If you have been to Soluble Solids, you have seen the infusion shelf behind the bar, rows of glass jars holding spirits steeping with fruit, herbs, and spices. That shelf is the source of every customised drink we pour. People often ask how it works behind the scenes. Here is the open answer.

The shelf logic

At any time the shelf holds 25-35 active jars across three categories:

Infused spirits (15-20 jars). Vodka, gin, rum, and the occasional tequila steeping with fruit, herbs, or spices. Examples currently on the shelf: longan rum, calamansi gin, pandan vodka, kaffir lime gin, chilli tequila, rosemary gin, asam boi vodka.

Syrups (8-12 jars). Pandan syrup, gula melaka syrup, ginger syrup, hibiscus syrup, lavender syrup, bunga kantan syrup, plus the standard simple, rich, and honey syrups.

Tinctures (5-8 small bottles). Highly-concentrated single-ingredient extracts. Cardamom tincture, cinnamon tincture, vanilla tincture, citrus-peel tincture, and our gentian bitter. Used by the drop. See our deeper piece: tinctures and bitters at home.

How we decide what to make

Three principles:

1. Seasonal local fruit drives the calendar. When mangosteen is in season, we infuse mangosteen rum. When local longan comes in, we make longan rum. When calamansi prices drop in February, we increase our calamansi gin batch. The shelf reflects what is good in the market that month.

2. We do not infuse what we can buy better. Bottle-strength St-Germain elderflower is better than anything we can make in-house. Same for Cointreau, Campari, and most amari. We do not try to replicate commercial liqueurs that have generations of refinement; we focus on infusions that the commercial category does not cover well.

3. Bartender-driven additions. Each member of the bar team can propose new infusions. We try them, taste-test, and the better ones become regulars. Most of the current shelf came from this process over several years.

The batch timing

Different ingredients need different infusion times. Roughly:

  • Citrus peels: 4-7 days. Faster than expected because the oils extract quickly.
  • Fresh fruit (longan, mango, lychee): 5-10 days. Watch for over-extraction past day 10.
  • Herbs and aromatic leaves (basil, mint, pandan): 2-4 days only. They get vegetal and bitter past 4 days.
  • Spices (cardamom, cinnamon, clove): 10-14 days. Slower and more forgiving.
  • Hard ingredients (ginger root, lemongrass, kaffir lime leaf): 7-14 days.
  • Coffee beans: 24-48 hours, no more. Coffee over-extracts and turns bitter fast.

We tag every jar with start date and target finish date. Most infusions are decanted into their final use-bottles when ready and the spent ingredient is composted or repurposed.

The decision: keep on the shelf, or decant?

An ongoing question for any infusion-led bar. Two schools:

School A: leave the ingredient in. The visual is the point, guests see the jars and the build-up of fruit at the bottom. The flavour keeps developing over weeks. Trade-off: over-extraction risk past a certain point, and the visual is sometimes confused with messiness.

School B: decant when ready. Strain the spirit out at peak flavour, store separately, keep only fresh in-progress jars on the visible shelf. Trade-off: less visual impact, but more controlled flavour.

We do both. The visible shelf holds in-progress jars (mostly School A); decanted finished spirits live in labelled bottles on the working back shelf for service.

What we buy in

Some things we do not make:

  • Commercial liqueurs: Cointreau, St-Germain, Chartreuse, Bénédictine, Campari, Aperol, Suze, Lillet. Generations of refinement; we cannot match.
  • Most bitters: Angostura, Peychaud's, orange. Cheap, perfect, no reason to replicate.
  • Wine and prosecco: Obviously.
  • Spirits in their base form: all gin, whisky, rum, vodka, tequila, mezcal, brandy.

Roughly 70% of the bar inventory is bought-in. The 30% that is house-made is what gives the drinks their local character.

The bigger picture

The infusion shelf is the operational heart of Soluble Solids and a quieter but real part of Dissolved Solids. It is where the Malaysian-local cocktail programme lives. Without the shelf, we would be pouring the same drinks every other PJ bar pours. With it, every drink has a fingerprint that is partly ours.

If you visit and want to taste through the shelf, ask the bartender for "three small drinks built from the back shelf". We will pour you something custom. The flight is one of our favourite ways to spend an hour with a curious guest.

Related reading

Frequently asked questions

What is on the infusion shelf at Soluble Solids?

25 to 35 active jars across three categories. Infused spirits: longan rum, calamansi gin, pandan vodka, kaffir lime gin, chilli tequila, rosemary gin, asam boi vodka. Syrups: pandan, gula melaka, ginger, hibiscus, lavender, bunga kantan, plus simple, rich, and honey. Tinctures: cardamom, cinnamon, vanilla, citrus peel, gentian bitter. The shelf reflects what is in season in the local market that month.

How long does each infusion take?

Citrus peels: 4 to 7 days. Fresh fruit (longan, mango, lychee): 5 to 10 days. Herbs (basil, mint, pandan): 2 to 4 days only; vegetal and bitter past that. Spices (cardamom, cinnamon, clove): 10 to 14 days. Hard ingredients (ginger root, lemongrass, kaffir lime leaf): 7 to 14 days. Coffee beans: 24 to 48 hours, no more. Every jar is tagged with start and target finish dates.

What does Soluble Solids buy in rather than make?

Roughly 70 per cent of the bar inventory. Commercial liqueurs with generations of refinement (Cointreau, St-Germain, Chartreuse, Benedictine, Campari, Aperol, Suze, Lillet), all bitters (Angostura, Peychaud's, orange), wine and prosecco, and all spirits in their base form (gin, whisky, rum, vodka, tequila, mezcal, brandy). The 30 per cent that is house-made gives the drinks their Malaysian-local fingerprint.

Can I substitute home-infused spirits for commercial liqueurs?

For specific Malaysian or seasonal flavours yes, but not for established commercial liqueurs. A house-infused calamansi gin is genuinely better than buying a calamansi-flavoured spirit. But trying to replicate Cointreau or St-Germain at home almost always falls short; those liqueurs have decades of recipe refinement. Focus your home infusions on ingredients the commercial category does not cover well.

Where can I taste the back shelf in PJ?

Visit Soluble Solids (50-1 Jalan SS2/24) and ask the bartender for three small drinks built from the back shelf. The flight is off-menu and one of our favourite ways to spend an hour with a curious guest. Dissolved Solids (43-1 Jalan SS20/11 Damansara Kim) runs a smaller infusion shelf with similar treatment. Message Soluble Solids on WhatsApp +60 11-1682 8651 or Dissolved Solids on +60 11-4008 7607.