44 Bar at DR.Inc, Bangsar: Review

KL’s nomadic cocktail bar has moved again; 44 was born in Bangsar a year ago, occupying the Art Printing Works space for several months before travelling to The Row in the city centre in mid-2015. As the year edges to a close, CK & his merry band of mixologists are now back in Bangsar, setting up shop at the back of DR.Inc cafe this time, equipped with exciting new ideas.

44 at DR.Inc is the most upbeat & accessible incarnation of this pop-up bar so far – the familiar embellishments have been seamlessly transplanted here (all the matters is STILL that drink in your hand), complete with bottles galore of American craft spirits. But there are now cool new themes to look forward to – Thursdays bring the Hawaiian-inspired Tiki Takeover, while Sundays are devoted to day drinking, with Gin O’Clock commencing at noon to make the weekend much more effervescent.

The Thursday-only Tiki cocktail exclusives (RM38+) are drop-dead delicious – the Baba Banana is the next best thing to an island vacation, with top-flight Ragged Mountain Rum beautifully balanced with brandy, ginger, banana, lemon juice & Bar Keep Chinese bitters for deep dimensions of flavour. We were a little reluctant to have the Lychee Daiquiri, but it turned out to be one of our favourite lychee-based concoctions ever, with none of the cloying artifice that we initially expected, imbued instead with the rich, uplifting purity of Owney’s NYC rum, Luxardo Maraschino, lime, lychee puree & a juicy-fleshy lychee.

Alcoholic Ice Cream

Sundays mark a major highlight too – 44’s own-made alcoholic ice cream. We sampled the super-smooth spiced rum coconut ice cream, capped with airy mango espuma (lightly laced with bunga kantan), laid on a bed of rice crisps – elegantly mellow & engagingly textured. Customers can also expect ice cream inspired by cocktails like the Godfather & Negroni – a tempting reason to stop by on Sundays. Other plans in the pipeline include food & cocktail pairing menus. Thanks to 44 for hosting us.