#mistralrooftopbar

Formerly called Mirèio Terrace, Mistral Rooftop Bar is a chic and stylish bar nestled on the 10th floor of Raffles Makati. To get here, guests have to go through the entrance of Mirèio, the hotel’s signature French restaurant on the 9th floor (Read: Mirèio Opens in Raffles Makati With Provençal-inspired Menu) and head up the stairs to reach this hidden oasis.

This breezy bar and lounge has space for around 70 guests and offers cool cocktails created by the hotel’s expert mixologists. Open daily from 5:00pm to 1:00am, Mistral Rooftop Bar is one of my favorite hangout spots in the city, especially with their bubbly happy hour promotions surrounded by Makati’s glittering skyline.

Aside from the al fresco roof deck, Mistral also has an indoor dining area when the weather is not cooperating or for those who prefer air-conditioning. This is where we were treated yesterday to a preview of the fight night between these two gladiators.

From the most stylish rooftop bar of Bangkok, Thailand, Kishan Rampersad brings his dynamic cocktails and signature drinks to Raffles Makati. Prior to his current post at SO Sofitel Bangkok, Kishan has traveled around the world including Abu Dhabi, Malaysia, Vietnam, and the Maldives to conduct beverage trainings for various international luxury hotel chains.

Our very own Auei Benisano is definitely no pushover as he was hailed Champion in the recent Philippine finals of the Ophir Gin Global Cocktail Competition 2019 and in the Pisco Bauza Competition 2018. 

Both fighters have their specific weapon of choice for today’s battle. Kishan Rampersad will be bringing one of Thailand’s most popular craft gins called Iron Balls Gin. With its distinctly-shaped bottle, this gin is handmade from fermentation to distillation using freshly cracked coconuts and pineapples with hints of juniper, hillside ginger and lemongrass. Auie Benisano will be representing the Philippines’ most awarded craft gins, the Serena Dry Gin and the Serena Blue Pea Gin from Destileria Barako. The Serena Blue Pea Gin is distilled with 14 different Botanicals including sampaguita, pink pomelo, and blue pea flower.

Judging today’s competition will be the Philippines’ drinking and dining champion, The Hungry Kat! Guests will also have the chance to cast their votes for the winner during the Thrilla in Manila Bar Takeover. So who will win this colossal three-round match? Let’s get ready to rumble!!!

Kishan opens Round 1 smoking with his impressive Laab Moo, a "meaty” gin cocktail using Iron Balls Gin combined with laab spice syrup, lime juice, mint, egg white, and mint. Laab is a traditional meat salad from Laos and it gives this unique gin its savoury notes. The concoction is then smoked and topped with a slice of crispy bacon to complete its presentation.

The unusual combinations of flavors and spices make this cocktail quite confusing at first, but after a few sips, I got to appreciate its subtle hints of fruity notes together with the egg white and savoury components. I ended up liking it not just for its presentation but also for its exotic blends.

Auie fights back with his own creation called Purple Hoax. This cocktail is a colorful combination of Sirena Blue Pea Gin, lemon, grapefruit cucumber shrub, pomelo syrup, and ginger beer. 

Its changing and contrasting layers of colors make this a show in itself, but the best feature of this beverage is its sweet floral and fruity tastes. I give the first round to Auie.

Round 2 begins with Kishan’s G & Thai Tea which brings out the flavors of Thailand. Iron Balls Gin is mixed with black Thai tea, infused all-spice lime syrup, tonic water, and cointreau orange milk foam to make this a creamy and milky cocktail experience. You will never have milk tea this good!

Not to be outdone, Auie presents his similarly named G & Sea featuring the flavors of the sea and the Philippines. Using Sirena Blue Pea Gin as its base, he combines this with lime bitters, lemon grass, tonic water, ginger, nori, and dalandan. The ginger taste was prevalent with this cocktail, so I’ll give the second round to Kishan.

For the final round, So Kish saved his best for last. The Mango Sticky Rice Martini is a Thai dessert turned into a cocktail. Its Iron Balls Gin base is combined with mango sticky rice cordial, fresh lemon juice, mancino rosso, plus lemon and lime bitters. The sweet mango flavors go well with the gin base, making this a fruity favorite.

Auie then presents his final cocktail, the Aurum 53, it’s name a play on gold and iodine elements. This one comes with Sirena Dry Gin plus lemon, golden tepache, and salted kiat kiat tincture. The complementing notes go well together, but my vote for this final round still goes to Kishan.

Of course, I’m just one of the judges that afternoon and the grand championship trophy for Thrilla in Manila Bar Takeover eventually went to Auie Benisano on a very close fight. This was just a preview so imagine how epic the battle will be tonight and tomorrow at the Mistral Rooftop Bar. Their Sips & Sunsets Happy Hour is available daily from 5:00pm to 8:00pm for only P1,010+ per person featuring free-flowing cocktails and wines. You can also get 50% off on all beverages by the glass during happy hour. Specialty cocktails from the two expert mixologists will also be available during the event for P550 per drink until 10:00pm. So head over to Mistral Rooftop Bar in Raffles Makati and catch the fight of the century!

Mistral Rooftop Bar

10/F Raffles Makati, 1 Raffles Drive, Makati Avenue, Makati City

7795-0707

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