O true Apothecary! Thy drugs are quick...

... a bit too quick it would seem. 

Apothecary, the beloved Beijing institution that set up shop in Shanghai's Sinan Mansions has decided to pull the plug. Co-head honcho Leon Lee broke the news:

Apothecary in Shanghai ceases to exist effective immediately and that it is no longer operated by Max Levy and Leon Lee of Apothecary in Beijing. The venue managed by Adam Devermann continues to operate as a cocktail bar and restaurant but has nothing to do with Max or myself, nor is it a sister venue to Apothecary Beijing any longer. We had decided a couple of months back to devolve ourselves from the operations of Apothecary's Shanghai location to focus on pending projects.

It's a bummer to be sure. Those familiar with the bar know that its (near-obsessive) focus on American bourbons and classic cocktails is truly first rate. Of course, it's not entirely out of the blue. During it's eight month run, the bar suffered from service issues and what Lee describes to be "a less-than-stellar address", tucked away on the fourth of Sinan Mansion's only high rise and nominally a bit too close to another antiquated sounding, polysyllabic mix-master location nearby.

Still, the bar will continue to run under the stewardship of bartender/manager Devermann for the time being. This could lead to another bar or an outright closure in the future. Only time will tell. As of yet, Devermann has yet to say what his plans are.