Renard Cocktail Club
Renard builds its Bloody Mary on vino trajinero, the sweet Málaga wine, and Manolo Villanueva of Utopía Ramen sends drinkers to Duque de la Victoria for it.
Why go
Manolo Villanueva, who cooks and owns Utopía Ramen a few streets away, ends his own day here and names one drink: If you like a Bloody Mary, they have the Málaga version, with vino trajinero.
1 The bar builds other drinks out of the province too. The Shangri-La is Málaga red wine, sherry brandy, orange liqueur, a Timur berry cordial and red-berry soda. The bar gives its own reason for it: if you are going to drink sangría, at least make sure it is good.
The Amazonïa is Canaïma gin with mango cordial and an orgeat made from roasted cashews. The bar's own note puts it in the 2022 Artisans of Taste final. It was built to bridge the Axarquía east of Málaga and the Venezuelan Amazon on as little waste as they could manage.2 The San Bernardo goes the other way, Gentleman Jack with Campari, Noilly Prat rouge, palo cortado and orange Angostura, all of it aged together in cask.
Order this / avoid
- Order: the malagueño Bloody Mary. It is Villanueva's pick and it is built on the local sweet wine.1
- Order: the Amazonïa if you want the bar's own best work, or the Limón Volador if you want the opposite of a sweet drink. The house warns you about that one itself: it is citrus, dry and herbal, and it is no fruit juice.2
- Order: the Málaga fried almonds with truffle oil and absinthe, or the Chupadeos olives steeped in sherry vermouth and Angostura, which is what the bar puts beside its drinks.2
- Avoid: ordering a classic off-list. The house has a drink on the card called Where the F*ck is my Mojito, which tells you where it stands on the request.2
What locals & experts say
- Manolo Villanueva, chef-owner of Utopía Ramen, in El Español (2024):
If you like a Bloody Mary, they have the Málaga version, with vino trajinero.
1 - The bar, on its own Amazonïa:
In Amazonïa we have tried to build a bridge between the Málaga Axarquía and the Venezuelan Amazon, with a sweet, fruity drink that cuts ingredient waste to a minimum.
2
Good to know
- Booking: walk in.
- Price: cocktails ran 7,50 to 10 euros and the snacks 3,50 to 6,50 on the house card of December 2022.2
- Where: Duque de la Victoria 7, a couple of minutes off the cathedral in the centre.
- The Corn & Oil is the bar showing its reading. Angostura seven-year rum, falernum, lime and Angostura bitters, a forgotten build the house put back on the card to land you in 1911.2
- I have not found a review of this bar with a byline on it. Villanueva's pick is the only published judgment I can point at.
Verdict
could-visit — The house makes its Bloody Mary with vino trajinero, the sweet local wine, and Manolo Villanueva of Utopía Ramen sends people here for it. The Shangri-La runs on Málaga red wine and Timur berry. Order the fried Málaga almonds under truffle oil alongside. Drinks ran 7,50 to 10 euros on the December 2022 card.