PURRFECT POURS

GABRIEL LOWE, CO-OWNER AND ONE OF THE OPERATING PARTNERS OF CAT BITE CLUB, AND ERIKA DANIELLE, HEAD BARTENDER, DISCUSS THEIR LABOUR OF LOVE.

-  INDRAN PARAMASIVAM

"CARE" IS A RECURRING THEME throughout my lively, illuminating conversation with Gabriel Lowe and Erika Danielle that unfolds as we drink their excellent take on the Paloma, the most delicious cocktail ever conceived. Our interaction exhilarates. The duo and the establishment are stirring reminders of how passion and purpose can intersect on the road to success.

Cat Bite Club, besides being a shrine to upper-echelon drinks made from rice and agave, is also a temple of human endeavour and ingenuity. Having returned three times within three weeks of my first visit, I would know. In a word, yes, for the exquisite drinks, the golden-age hip-hop emanating from the speakers like hymns urging me to a higher plane of experience, and the staff whose care and attention to every aspect of my visit is palpable.

What led each of you to hear the call of the bar?

GABRIEL: I started working in cafés as a barista at 14 and then naturally transitioned to bars. I fell in love with the pace of the business and the interaction that comes with crafting something for someone and having such an impact on their day. Serving coffee at the beginning of the day and alcohol at the end yields similar satisfaction.

When I was 21, I worked in a sandwich shop in San Francisco. One day, I asked a regular who was a bartender at the sports bar across the street how much he made. After that, I looked for barbacking jobs on Craigslist and got lucky with a spot called Bourbon & Branch. I kept going after that.

ERIKA: My introduction to cocktail bars came five years ago. During my first year at university, my friends took me to a bar called Secret Mermaid, where I not only wrote my papers but also learnt more about different cocktails. The first one I ever made was a French 75. Then I made cocktails for delivery during Covid-19.