Adventures in Alcohol | Sloely does it: a sweeter take on the trendy Negroni
You won't pucker your mouth drinking this Mod Bar cocktail thanks to its use of sloe gin
I'm not sure if the bartender at Mod Bar is an uncle, but it's certainly true that everyone and his uncle is serving a Negroni these days. It's currently Hong Kong's hottest trend. Some of them are straight up, some come with a twist like barrel ageing or obscure, artisan and definitely premium ingredients.
Many are absurdly sour, but that's supposed to get the saliva flowing, the work of a pre-dinner sharpener.
At Mod Bar, below Tycoon Tann in Wellington Street, Central - which you might visit for its unique flights of Taiwanese whisky if you're not a cocktail fan - the sourness is tempered by the use of sloe gin. Sloes are related to plums and lend a sweetness to the drink that makes this version of the cocktail far less mouth-puckering than many of its relatives.
It would be nice if the bartender was called Bob but he's not; he's called Joseph.
How to make the sloe gin negroni at home
20ml Hayman's sloe gin