What's your flavor? Cocktails get personal

By Miral Fahmy

SINGAPORE (Reuters Life!) - The cocktail just got personal: for a few thousand dollars, a Singaporean firm will create a drink as individual as you are.

Provocachic, owned by Sinaporean marketing expert Damian Sim, specializes in creating bespoke cocktails for corporations and people seeking a unique tipple to serve at special occasions.

"Taste is such a personal experience," said Sim, who prefers being called a "flavor Impressionist". "We create recipes that reflect the personality of the client and which aim to answer the question: what would your story taste like?"

Sim started Provocachic in 2002 after years of mixing cocktails to appeal to his friends.

"I like cocktails but so many people I know are put off by the bad ones they taste at bars. In Singapore and Asia, the industry is very cost-based so they often use cheap ingredients. I wanted to change that," he added.

Sim is the cocktail specialist at U.S.-based gourmet Web site The Gilded Fork (www.gildedfork.com) and Provocachic's clients have included American Express and luxury lingerie brand La Perla, which requested custom-made cocktails to serve to clients at product launch events.

He also often gets orders from wealthy couples planning their wedding menus or birthday parties celebrating milestones.

His cocktails come with a hefty price tag that starts at 1,800 Singapore dollars ($1,200) for a recipe for an individual event and 5,400 dollars ($3,600) for corporate events.