Bar Review: JAM at SIRI HOUSE, Singapore Presents Newly-Curated Cocktails With Familiar Flavours

Situated within the greenery of Dempsey Hill, JAM at SIRI HOUSE is the latest addition to the crowd of good food in the vicinity. But it’s not your typical restaurant and bar affair. SIRI HOUSE is also home to a retail section showcasing Thai designers’ merchandise and an art gallery – a three-in-one lifestyle concept atypical of your usual town haunts.

Decor-wise, the place looks luxurious, boasting warmly-lit chandeliers and rich plushy seats accompanied by ballads in the background. Once seated, you’re greeted by JAM’s cocktail trolley, which rolls to the head of the table. It’s a cute-looking cart hosting an ice bucket and three bottled cocktails (flavours change every few months, so you’ll want to ask the bartender about what’s available). The flavour profiles are distinct and refreshing: try their namesake Siri House Negroni ($15) for a bittersweet classic heightened with the sweet aroma of Thai red tea, or get the Scotch and Honey ($15) for a sweet citrusy cocktail that’s even good for those feeling under the weather.

Then, a selection of seven craft cocktails that toe the line between comforting flavours and refined presentations, created by Head Bartender Kavinn Raaj, who’s previously from Smoke & Mirrors. The team pride themselves with incorporating familiar flavours: utilising an array of common ingredients that we’re accustomed to in our food, but not drinks. It’s a home dining and drinks experience, except that the craft cocktails here are precisely mixed to a perfection that’s not feasible to replicate at home.

We start with Spudni ($24, top image), a blend of gin and housemade sour cream liqueur paired with a rice crisp and cubes of onion chutney jelly. Inspired by bartender Kavinn’s penchant for bingeing over sour cream and onion potato chips, this is a unique drink that’s as addictive as its inspiration. I love how the ingredients complement each other so well together texture- and flavour-wise.

Fancy something light and sweet? The dessert-style Melting Port ($25) is a blend of dark rum, white port, and housemade burnt butter syrup: the perfect alternative to dessert on a full stomach. Snack on the thin strip of baked peach tuile as you sip on the cocktail. Sweet and crispy, the combination reminds me of toasted waffles drizzled with maple syrup. Plus points for presentation: the drink is placed in a vessel that resembles an old butter churn – a tribute to the butter syrup mixed inside.

For fans of all things sparkling, try 21 Guns ($25), a celebration drink curated for the opening of JAM and SIRI HOUSE. Concocted with sparking wine, late harvest Sauvignon blanc and Cuban oregano distillate, the glass is rimmed with herbal amaro dust. Get your cameras ready, because the drink is served with a touch of flaming theatre: a piece of flash paper is ignited to reveal the restaurant name on a coaster.

Another Instagram-worthy drink is Burning Midnight Soil ($27), an ode to the history of SIRI House’s location, a heavily forested turf. Earthy in flavour, the drink is a delightful blend of banana, mezcal, and Pedro Ximenez and Oloroso sherry nestled on a plate of edible herbs and Sandalwood smoke. It’s truly a feast that tastes as majestic as it looks.

JAM’s new menu is a showcase of incredible skill, incorporating familiar flavours that don’t seem to in drinks, but somehow works out so well that it leaves you reaching out for your drink every minute. New to the world of cocktails or simply lost for choice? The team is extremely approachable and fully adept at describing their drinks – in layman terms.