Three years ago, when Rodolfo Rodriguez landed in Singapore, he barely spoke English. The Chilean native had bought a one-way ticket on a whim after constant nudging from his Singaporean partner, who wanted him to discover the country’s vibrant bartending scene.
With no connections and a heart full of grit, Rodriguez went door to door asking for a job. He had a stellar resume. He had done extended time at Room 09, a speakeasy rooftop bar in Mandarin Oriental Santiago, and Borago, which ranked 38th in the World’s 50 Best Restaurants 2021. Despite this, he was rejected countless times. There were no openings or quotas available.
Finally, Long Bar at Raffles Singapore gave him a shot. He followed that with stints at Osteria BBR by Alain Ducasse and Manhattan at Regent Singapore. Now, Rodriguez is running the show at Barood, the new kid on the block.
Opened by the same folks behind Revolver, it is a snapshot of sensual elegance located on the second floor of the hip mod-Indian restaurant’s Tras Street address. Even its cocktails reflect the plush red velvet fabrics that dominate the place.
Photo: Mun Kong.
“The kitchen inspires me. I look at different ingredients and try to turn solids into a liquid idea,” says Rodriguez. Examples include Tropical Skin, which contains the orgeat from halwa (a sweet Indian confectionery), and Dark Knight with mushroom black truffle bitters.
Nevertheless, Rodriguez emphasises his belief in staying true to tried-and-tested techniques. There are no fiery gimmicks or alcoholic beverages in mini bathtubs. Everything he does, including using the aforementioned funky ingredients, is in service of a better cocktail.
His dedication shows. Even though it has only been open for two months, Barood has already garnered rave reviews and more importantly, repeat customers — “I’ve had people come back at least four times!”
The loyal band is also a testament to the excellent service standards Rodriguez has drilled into the staff. “Each guest is a VIP. It might sound cliche, but we believe in that. We also want to create fresh experiences for returning customers. Every time you return, we’ll add a little twist, whether it’s an off-the-menu cocktail or alcoholic shots.”
Rodriguez runs a tight ship, but he encourages the kitchen, bartending, and floor staff to interact and understand each other’s jobs to come up with better ideas. There is nothing too crazy or impossible. Staying still means death to Rodriguez. especially since Singapore’s highly competitive bartending and nightlife scene makes it easy to rise to the top one night and fade into irrelevance the next.
Additionally, he is constantly thinking about ways to improve — uniforms, better equipment, and the playlist — and has even tried some unusual ideas.
For instance, he distilled saffron, herbs, nuts, and more to make his version of kesar kasturi, an Indian liquor that used to be created exclusively for the royalty of Rajasthan, and infused coconut with coffee, all to create better cocktails.
“Coffee is a beautiful world,” says Rodriguez, continuing his spiel on innovation. “Recently, my friend from Central (the Peruvian restaurant) brought over a bag of beans grown at high altitude and wanted me to try them.”
After a lifetime of drinking mediocre coffee, he was blown away by the tasting notes — blueberries, chocolate and honey. As we go to print, he is thinking of other ways to incorporate caffeinated berries from all over the world into his cocktails.
It’s ironic. Rodriguez came to explore Singapore’s vibrant bartending scene. Now, he’s adding his own colour to it. He’s also picked up Singlish.
