International Women's Day on 8 March is the cocktail night for the friends-and-colleagues group. The bar can do this two ways: a small dinner-then-drinks for 4-6 close friends, or a larger gathering of 10-15 for the workplace or community group. Both work at a craft bar. We do not run a "Women's Day cocktail" with rose-pink theatre; we put the classic cocktails created by women bartenders on the bar and let the night speak for itself.

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 PJ:

  • 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; smaller (2 to 3) groups are common for long-time friend duos and trios.
  • Workplace and community gatherings (10 to 15 people, often briefed by a corporate HR or community coordinator) happen at a smaller volume, mostly in the week leading up to 8 March or on the nearest weekend.
  • The right pours are the proper classics created by women bartenders, not the novelty pink drinks. The right room is small-volume, conversation-paced.
  • PJ runs quieter than central KL on 8 March; the small-bar friend-group plan works easily here.

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. 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. Better for groups of 2 to 4 who want a deeper dive into the history.

Two states (Damansara Kim, SS2), one chemistry. Pick the format 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.

Sidecar: cognac, Cointreau, lemon. Generally credited to Pat MacGarry at Buck's Club, London, but a stronger candidate is the unrecorded female bartender at Harry's New York Bar in Paris. 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.

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

Cosmopolitan: vodka, Cointreau, cranberry, lime. Refined into its modern form by Toby Cecchini in the 1980s and popularised by women bartenders through the 1990s.

What we recommend on 8 March

Beyond the historical credits, drinks that work for a Women's Day evening:

The Hanky Panky: as above, the Ada Coleman classic. The right opener.

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 of the French 75. Photogenic.

Scented Negroni: our house signature with a floral lift. Recipe.

Roselle Spritz: deep red, Malaysian-local. Recipe.

The evening plan

For 4 to 8 friends on Women's Day, the format works in three movements.

Dinner first, 7pm to 8:30pm: a restaurant nearby. PJ has good options within five-minute walks of both outlets.

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 outlets.

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

Reservations

Women's Day is a moderate-traffic bar night. 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

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, 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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