Iron Balls Distillery & Bar
Ashley Sutton, the Australian designer behind Maggie Choo's and Sing Sing Theater, put a German copper pot still inside a teak-and-brass nautical den at Park Lane Ekkamai, ferments a coconut and pineapple base, and bottles his Iron Balls gin about 100 at a time.
Why go
The gin is the argument: pot-distilled on site from that fermented tropical base with 15 botanicals, lemongrass, pepper, ginseng and cinnamon among them, per City Nomads. Time Out's July 2026 review of the sibling room found punchy cocktails that put the house in centre stage.
The brand claims Gold at The Spirits Business Global Gin Masters 2025 on its own blog. One clarification for old notes: Iron Balls was never a 72 Courtyard tenant, so that complex's October 2025 closure changed nothing here; both Bangkok rooms operate.
Order this / avoid
- Order: the house gin and tonic first, then the Cucumber & Baelfruit Sour (B360) or Ginger Collins (B370), prices from City Nomads' 2018 review, so budget higher now.
- Avoid: mixing up the rooms. The Ekkamai distillery-bar closes at midnight; the Iron Balls Parlour & Saloon at 4 Soi Sukhumvit 45 runs to 2am and holds the "thousands of Iron Balls bottles" velvet den.
What locals & experts say
- Time Out Bangkok (2026):
punchy cocktails that put the house in centre stage,
4/5 stars for the Parlour.1 - City Nomads (2018): asked whether the dressing up is worth it for a gin and tonic here,
I'd have to answer with a resounding yes.
2 - BK Magazine (2023): the Parlour is
a staple for the high-end, hard-boozing crowd between Phrom Phong and Thonglor.
3
Good to know
- Timing: Ekkamai daily 6pm-midnight; the Parlour daily 8pm-2am, so the pair covers a full night.
- Booking: phone only, +66 2 714 2269 for Ekkamai; no online channel found.
- Getting there: Park Lane mall on Sukhumvit Soi 63, a short ride from BTS Ekkamai; the Parlour sits between BTS Phrom Phong and Thong Lo beside Sing Sing Theater.
Verdict
should-visit — A working pot still on the premises, fed a fermented coconut and pineapple base and bottled about 100 at a time, inside a nautical room by Ashley Sutton, the designer Bangkok's most theatrical bars answer to. Fresh 2026 press on the sibling Parlour says the house spirit still carries the drinks. Gin made meters from your glass is a format Bangkok otherwise lacks, and that uniqueness earns the detour; the medal cabinet is venue-claimed, which keeps confidence at medium.