-- Bottle, Boots & Cigar -- is a new fancy drinks bar taking up about three fingers of space on Xingfucun Zhong Lu. It's across from The Big Smoke, sandwiched in between Frost and Commix. It's tiny. You're looking at two smalls rooms of relaxed but reverent alcohol worship. On the shelves is all manner of liquid obscura, from whiskey, bourbon, and bitters, to gin and liqueur, to beer, absinth, and tequila. The proprietor is Douglas Williams, a San Fran transplant, who despite only being in Beijing for a year and a half, has a few of this city's more respected proper drinks venues on his resume -- Apothecary, Parlor, Jane's & Hooch. So. Bottles are definitely in stock. The "boot" part of the title is coming later when Williams gets a chair installed into that back room. In addition to a shoe shine service, said chair will also be used for a classic straight razor shave service as well. Because you can't be half drunk with shiny boots and be looking all scruffy up top. That would be madness. Madness, I tell you. Mad. Ness. Look for the shoe shine and shave service in the coming weeks. The "cigar" portion is available now. Here's a selection of what BBC stocks so far, with more to be added in the coming weeks. I forgot to write down what the one in the middle is, but the two on the ends there are two types of "Romeo y Julieta" AKA, "the brand that Winston Churchill used to smoke". That guy seemed to know what he was doing. Yours for 400rmb. Check out that cigar tip cutter thing. Stylin'! Onwards to the drink... ***

The Five Boozes You Meet at Bottle, Boot & Cigar

For sure, there's quite a bit more than five boozes on offer at BBC, but then my article wouldn't have a snappy title. So, yeah, that's what this is -- a breezy framework in which to showcase some of the fine, fine alcohols on the docket down at this pretty fantastic new bar you should check out. We posted up on it last night and asked Williams to pick five labels from his shelf, showcasing not only the range of stuff he's mixing up, but also five labels exactly complimentary to my own inner significance and profundity. Here's five from BBC. Line 'em up: ***

Rodenbach Beer

BBC is carrying a few interesting beers if you're looking for something a bit more straightforward. Or maybe something as an aperitif to the harder stuff later on in your night. Beer makes a great aperitif to things, I find. As the old saying goes: "beer before liquor, fuckin' right on, buddy!" From his selection of scattered imports and a few Beijing craft beers, is this Rodenbach, which is a Belgian beer that's aged in wine barrels. It's kind of a fruitier brew that's really tasty. Very nice hints of wine. The other drinkers in our party remarked on its "softer notes", which I don't know what that really means, but that might be just one of those personal blind spots that I have, and everyone else in the world knows exactly what that means. There you have it.

Sipsmith Summer Cup

From the Sipsmith label, this is "Summer Cup", which is a Pimm's-like thing -- dry gin infused with Earl Grey tea, Lemon Verbena, and cucumber. Tastes like Captain Picard at a garden party, which is to say, awesome. Doug whipped this into a cocktail with swizzled ice no less. Think he put even more Hendrick's gin in it. Consulting my notes, I have "Damn, this is some refreshing-ass shit". I stand by that.

Pierde Almas Mezcal

The first two drinks sort of suckered us in and then this appeared on the bar, which was a straight-up mind eraser: Pierde Almas Mezcal. So intense the booze inside is making the label on the front disintegrate. This is hardcore. 50.2% alcohol. Even smelling it in the glass, you can get a pretty sweet buzz going. As it was explained to me, as whiskey is to scotch, tequila is to mezcal. So mezcal is like tequila, but it's a fuller, deeper, and smokier experience. If you're a scotch drinker but looking for something sunnier and fresher for the warmer weather, you should really try this out. Also great if you're looking to not use your short term memory for a while or vision out of your left eye. But yeah, this one -- definitely an intense and surprising experience. You should look into it.

Olive Manguine

Getting into some of the more obscure stuff, this is "Olive Manguine", a liqueur made from olives. Pretty interesting. It's from the Manguine distillery, an Avignon manufacturer that specializes in idiosyncratic liqueurs. Tastes pretty bizarre. Like caramel mixed with olive oil, sweet, vodka, almond, marzipan, I don't know what. Pretty unique experience. In the second picture, I tried to get the oil skim on the top there... Oh, here's a good place as any to point out the glassware. Pretty neat-o. The one in this picture is by a local Chinese designer. BBC has a lot of interesting glassware cobbled together from a variety of sources. My favorite one is the one below, which looks like a glass with scratched up cigarette foil wrapped around it.

Lepanto Brandy

Bringing the train back into the station with lovely Spanish brandy. It tasted dope. The end. *** Ordering and pricing: Although a short cocktails menu is in the works, the preferred ordering methodology is to consult your bartender with your preference and he'll make you something on the spot to suit. You roll in, do a quick personal assessment on the severity of whatever the most recent tragedy it is that you're going through is, and then together you work with your bartender to figure out what alcohol to apply to it. That's the way to do it. Prices cover a wide range. Beers are like 40rmb -- we'll get that one out of the way. The more populist stuff is around 60rmb-120rmb, for a lot of the whiskey and brandy and stuff. Of course, there's lots of pricey stuff as well that costs, probably, several zillion rembos for just a thimble's worth. Mixing up a cocktails, expect to pay around 80rmb or so for a drink. Basically, just bring a stack of cash and go "what can I get for this amount of money?" And then go to a bank machine to get some more... Bottle, Boot & Cigar is at Bldg 1, Taipingzhuang Nanli, Next to Jiezuo Dasha. Or just across from The Big Smoke next to Frost. They're open daily 6pm 'til 2am