the brewers prefer this classic equipment to more modern gear. There’s a 30-minute session at the end of the tour where you can master the art of pouring – and drink your failures.
Slurp Mexican mezcal
Like its milky, viscous cousin pulque, mezcal is made from the fermented sap of the maguey plant, a form of agave. It tastes smokier than tequila and can sometimes be found with a large larva worm floating near the bottom.
Some believe drinking it can help control hypertension and diabetes, while others would rather think it’s an aphrodisiac. In Oaxaca, it’s traditionally served with a side of fried larvae.
There are many bars and stores selling mezcal in Mexico but the most popular and trendy spots are in Mexico City and Oaxaca, a region where many of the finer spirits are produced. You can take a tour of a distillery to find out how small-batch, artisinal mezcal is produced (yes, sampling is encouraged!).
Check out Corazón de Maguey, Los Danzantes, La Botica, Mexicano and Muruka in Mexico City.
