"A playground for taste and sound.” The website description makes me smirk, but when I visit Rhapsody, it’s clear the statement is more than just a grabby tagline. Past the blacked-out façade on Ossington Avenue, eyes are pulled in every direction by the bar’s intricate décor — thought up by owner Dan Eyimina, who’s also behind Little Italy’s Mrs. Robinson. Chandeliers glistening with hundreds of crystalline leaves dangle above the bar, while blobs of shiny chrome and squiggly mirrors add a funhouse-esque feel to the seductive space.
Rhapsody's general and bar manager Joey Beiglee
Carmen Cheung
Drawing the other senses, chef Elias Salazar’s Nikkei cuisine packs a punch in flavour and presentation, while live DJs transform hip-hop and R&B tracks into dance beats. It all harmonizes with general and bar manager Joey Beiglee’s cocktail program — one that could rival some of the best bars in Toronto.
“I always said earlier on, if I get to run a bar program that is my own, the cocktails and the music that I like will go hand-in-hand. That’s why all the cocktails are named after songs I love,” says Beiglee.
Inspired by his travels, Beiglee riffs off some of the best cocktails he’s sampled from around the world, remixing them into Rhapsody’s killer list of slow-sippers made for listening and vibing.
One of my favourite cocktails on the menu, Above the Clouds is a really clean, slightly sweet drink with lip-smacking savoury notes. Beiglee describes it as a deconstructed piña colada with pineapple, coconut, cucumber, lime and sesame.
“When you’re shaking it, pineapple juice tends to froth up and give a really nice mouthfeel,” says Beiglee. “The sesame oil adds a nuttiness to the drink ... It ties it all together.” The cocktail’s frothy appearance earned it its name. “‘Above the Clouds’ is sung by Gang Starr — it’s a 90s hip-hop song. It’s one of the best produced beats ever. So that was a favourite song of mine and my friends — and, I would assume, a lot of people at Rhapsody.” Like any good DJ, Beiglee plays to his crowd, creating concoctions that honour and blend with some of the most popular and beloved songs in hip-hop and R&B.
Carmen Cheung
Find Your Wings
“‘Find Your Wings’ — it’s one of my favourites,” admits Beiglee. “It’s a neo soul song by Tyler, the Creator. It’s groovy. It’s sexy. It just goes perfectly with the cocktail.”
For this Rhapsody serve, juicy passion fruit, orange liqueur and lime are mixed with charred poblano pepper-infused vodka. “There’s very little heat, but it adds a nice freshness and a tiny bit of smoke from the char,” says Beiglee. “When you infuse it with the vodka and strain it out, there’s little tiny black specks in the cocktail. It looks very, very cool.”
Carmen Cheung
Love Language
“We’ve been bumping a lot of SZA at Rhapsody lately, so I wanted to name it after one of my more favourite songs by her,” says Beiglee. “The cocktail is actually inspired by a classic tiki drink called the zombie. It is one of my favourite cocktails in the city, from Cry Baby Gallery on Dundas. I took big inspiration from that.”
There are 16 different ingredients that go into making this pre-batched cocktail — and eight of them are in the unique house-made falernum recipe. “It’s super fun to play around with all the flavours, and watch and taste how they all come together,” says Beiglee, who’s customized this clarified version of the tiki cocktail. “The drink can become very personalized to your tastes.” His falernum is made with lime zest, toasted almonds, vanilla bean paste, nutmeg, cinnamon and Wray & Nephew.
