Residing in the heritage enclave of Ann Siang Hill, Nutmeg & Clove has taken a historical perspective with their cocktail offerings. It marries Singapore’s rich food history with the identities of the various races to come up with unique concoctions. While some of the flavours may not be palatable to the taste buds, others are crafted with a Singapore twist that you would surely enjoy.

We went there on the pretext of using the Entertainer app, but unfortunately the staff told us that they stopped the partnership with Entertainer already. It was weird because the promotion was still showing on the app. Since we were there, we decided to try the drinks and to enjoy the ambiance as the evening was not very crowded. 

We were surprised with the interior of the bar, with red lanterns and decorations that are reminiscent of Chinese New Year. It was even more Chinese than Chinatown. The red lighting of the interior makes it warm and intimate.

Nutmeg and Clove makes use of the five pillars of Singapore society. You may be wondering why there are five instead of four that we usually associate with. Besides the common CMIO, there is also an additional Peranakan aspect. 

Peranakan is a unique blend of Malay and Chinese culture, which arose in the 15th century from the cross marriages of the Chinese immigrants with the original Malay settlers of Malaya. The cuisine that derived from such a culture is unique in its ingredients, spices and cooking techniques. 

To try something adventurous, I ordered the chilli crab cocktail- Bloody Crabs. ($23) It was a creative take on the Bloody Mary, with the infused essence of local flavors which is the chilli crab. There was even a piece of cracker at the top to provide the crunch, made from a freeze dried piece of crabstick. The first few sips of the drink were interesting for me, with the sourness of the tomato juice complemented with the spiciness of the chilli crab. There was a large block of ice cube in the middle which slowly melted and reduced the strong taste of the cocktail. I didn’t find this drink particularly nice as I am not a fan of Bloody mary but the concept behind it was attractive. 

Golden duck ($23) is a sweet cocktail, made with a milky liqueur and salted egg yolk sauce. She ordered this drink as she preferred a sweeter taste so this was recommended by the waiter. Think buttered rum but with a more intense and creamy flavour. The salted egg taste was distilled from the famous salted egg chips that many tourists come to Singapore to buy. 

Nutmeg & Clove’s latest offerings embraces and acknowledges the Lion City’s appetite for delicacy, and we can get down with that. But if you’re not a fan, you can still enjoy a selection of cocktail classics, from the Bees Knees to Mexican Sangria and Moscow Mule, at only S$14 from 6pm to 8pm daily. These ones aren’t signatures, but they’re great for unwinding after a hard day. Some of the local flavours may be too unique even for the adventurous, but in general do go for the sweet cocktails for a safer bet. The staff here are friendly and they take time to explain the whole menu to you, even giving you advisories in case you may have unknowingly selected the wrong cocktail. They can prescribe various cocktails to suit your tastebuds. The cost of the cocktails is quite expensive but for the price you are paying you would be getting a unique cocktail. I wouldn’t see myself coming back to this bar anytime soon though.