Cedric Allen Mendoza: Manhattan (Singapore)

Cedric Allen Mendoza is the head bartender of Manhattan in The Regent Hotel, Singapore. He makes two cocktails for us, one with Tequila and Pistachio Syrup and the second with Gin and Port Wine.

Cedric introduce yourself
My name is Cedric, I’m 28 years old and I am the head bartender at Manhattan Bar in Singapore. I originally started at the Regent Hotel as a graduate from Manila, working in one of the restaurants here. I wanted to become a sommelier, but the F&B director came to talk to me in 2013 about the opening of Manhattan. It took some time for him to convince me to move to the bar, but I became more and more interested with every book I read about cocktails. I started working on the floor, then became a barback, until I became a bartender here. It’s always been amazing here, but now under the leadership of Philip, he’s moulded us into a real team. We don’t even need to speak to know what each of us is doing or require. The best thing about the team is we love what we do and we love Manhattan so much we’ve all got matching tattoos of the bar logo on our wrists.

The classic you want to show us
Kerman
50ml of Tequila Ocho
30ml of Pistachio Syrup
25ml of Lime Juice


The bar you dream of
My dream bar would be a beach bar in Palawan in the Philippines. I’d offer scuba diving in the morning and serve tiki drinks and seafood afterwards. Chilled house music with the amazing views would complete the ambience.

What do you do in your time off
I spend my spare time visiting other bars and socialise. I try to go to bars I haven’t been to and meet new bartenders in the city, as there are always new bars opening here and it’s good to see what everyone is doing.

The spirit you like the most
Definitely American rye whiskey. Somehow you have to tune it in a drink due to its complexity and I love that. I like to use rye for different drinks and I really enjoy an A la Louisianne and Willett works perfectly for that drink.

What makes a good cocktail
The most important thing is trying to understand your customer and their taste preferences and making a drink to suit them.

What ingredient do you enjoy using in cocktails
At the moment I am using a lot of Amaros, because of their depth. They completely change the flavour profile of any drink.

The signature cocktail you want to show us
First Voyage
25ml of Mancino Vecchio Vermouth
25ml of Rutte Old Simon Gin
15ml of Penfold’s Father Port Wine
5ml of Luxardo Maraschino
2 dashes of Orange Bitters

 

Where do you think we need to go to interview another bartender
In Asia, go to Singapore and see Jon Lee at Tippling Club or visit Manila and meet David Ong from the Curator. In London, you must go to see Giorgio at the Connaught.

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