Woolworths Taste – August 2019

TABLE TALK

PHOTOGRAPHS

DEVIN CROSS

AND

THAMSANQA MWESHI

42 TASTE AUGUST 2019

BEHIND BARS:

Mix Bar at

MESH Club

Situated inside the hip members-only MESH Club, this stylish Rosebank bar

is the perfect spot for sundowners with creative types or cocktail connoisseurs

Behind the bar:
Devin Cross earned his stripes
at several Cape Town bars
(The House of Machines,
Outrage of Modesty and
The Orphanage) before
opening Mootee with fellow

bartenders in Joburg.After

the avant-gardebarsadly

closed, his conceptual

cocktails found anewhome

at Mix. “I’m tryingtodeliveran

experience andcommunicate

a new idea,” saysDevin.

The space:

Tristan du Plessis was

responsible for the décor.

Aside from the beautiful

furniture, look out for

artworks from some big

South African names. And

don’t be intimidated by the

members’ club: everyone

is welcome at the bar after

4 pm on weekdays and from

10 am on Saturdays.

On the menu:

Look out for Mix’s aromatised

wines. In autumn, “Cake” was

a popularoption– made

withvanilla,pretzelsand

ricewinecaramel.Winteris

likelytoheraldsomething

evenmorecosy.There’salso

a goodselectionofbourbon

andIrishwhiskey.Executive

chefSiviweBusakwe(ex

Urbanologi)takescareofthe

food.Don’tmissthechicken

thighswithturnipsaladand

oystersauce.

TheX-factor:

Devinandhisteammakea

lotofcurdsandcaramelsin

house– a techniqueDevin

learntfromLukeWhearty

andMattWhiley(twoofthe

internationalbartenders

whoDevinworkedwithat

nowdefunctCapeTown

barOutrageofModesty).

“Carameladdsa tertiary

flavourtodrinks,aswellas

greatviscosity,”saysDevin.

Theyalsoseparatethefats

from the drink through chill

filtration. “The result is a drink

that insinuates richness but

doesn’t actually taste sweet.”

The crowd:

“Johannesburg is a really

diverse place. At any given

time we’ll have creatives,

cocktail enthusiasts,

philanthropists and corporates

all in the same room,” says

Devin. On Thursday and

Friday nights, the team offers

new drink experiences, and

on Friday nights, there’s live

entertainment from Rhythm

Sessions from Kaya FM.

Devin Cross

Mix Bar at MESH Club

TWERK JUICE

“We make our own

kombucha, but any good-

quality, store-bought variety

will work well. You can

substitute fresh kiwi

for watermelon when

it’s out of season.”

Jameson Select

Reserve 2½ T

kombucha 4 T

fresh watermelon

½ cup cut into chunks

lemon pelargonium

or mint, to garnish

Combine the ingredients,

shake hard and fine strain

into a pre-chilled coupe

glass. Garnish with lemon

pelargonium.