With summer in full swing and the temperature rising, we can’t help but look for refreshing hangouts that might save us from the unbearable heat and humidity. That’s what’s great about Conrad Manila’s C Lounge.
Located on the third floor of the hotel, it’s a great place to enjoy a view of Manila Bay, and it’s one of my favorite places to enjoy the view while keeping cool.
C Lounge has everything one could look for: good service, great ambience (did I mention that great view of Manila Bay?) and, most importantly, amazing signature drinks!
I always try to build a connection with a bar’s mixologist. This way I’m not limited to the staple drinks with a hefty price, but I get unique drinks that the bar or lounge is known for. Larry Dimapilis is one of the regular mixologists at C Lounge, and he’s got cred: he won the title of Bar Challenger in the 2017/2018 F&B Masters at the Hilton Bali Resort.
For first timers at the C Lounge, Larry recommends the following drinks:
Across the Shoreline
As one of the bar’s original cocktails, Across the Shoreline is the perfect drink for those hot days when you just need something refreshing to cool you down. The drink is made of lychee liqueur, cold rose tea, strawberries, and the bar’s own lime-and-cucumber-infused Beefeater London Dry Gin.
Reading that list of ingredients, you might think that this drink will raise your blood sugar, but you can relax: the sweetness of the strawberries is cut by the infused gin. The result is a taste of berries, rounded out with a hint of the freshness from the cucumber and lime.
Misterios Mule
The C Lounge is known for their twists on familiar basic cocktails. For anything from a Moscow Mule to an Old Fashioned, they have their own take. This particular variant, the Misterios Mule, comes highly recommended. Larry’s take on the classic Moscow Mule involves Los Seite Misterios Doba Yej Mescal.
The drink stays true to its roots by using homemade ginger ale as its base. Larry then adds passion fruit and a bit of agave into the mix to cut down the spiciness that the mescal and ginger ale bring together.
Rose Flurry
The Rose Flurry is the lounge’s twist on the newly popular Frozè drink. Unlike your classical Frozè, which has strawberries, ice, and rose, this twist includes frozen rose, vodka, and lemon juice as counterpoints for the sweetness.
Whichever you choose, you’ll certainly have something interesting to drink when you decide to cool off and enjoy the view of Manila Bay–without the hassle of Manila’s infamous summer heat.
Cheers!
