Bartender Bruno Santos captures the flavours of Macau in a five-spice cocktail
The co-owner of Black Lotus bar conveys the vibrancy of the city by combining the spice blend with locally distilled gin and red dragonfruit
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Macau bartender Bruno Santos highlights Chinese five-spice in craft cocktail
When asked what spice best represents his hometown of Macau, Bruno Santos, a bartender who co-owns Black Lotus bar there, chooses Chinese five-spice. This blend of five aromatics can indeed serve as a metaphor for the multicultural city, as the cassia, or cinnamon, star anise and Sichuan peppercorns come from China, while the fennel has Mediterranean origins and the cloves are native to the Moluccas islands of Indonesia.
When combined, these individual spices transform into one distinctive flavour not found anywhere else – much like how Chinese, Portuguese and Southeast Asian influences created Macau’s signature fusion cuisine. The spice mix also reflects the city’s centuries-old history as an important port on the Portuguese maritime trade routes.
Santos also came to Macau from Portugal, moving to the city in 1986 at age four. He describes growing up in the former Portuguese colony as living in a museum. “I could see Portuguese culture, Cantonese opera, street food stalls and colonial architecture, which all coexisted in beautiful harmony,” he says.
Through Black Lotus bar, Santos wants to celebrate what he calls “the fusion of cultures that define the city”.
“My journey has always been about storytelling, whether through spirits, spices or spaces,” he says. “We create. I see mixology not just as a craft, but as a language that connects people across borders.”
So to tell the story of Macau, Santos created a cocktail that he named Dragon Spiced. It is made with gin from Macau’s Owl Man Distillery, juice from red dragonfruit and a house-made syrup infused with five-spice.
“It is basically a symphony of sensations,” Santos says of five-spice’s flavour profile. “It begins with the sweet licorice notes of star anise, deepens into the warm bite of clove and cinnamon, then surprises you with the numbing tingle of Sichuan peppercorns.”
He adds: “It opens a wide spectrum of flavours because they are, by themselves, quite different, but together they become very harmonious.”
Santos also notes that the spirit from Owl Man Distillery, a fellow local business known as Macau’s first gin distillery, captures the “terroir of Macau”.
The gin provided for the cocktail was crafted using coriander seeds, cardamom, dried tangerine peel and, to represent Macau, lotus leaf. “The botanicals give it a distinctive character,” Santos says.
He includes red dragonfruit to add texture and a striking visual punch to the cocktail, which he likens to the vibrancy of Macau. “Together, the ingredients are a celebration of local pride and tropical elegance,” he says. “From morning to night, there’s always life in Macau. So, that’s what we want to represent in this cocktail.”
The choice of red dragonfruit gives insight into how Santos continually sources ingredients and inspiration for new cocktail creations, as Black Lotus does not have an official drinks menu. “We work with the community,” he explains. “One of the things we do is to go around and meet the fruit stall ladies. This involvement with the community is really what is important for us.”
Not offering a menu can be challenging at times for Santos, both as a bartender and a bar owner. However, he sees it as an opportunity to showcase how Black Lotus represents Macau’s cocktail scene and the city itself, especially because the bar is located near the iconic landmark of the Ruins of St Paul’s.
“We are like the ambassadors of Macau, so we are knowledgeable about what’s happening in the city, what’s interesting to see in the city. And through this communication and the liquid experiences, we act as tourist guides,” Santos says.
He also wants to see Macanese mixology gain a reputation on the world stage. Last year marked a big step towards that goal, as Macau’s Frederick Ma won the World Bartender of the Year title at the World Cocktail Championship 2024 in Madeira, Portugal.
“That was the moment when we were so proud to say: ‘Whoa! We are here’,” Santos recalls. “Macau is able to compete against the best around the world, with no differences.”
The city’s cocktail scene has greatly evolved from the time Santos first started bartending. “Today, it’s a vibrant ecosystem with local ingredients and global techniques, and the new generation of bartenders who are proud to represent Macau on the world stage. We’ve gone from imitation to innovation, I believe.”
Watch the video to learn more about five-spice and see bartender Bruno Santos craft a new cocktail using the blend.