Luxury Hoteliers Magazine 3rd Quarter 2019 | Page 83

In staying with the theme, Resident Smuggler, Executive Mixologist Ulysse Jouanneaud leads the Big Fella and Bootleggers, the head barman and their bar team. Jouanneaud developed The Back Room’s original gin, The Bee’s Knees, distilling it in their Gin Laboratory through a combination of cold compression and vapor compression distillation. The dry, floral gin boasts juniper and ingredients native to the Philippines including malunggay (horseradish tree), dalandan (Philippine orange), sampaguita (Philippine jasmine), manzanilla (chrysanthemum and lay-ang dilaw (ginger). The entire process takes 8 days and guests interested in learning more about rare gins and the gin distilling process can attend a Masterclass by Jouanneaud in the Gin Laboratory. Shangri-La at the Fort, Manila, recently opened The Back Room, a 1920’s themed speakeasy clandestinely situated on 30th Street. Guests enter via the Back Room through double glass doors that lead to a subtle coat check and shoe shine station before being transported into a Roaring Twenties-themed bar decorated in forest green and black hues and adorned with Art Deco Furniture. ILHA 83