In Barcelona’s Port Fòrum, SLS Barcelona recently introduced Kyara, its on-site, post-modern cocktail bar where iconic classics are reimagined through the lens of unconventional ingredients. The multi-award-winning bartenders and entrepreneurs behind London’s Tayēr + Elementary, Monica Berg and Alex Kratena, created Kyara, which examines what will happen to modern cocktail bar culture in the future.

© Beatriz Janer

“We are on the mission to redefine contemporary hotel bar and inspire people by drinks they can’t get anywhere else. The opportunity to do this with SLS in one of our favourite cities is a dream come true and we are very excited for an opportunity to participate and contribute to the incredible gastronomic community of Barcelona whom we admired for decades,’’ said Kratena.

The name comes from the ancient Japanese Kyara, or the highest grade of aromatic aloeswood, a mystical perfume ingredient valued as one of the world’s rarest, most expensive commodities. Fragrance is incorporated into the complexity and depth of each cocktail.

© Beatriz Janer

A compounding room dominates the space, offering a library of distillates, extracts and more that are blended into the recipes. Guests can try the bespoke martini diagnosis, a multisensory experience led by expert mixologists.

The seven cocktail accords — Fruits, Citrus, Florals, Amber, Chypre, Leather and Woods — inspired the menu, which offers a new perspective on classic cocktails. Shotinos, natural wines, boutique beers and experimental spirits round out the offerings in Kyara, a 90-cover bar described as “villain’s lair meets multisensory laboratory.”

Kyara also collaborates with multidisciplinary designer and artist Yomagick on a series of AI artwork exploring the concept of art in ingredients.