With a four-part concept inspired by the changing mood of an evening, AELA Social Bar brings an unusual twist to Bangkok’s cocktail scene.
AELA Social Bar | Location: Fairmont Bangkok Sukhumvit, 10/1 Sukhumvit 20, Sukhumvit Road, Bangkok | Rating:★★★★☆
Bangkok has no shortage of ambitious cocktail bars, but the newly opened AELA Social Bar does things a little differently. Tucked away from the main Fairmont Bangkok Sukhumvit venues, with its own access from Sukhumvit Soi 18, it feels more like a standalone bar.
Rather than organising the menu around ingredients, places or eras, AELA builds the experience around four altered states of perception. The menu itself comes as a substantial hardback book, with each of the chapters leading into the next and an untitled poem tucked away at the back.
Alexander Makarov, Beverage & Bars Manager and part of the pre-opening team, describes the concept in terms of how someone feels over the course of an evening. Arrival is about clarity and getting settled, Orientation brings in contrast and curiosity, Ground adds more depth and familiar Thai references, while Release turns things into something more contemplative.
I wanted to see how this worked in person. There’s a slightly mysterious feel to the darker setting, with black stone, bronze detailing and mirrored surfaces softened by a grand piano, vinyl records and shelves of books. The central bar dominates the room, but the overall effect is darker, more intimate and less obviously ‘hotel bar’.
I started gently, as directed, with First Contact (below), a pale, almost translucent mix of Haku, Roku, green citrus and makrut leaf. Fresh and deceptively light, it barely tastes alcoholic at all. This went down easily, with the bonus of some enormous Italian olives that proved dangerously moreish.
From there, False Heat moves into more playful territory, combining Código 1530 Blanco, Ratafia Rossi and chilli distillate. The name is something of a tease. Despite the chilli, there is barely any heat at all. Instead, it’s fruity and restrained, making the gap between what you expect and what you get the point of the drink.
Ground brings more obvious Thai references into play. Warm Fruit (below) combines Bacardi Añejo Cuatro, coconut, clarified mango and palm sugar, taking its cue from familiar Thai dessert flavours. This part of the menu, or book to be more precise, continues in that direction, weaving in Thai references without overplaying them.
The final stage, Release, shifts towards familiarity. Bangkok After Dark, a twist on the Vieux Carré made with Hennessy Very Special, Monkey Shoulder and spice, is aromatic, warming and pretty medicinal, with a finish that reminded me somewhat of a throat pastille. Richer than what came before, it felt like a fitting final step before my bed was calling.
What I liked is that nobody insists you follow the journey exactly as scripted. You can work your way from Arrival through to Release, or simply flick through the book and choose whatever suits your mood — or, perhaps more appropriately here, your state of mind.
The concept gives the bar its personality, but it never overwhelms what’s in the glass. By the end of the evening, I was still not entirely sure which altered state I had reached, and by then I was not particularly concerned with finding out.
