Barules Cocktail Club
There is no fixed cocktail list. Tell the bartender what you like—or what you do not—and the drink is made from there.
Explore Barules Cocktail Club↗
01 / Independent brands
Two bars.
Two points of view.
Founded by Sam Kuan, Barules Group brings together two distinct cocktail bar brands. In Shanghai’s Jing’an district, Barules Cocktail Club makes bespoke cocktails around your taste, drawing on the British classic tradition. Reply Bar, co-founded with Luca Cinalli, explores the art of the drink through a handwritten archive of 100 cocktails in Shanghai and Chengdu.
Reply Bar
Reply Bar works from a handwritten archive of 100 cocktails. At each location, the team selects 15 cocktails every week and decides how to prepare and serve them.
Explore Reply Bar↗02 / Inside the bars
A closer look.
03 / About Barules Group
From 2014 to today.
Barules Group began with Barules Cocktail Club, opened by Sam Kuan in Shanghai in 2014. Before pausing in 2020, the bar held more than 75 guest shifts and welcomed over 80 visiting bartenders. It reopened at 304-2 Tongren Road on 1 July 2024.
Reply Bar was founded by Sam and Luca Cinalli in Taipei in 2020, followed by Shanghai in 2024 and Chengdu in 2025. The two brands work differently: Barules has no fixed cocktail list; Reply Bar works from a handwritten archive of 100 cocktails. Both are run by bartenders and shaped through daily service.
Founder
Sam Kuan
Asian Cocktail Pioneer
Shanghai Bartending Legend
Originally from Taipei, Sam Kuan began his career in Kaohsiung nightlife before joining BARCODE Taipei in 2005. In 2012, he finished runner-up at Diageo World Class Taiwan, moved to Shanghai and took charge of Maltfun Whisky Bar. Two years later, he opened Barules Cocktail Club.
Barules paused in 2020 and returned on Tongren Road in July 2024. In between, Sam and Luca Cinalli founded Reply Bar, first in Taipei and later in Shanghai and Chengdu. Sam’s guest shifts, masterclasses and competition judging have taken him from New York and London to Sydney, Tokyo, Paris, Milan, Bangkok and Singapore. More than twenty years on, he still works service, teaches, judges and plans the next opening.
04 / Team
Meet the team.
05 / Awards
Awards since 2015.
Barules Cocktail Club
China’s Cocktail and Spirits List Awards · 2 Star Bar of the Year
China’s Cocktail and Spirits List Awards · 2 Star Bar of the Year
Time Out Shanghai · Best Cocktail Bar of the Year
DMBA Bar Awards · Best Bartender of the Year
DMBA Bar Awards · Best Bar of the Year · Best Cocktail Program · Best Bartender of the Year · Best Bar Music
Bacardi Legacy Cocktail Competition · China Champion
Shanghai WOW Awards · Best Modern Cocktail Bar
Time Out Shanghai · Most Popular Cocktail Bar
DMBA Bar Awards · Best Service
DMBA Bar Awards · Best Bar of the Year · Best High Volume Bar · Best Bar Design · Best Service · Best Cocktail Program · Best Bartender of the Year · Best Bar Team
City Weekend Shanghai Awards · Best Bartender of the Year — Top 3
Reply Bar
China’s Cocktail and Spirits List Awards · 2 Star Bar of the Year
China’s Cocktail and Spirits List Awards · 2 Star Bar of the Year
World’s 50 Best Bars · Best Bar Design Award 2024 — Asia Top 3
06 / Contact
Venue information
Shanghai · ChengduShanghai
Barules Cocktail Club
- Address
- 304-2 Tongren Road, Jing’an District, Shanghai
- Phone
- +86 199 1675 8174
- info@barules.com
Shanghai
Reply Bar Shanghai
- Address
- 304-3 Tongren Road, Jing’an District, Shanghai
- Phone
- +86 199 1652 9948
- info@reply-bar.com
Chengdu
Reply Bar Chengdu
- Address
- 1/F, 310 Hongji New Road, Jinjiang District, Chengdu
- Phone
- +86 191 8061 5643
- info@reply-bar.com
Write to Barules Group
For general, press, partnership and career enquiries.
07 / Reservations