Jakarta is the capital of Indonesia, a predominantly Muslim country, and therefore you wouldn’t think their drinking culture would be so on point with this epic smoky Negroni that I found at Beer Hall. Well it is.

First, Beer Hallis a pretty amazing space, voluminous, modern with a solid menu and as you can imagine, delicious beer, which, being in the far corner of the world, is a welcomed surprise. But I wasn’t there for the beer, I was there for their infamous Smoky Negroni whose legend was spread far and wide across this Southeast Asian Metropolis.

The way they achieve this magic elixir is by smoking a secret blend of woods and spices (I think it was chicory, but what do I know Cafe Du Monde). From their they pour their barrel aged Negroni in a tumbler, get it to it’s bone chilling temp, and add it to the vessel.

While this might seem like a cocktail parlor trick, the smoke really does add a complex vail of flavor to this already beautiful concoction. As a professional alcoholic, I have to say this is one of the best cocktails I’ve ever had, and being so very far from Italy, was quite amazed they could improve on a classic. Bravo BeerHall, Bravo.

If you wanna visit Beer Hall here’s the website: http://www.biko-group.com/