Cacao Mixology And Chocolate offers a 'refined exploration of cacao through thoughtfully crafted cocktails, artisanal desserts, and a curated selection of distinctive spirits'. — Photos: MICHAEL CHEANG/The Star
Chocolate cocktails can be tricky. Too much cocoa and it becomes just an iced chocolate with booze. Too little and you wonder, what’s the point?
So when I heard that there was a bar that specialises in chocolate cocktails, I just had to check it out.
Cacao Mixology and Chocolate is the bar at the new Park Hyatt KL, located on the 75th floor of the Merdeka 118 building.
As the name suggests, the bar’s theme is chocolate and offers a “refined exploration of cacao through thoughtfully crafted cocktails, artisanal desserts, and a curated selection of distinctive spirits”.
The bar is a collaborative effort between Park Hyatt’s executive pastry chef Holger Deh and its beverage manager Lee Wei Lung.
Cacao Micology And Chocolate is located in Park Hyatt KL, on the 75th floor of Merdeka 118.
Cacao currently has four Signature Cacao Cocktails, made using one of three signature chocolates – Kelantan 70%, Li Chu 64% Raspberry, and Holger Deh 71% Chocolate, which is exclusive to Park Hyatt KL.
As usual, I started with the most spirit-forward one – an espresso martini twist called Cacao Coffee Martini – made with Holger Deh 71% Chocolate, brown butter, Ron Zacapa 23 dark rum, Siete Misterios mezcal, local coffee, Fernet Hunter Coffee, and popcorn foam.
It turned out to be my favourite one of the three. Despite the use of “local coffee” (I won’t say which), the strong chocolate structure is the star here, with the coffee more of a supporting player.
The most spirit-forward cocktail on the menu is an espresso martini twist called the Cacao Coffee Martini.
This is augmented by the smokiness of mezcal and the rich banana notes of dark rum, with Fernet Hunter coffee liqueur and a delicious popcorn foam rounding it out.
From the strongest, I moved on to the lightest – Cacao-Nut Highball, made with Kelantan 70% Cacao Bitters, Ford’s Gin, house pandan coconut soda, and Hinoki.
This was an easy, refreshing chocolate and coconut concoction that would probably be the better starting drink than the coffee martini for most people.
The Cacao-Nut Highball is a refreshing mix of chocolate and coconut flavours.
The most visually striking drink on the menu is The Cacao Club, made with Li Chu 64% Raspberry Chocolate, Johnnie Walker Black Label Whisky, Ratafia Rossi cherry wine, durian, and lemon.
While basically a twist on the Clover Club classic cocktail, the kicker in this drink is the use of Mujestic Durian Liqueur made with musang king durians, which adds a slightly pungent but sweet note to the drink, which is ably balanced out by the berry sweetness of the cherry wine.
My only gripe with this drink is that the whisky and chocolate is somewhat drowned out by those two liqueurs, but otherwise, it’s a pretty interesting (and pretty looking) drink.
The Cacao Club is a twist of the classic Clover Club cocktail, and is one of the signature drinks at Cacao Mixology And Chocolate.
Lastly, the Cacao White Negroni (Fernet Hunter Holger Deh 71% Cacao, Don Julio Blanco Tequila, lichiko Shochu, gentian) was my second favourite in the menu.
The Holger Deh chocolate-infused Fernet Hunter helps mellow out the distinctly herbaceous flavours of the tequila, shochu and gentian, making for a pretty strong and punchy white negroni twist.
The Cacao White Negroni is a unique take on the classic white negroni cocktail.
The bar also has a dedicated menus of signature cacao zero proof and low-ABV cocktails which harness the different flavours of cacao and Paragon single botanical cordials for drinks that are unique in their own right, and not just the usual signatures with no alcohol.
There’s also a “chocolate table” with an assortment of pralines, brittles and truffles to choose from, as well as a huge chocolate block created by chef Deh.
The bar bites deserve a mention too – the endives were crisp and fresh, and the cure wagyu was an addictive snack that paired well with the drinks.
If you love chocolate, Cacao Mixology is a nice place to indulge your sweet tooth. But if you love chocolates and cocktails, then it’s definitely the place for you.
Michael Cheang reckons you can never have too much chocolate in your cocktails. Follow him on Instagram (@mytipsyturvy) and Facebook (fb.com/mytipsyturvy).
