World’s 50 Best Bar Maybe Sammy has unveiled its new cocktail menu dubbed Mirage.
A ‘personal mirage’, as the bar’s team sees it, is a moment when an experience turned out to be completely different to original expectation.
The list features 14 different signature cocktails including the Golden Pear, a combination of Michter’s Bourbon and Taittinger Champagne presented in a pear; Infinity, a fruity, salty drink delivered in a sea urchin cup; Terra Nova – made with Don Julio Tequila and Los Siete Misterios Doba Yej Mezcal; and Vino Bastardo – a reimagining of an Old Fashioned using Glenfiddich whisky, grappa, and Cocchi Americano Bianco (see the recipe here).
Creative Director of Maybe Sammy Martin Hudak says the menu was the result of a long collaborative process of development.
“We want our team to take ownership over this collection of cocktails, and not feel like they’re just executing great cocktails developed by someone else,” he tells Bars & Clubs.
“The process of creating the Mirage menu has brought us closer together as a team as we’re all invested in each other’s success. And I think this heightened comradery will be evident when our guests come into the bar.”
Martin spoke to Bars & Clubs to reveal some of the menu’s technical details.
“I think with many of our previous menus the attention always go towards the theatre of how the drinks are executed or the energetic atmosphere of Maybe Sammy when you’re there as a guest.
“Neither of those things have disappeared, we just wanted to delve deeper in exploring processes and techniques we haven’t used before to challenge ourselves.
“For the Mirage collection, our prep is really heavy and we’re using techniques such as fermentation, clarification, distillation, and supersonic extraction.
“None of this is new in the mixology world; we’ve just spent even more time on these processes in the cocktail development stages.”
Hudak also outlined why the Maybe team took centre stage with the menu’s development.
“I believe in teamwork and collective effort. Of course, there has to be someone who is leading the project which is where myself and Bar Manager Paolo Maffietti step in, but mutual trust and freedom gave us better results than individual ownership.
“All of us come from different backgrounds with different stories to tell and that’s why this menu is the most diverse one we’ve done.
“We wanted the collection of cocktails to resonate more personally with our bar team and reflect their own experiences and perspectives. We liked the fact that a mirage stems from an unexpected experience and it challenged us to create moments of surprise, which we love to do.”
Notably, four of the cocktails on the list will be available as non-alcoholic drinks. Martin explained what guided the team’s thinking here.
“I don’t like to divide drinks simply by being alcoholic or non-alcoholic. I believe both experiences are equally important and should be valued by a bar team with the same respect.”
Finally, Bars & Clubs asked Martin for his personal favourites from the new menu.
“Euphoria, One Night in Bangkok, and Kissaten Martini are the most technically advanced and are really powerful drinks,” he says.