Cosmo Pony opens in Jakarta

Two leading hospitality groups will open cocktail bar Cosmo Pony this week in the Grand Hyatt hotel in Jakarta, Indonesia.

The bar comes from the teams behind Jigger & Pony Group and Indonesia-based The Union Group, two of South Asia’s most highly-regarded bar groups.

Silvio Daniele, who was previously at Jigger and Pony in Singapore for seven years, will take charge as the bar’s general manager, while Marsya Soemantri (formerly at the Union Group’s bars), will assume the role of bar manager.

Daniele said: “I can’t imagine a better city for the first expansion of our universe. Indonesians are naturally kind and generous, and that’s what the best hospitality is made of. As a city, Jakarta is always improving and evolving, but we definitely know how to have fun.

“Our opening menu, Rising City, and its drinks have taken life from these surroundings, and I look forward to showing the world what we and this city can do.”

Cosmo Pony’s first menu, titled Rising City, is made up of 20 cocktails, non-alcoholic cocktails, punch bowls, and premium decanter serves. It is presented as a 64-page ‘menuzine’ that showcases Jakarta, its people and its stories. Its conceptualisation was inspired by the art of Italian artist Umberto Boccioni.

One section, ‘Today, Tomorrow, Tequila’, spotlights agave spirits and is where the bar’s eponymous cocktail – the Tequila Cosmo – is found. A riff on a Cosmopolitan, the cocktail is made with Don Julio Blanco Tequila, Cointreau, lime and roselle; a local ingredient with tangy characteristics similar to cranberry.

In addition, the Potpourri part of the menu highlights flavours recognisable to Jakarta such as mithai (traditional Indian sweets), while there’s also focus on tropical ingredients (which Indonesia produces in abundance) found in serves such as the Ugly Bananas that uses overripe fruit that is typically discarded.

For the premium decanter serves, the likes of Johnnie Walker Blue Label and The Balvenie 16 Year Old French Oak Whisky are presented table-side where bartenders then prepare up to six serves of a stirred drink using the spirit. The cocktail is then left in a decanter for guests to enjoy at their own preference.

In terms of the space itself, this has been designed by Agatha Carolina from Jakarta-based Bitte Design Studio and is split between two areas with a total capacity for 150 people.

From the main bar, drinks can be enjoyed from a wooden bar counter with marble frame shelves or tucked away more intimately within deep green banquettes and velvet upholstered stools. Weave-patterned parquet flooring and pendant lights then fill out further design points.

The lounge bar is then targeted for private gatherings and quieter conversations. The space overlooks Bundaran HI and the Selamat Datang Monument roundabout, and the decor is said to be more vintage in style, anchored by a forest green marble bar.

Cosmo Pony will officially open its doors on 10 July.

Its sibling bar, Jigger & Pony, is a nominee for Best International Bar Team at the upcoming Spirited Awards, held during the Tales of the Cocktail conference in New Orleans from 21-26 July.