International Women's Day on 8 March is one of the year's quietly meaningful cocktail nights. The bar handles it by putting on the classics created by women bartenders, without theatre. No rose-pink lighting, no novelty cocktails. Just the proper Hanky Panky, the proper Sidecar, the proper Margarita.

Women's Day in the Malaysian context

International Women's Day (IWD) is observed globally on 8 March. In Malaysia it is a cultural acknowledgment rather than a federal public holiday. Most offices and schools run normal hours; the social marker tends to happen in restaurants, bars, and through gifting between friends and colleagues.

What this means for the evening on 8 March in KL:

  • The bar night skews social rather than civic. Most reservations are friend groups and small workplace gatherings.
  • The 4-to-8-person friend group is the most common booking shape.
  • Workplace and community gatherings (10 to 15 people, sometimes briefed by a corporate HR coordinator) happen at a smaller volume, mostly in the week leading up to 8 March or on the nearest weekend.
  • The bar pours that work are the proper classics created by women bartenders, not the rose-pink novelty drinks.
  • Smaller group bookings (2 to 3 people) are common; these often skew toward "long-time friends who happen to meet on a meaningful date".

The honest reading: 8 March in KL is a moderate-traffic bar night, busier than a normal Friday in central KL but not at peak levels. The brief, in one line: the bar should pour the right drinks, in the right glasses, at the right volume.

Why our two PJ bars work for 8 March

Dissolved Solids · 43-1 Jalan SS20/11, Damansara Kim: small upstairs bar above MyNews, about 30 seats, Tue-Sun 15:00 to 01:00. Quiet, conversation-volume, suits the friend-group format. Printed menu carries the classics (Hanky Panky, Sidecar, Cosmopolitan, Margarita) year-round. Listed as one of Tatler Asia Top 20 Bars 2025/26.

Soluble Solids · 50-1 Jalan SS2/24: smaller, no printed menu, Wed-Sun 18:00 to 01:00. The bespoke-build format works for "name a woman bartender and what she created" requests, or for "build me a 1925-coded gin drink" if you want the Ada Coleman era specifically.

Two states (Damansara Kim, SS2), one chemistry. Pick the room that fits the group size.

Drinks created by women bartenders

The cocktail history credit-roll is heavily male, but a small list of classics created by women bartenders is worth knowing and ordering on Women's Day.

Hanky Panky: gin, sweet vermouth, Fernet-Branca. Created by Ada Coleman at the American Bar at the Savoy Hotel, around 1925. The classic herbal-bitter London cocktail. The Hanky Panky is the right opener for the night.

Sidecar: cognac, Cointreau, lemon. Multiple historical claims; one of the strongest candidates is an unrecorded female bartender at Harry's New York Bar in Paris in the early 1920s. The pre-war French citrus-cognac classic.

Twentieth Century: gin, lemon, Lillet Blanc, white creme de cacao. Created by C. A. Tuck in 1937, refined and popularised by later women bartenders. Floral, slightly chocolatey, distinctive.

Margarita: tequila, triple sec, lime. Various claims; one of the strongest is to Margarita Sames in 1948 at her vacation home in Acapulco. The classic agave sour.

Cosmopolitan: vodka, Cointreau, cranberry, lime. Modern form refined by Toby Cecchini in the 1980s and popularised by women bartenders through the 1990s. The Sex-and-the-City-era classic.

What to order on 8 March

Beyond the historical credits, drinks that fit the mood of Women's Day at a cocktail bar:

  • Hanky Panky as the opener (the Ada Coleman classic, herbal and bitter).
  • French 75 celebratory and classic (gin, lemon, sugar, champagne).
  • Lychee Martini floral, easy, photographs well.
  • Aviation pale lavender, the spring drink (gin, maraschino, creme de violette, lemon).
  • Rose French 75 rose syrup variant, photogenic.
  • Scented Negroni our house signature with a floral lift. Recipe.
  • Roselle Spritz deep red, Malaysian-local. Recipe.

The drinks should fit the mood, not the colour of the day. We do not run rose-pink lighting or novelty cocktails for 8 March; the classics created by women bartenders carry the night on their own.

The evening plan

The friend-group format works in three movements.

Dinner first, 7pm to 8:30pm: a restaurant nearby. The cocktail visit is after.

Bar from 9pm: two or three rounds, conversation. Open with a Hanky Panky or French 75; middle round with the Sidecar or Twentieth Century; close with a Scented Negroni or Margarita.

Out by midnight: Sunday school night for many. Last call is 01:00 at both PJ outlets if the night runs longer.

For larger 10 to 15 person workplace or community groups, brief the bar 5 to 7 days ahead. We can prepare a custom mini-menu naming the women-bartender classics.

Reservations

For groups of 4 or more, WhatsApp 3 to 5 days ahead. For larger workplace or community groups, brief us 5 to 7 days ahead.

For non-drinking friends

The NA equivalents at a serious bar match the alcoholic side. Drinks worth specifying on 8 March:

  • NA Hanky Panky: Seedlip Grove plus NA bitter substitute plus NA vermouth.
  • NA Cosmopolitan: NA vodka substitute, cranberry, lime, NA orange liqueur.
  • Coffee mocktails: Black Honey, Floral Mango, Peach Blossom.
  • Elderflower spritz: elderflower cordial, lemon, soda.
  • Rose Lychee Cooler: rose syrup, lychee, lemon, soda.
  • NA Floral Bloom: butterfly pea infusion, lemon, soda, lifted with a citrus garnish.
  • Floral Mango (NA): mango, jasmine syrup, lime, soda. Sweet, fragrant.
  • Loose-leaf tea by the pot: jasmine pearl, Tieguanyin, masala chai.

Brief the bartender at booking. Glassware matches; the round lands together.

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