It's not very often you find yourself in one of the top 50 best bars in Asia. Even better it's a rum bar. And better still it's 80s month!
The Jungle Bird is aptly named after the classic rum cocktail invented in Kuala Lumpur's Hilton Aviary Bar back in the 1970s. Situated to the west and like many great bars in the city, the Jungle Bird adopts a "speakeasy" approach to the entrance with only a single sign and inconspicuously illuminated staircase providing entrance to the bar. Have no fear though, once inside you are transported both visually and tastefully into a delicious rum bar.
It's a galley like layout with the bar to the back of the venue. On each side barstools and booths provide cozy seating all the way up to the 1st floor window looking out to the outside world. Bamboo trims feature heavily along with whicker candle holders and flamingos on each table. My favourite feature is the wallpaper. Shimmery gold foliage is a really unique touch.
The main event though is definitely the bar itself. The Jungle Bird has a phenomenal array of rums which in an unusual twist has been broadly categorised by Divy - the founder of The Jungle Bird - into regions then brands.
The selection is MASSIVE!!! There is a large collection of Foursquare distillery brands from Barbados, Black Tot, Plantation, Worthington Park, That Boutique Rum Company and so on. Believe me you will be hard pressed to find a missing rum you want.
So lets get into the cocktails.
First up is the Daiquiri, aptly named "The best drink in the world" at the Jungle Bird. It was perfectly blended and refreshing, made with Veritas rum - side note I would happily argue that Veritas is the perfect rum to go into a Daiquiri - and a sugar cane reduction instead of simple syrup making it truly unique to here.
Post Daiquiri we went for a selection of the bartenders recommendations, they didn't disappoint. The Cornstar had Cambodia's finest Samai unaged rum with special sweetcorn syrup, passionfruit and almond. It was a lovely burst of flavour with a creamy, mazy like texture.
We then jumped into the House Jungle Bird and Cendol Piña colada's - The former was deconstructed with the clear liquid containing whey which gives a thicker silky texture. On the lips the sweetness from the pineapple comes through and wait until you eat into the coconut "bubble bomb" off the spoon. The latter a twist on the South East Asian classic dessert with strong flavours of Pandan infused into the coconut and pineapple you know and love.
If you are into really, really delicious cocktails then this is the bar for you in KL. There is broad range to suite all pallets and I would have absolutely no fear in requesting classics or other cocktails that aren't on the menu. A true step up from cocktails to mixology you wont be able to replicate.
Rating: 5/5... Fantastic staff matched by its rum selection and incredible cocktails.
Check out their instagram (@JungleBirdKL) for events and rum tastings. If you want to deep dive into the GLOW menu you can devour it here. Tasting is believing so head down to JungleBird and book ahead if you are going on a Friday-Saturday to avoid any disappointment.
#5Limes, #Rum, #RumBarReview, #BarReview, #Daiquiri, #PiñaColada, #KualaLumpur, #CocktailBar, #CocktailBarKL
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