As one of the first craft cocktail bars in Taiwan, Bar Mood opened its sliding doors in Taipei’s commercial district back in September 2017. Here, guests enter an inviting, cozy space – akin to a friend’s living room – where each piece of furniture is fabricated by owner Nick Wu’s parents, who have been in the furniture-making business for over 5 decades. 

Bar Mood owner, Nick Wu

But the eye-catching focal point is the bartop garden where the team “forages” for garnishes that showcase Taiwan’s native flowers, herbs and botanicals. Zeroing in on homegrown ingredients found in the bar’s “backyard” of what the Portuguese dubbed “Formosa” or “Island of Beauty” in the 16th century, Wu aims to illustrate said beauty coupled with the impressive biodiversity of his homeland through the art of cocktail making, introducing Taiwan’s organic, and natural ingredients on the global stage.

Edamame (NT450)

The menu is really an opportunity for seasoned barman Wu to flex his mixologist muscles, and in said world of cocktail artistry, he is a bodybuilder. Exemplifying pride for the agricultural, gastronomic, and cultural traditions of Taiwan, the menu sports at least 60% locally-sourced ingredients – think sweet osmanthus, soy milk, peanuts, edamame, and oolong tea harvested by Wu’s grandparents – prepared with a science class-level of experimentation – rotary distillation, fat separation, filtration and low-temperature cooking – an ingenious bridging of eastern and western techniques for cocktail nerds and noobs alike. 

Cucumber (NT450)

These single Taiwanese ingredient cocktails are juxtaposed against their western  counterpart for two complimentary cocktail choices, organized into series. Think a Veggie Series, with Bitter Melon (NT400) on the Taiwanese side (paired with Tanqueray gin, tea syrup, crème de mente and fresh lime) contrasted by Cucumber (NT450) pressed into a juice and shaken with Don Julio tequila, Taiwanese basil and lemongrass syrup, lime, vermouth, sea sedge powder and a smoked marshmallow foam topper. Similarly, a whiskey-based libation featuring local sweet osmanthus is matched up with its western "equivalent" of elderflower and gin in the Flora Series. Other cocktail "series" span nut, bean, oil, spice, tea, and more. 

Guava Ramos Gin Fizz (NT450)

It is exactly this honesty of concept and creative pairing of contrasting ingredients that has afforded Bar Mood a coveted spot on the Asia’s 50 Best Bars list consecutively since 2019 plus the 2022 Asia’s 50 Best Sustainable Bar award.

Bar Mood, No. 53號, Lane 160, Section 1, Dunhua S Rd, Da’an District, Taipei City, Taiwan 106

This article was originally published on the Asia's 50 Best Bars website here.