Dr. Alcohol: Bumping Underground Speakeasy in Ximen
Ximen may not seem like the most obvious choice for a night out (unless you’re headed to the LGBT-friendly Red House area), but it plays host to a number of great bars like Hanko 60, Driftwood, andย Cafe Dalida. Despite being spoiled for choice, a few months ago we discovered yet another gem: Dr. Alcohol, a lively speakeasy disguised as a skateboard shop to passers-by. It’s rare that after a considerable amount of time has passed, the memory of a new bar remains clear in our minds, yet Dr. Alcohol was downright impossible to forget. With a charged atmosphere and great tunes, we’re confident that Dr. Alcohol will at the very least make an impression, whether or not you like it as much as we did.
Getting into Dr. Alcohol was more challenging than we first expected. Despite being a speakeasy it’s practically begging to be found, with a prominent sign leading into a storefront filled with skateboards and helpful instructions on how to open a door that’s hidden behind a full-length mirror. In short, press one of the skateboards and immediately push the mirror. If you hear a click, the door has locked and you need to try again. And again. And again, unless you’re not idiots like us and possess the common sense that we apparently lack.
Once we were downstairs we were immediately in awe of how cool the bar was, filled to capacity with tattooed youngsters vibing out to some dank hip hop and actually socializing. Everyone appeared to be under 30 and looked like they came straight out of a catalogue touting the latest in Taiwanese streetwear. We felt old, but not in a bad way — the lively atmosphere was infectious and the playlist just kept getting better and better.
The bar itself is meticulously designed with the sole purpose of being edgy and cool. Set in the basement of a refurbished old warehouse and filled with design elements that are hip, nostalgic or bizarre, almost every corner of Dr. Alcohol is worth exploring a little further — including the bathrooms. Do be warned, though, that there is a table for two that literally faces a wall, and for obvious reasons lacks the lively atmosphere of the rest of the bar. We were seated at this table at first, but due to some good luck (and the pity of several staff members), we were able to snag a table closer to the bar after a little while.
Dr. Alcohol has a relatively straightforward booze menu, with around 12 speciality cocktails, a few classic cocktails, beers, mixed drinks, and shots. Prices are what you’d expect to pay, with cocktails ranging from $300-$350, shots priced at $150, beers between $150-$200, and mixed drinks around $250. They have some finger food too, but we didn’t notice it until we were about to leave. Since there was really nothing particularly special or memorable about their menu other than their cocktails, we decided to stick to those for the night. The first we ordered was the guava broke your heart ($350), with gin, triple sec, and guava juice. This was refreshing but quite sweet and didn’t blow us away. We still enjoyed it enough, but we probably wouldn’t get it again.
We also go the Ray ray got you ($350), with rum, Frangelico, and mashed tea. We were excited about the mashed tea component of this since we had no idea what it would come out like, and were pleasantly surprised: it was almost like an alcoholic tea latte, with the consistency — when you stirred it — of something you’d make at a tea ceremony. We’d get it again.
Next, we got the namo tianguanyin ($350), made with kaoliang, Prucia, Tianguanyin tea. This was a nice blend of eastern flavours, the sweetness of the Japanese ume plums in the prucia working nicely with the tea and kaoliang to make a pleasant and drinkable — if not particularly memorable — cocktail.
Paolyta-B Rain ($300) with whiskey, Paolyta, and Prucia. This was an interesting choice, and we were mainly curious about how Paolyta B, a kind of alcoholic herbal tonic, would take with whiskey. It was pretty nice but rather sweet and reminded us of candy. It was drinkable enough to order again, but we wouldn’t’ rave about it.
Aiyu I miss you ($350), vodka, aloe liqueur, aiyu jelly was our final drink, and although we enjoyed it quite a bit, it was also a pain to drink. The cocktail itself was light and refreshing, but they hadn’t skimped on the aiyu and it wasn’t the easiest (nor most flattering) thing to slurp up. Not the drink for a first date, but pretty good if you’re an aiyu jelly fan.
Overall, we were way more impressed with Dr. Alcohol than we thought we would be. The unique and quirky design was awesome, the music was bumping, and the service was pretty decent. The drinks were hit and miss, but that wasn’t a deal-breaker: we’ll just stick to mixed drinks next time. We loved the lively atmosphere and (more) social element of this bar and would return for this alone.
What’s the vibe?
Young and edgy, with tons of atmosphere and a fun energy. Customers were mostly cool locals in their early 20’s when we visited.
Worth it?
We didn’t think all of the cocktails were worth $350-$400, but the bar itself was worth a visit for its unique design and atmosphere. And if you hate it, you could always check out (relatively) nearby Hanko 60, Driftwood, or Cafe Dalida.
Would you go back?
Yes! We want to take more people back there soon.
Last visisted August 2020
| Dr. Alcohol |
| Chinese Name: ้ ่ฅฟ้ซ |
| Hours: 8pm โ 3am Closed Tuesdays |
| Phone: 0223318810 |
| English Address: No. 24, Kangding Road, Wanhua District, Taipei City |
| Chinese Address: ๅฐๅๅธ่ฌ่ฏๅๅบทๅฎ่ทฏ24่ |
