It’s that time of the year again, when we celebrate the best of the Singapore Bar Scene, get some good drinks, and have a rocking good time. The Cocktail Week is back, renamed the Singapore Cocktail Festival – and it’s bigger and better than before.
This year, it will be held from 16 to 21 March, with guest shifts from bar luminaries all over the world, over 40 participating local bars and a 5,000 sqm cocktail village.
Edit: we now have a last minute guide for you to plan out your Singapore Cocktail Festival journey.
Be our Guest
Look out for Head Bartenders of ABV in Manila, Alice in Seoul, Bar Benfiddich in Tokyo, Omakase + Appreciate in Kuala Lumpur, Q&A in Bangkok, The Pontiac in Hong Kong and Woo Taipei in Taipei. Along with other international stalwarts such as Alex Kratena, former Head Bartender of Artesian in London, Matt Whiley of Peg + Patriot in London and Naren Young of Dante in New York, these bartenders will be making guest appearances at cocktail parties across the city.
“Taste”, “Learn” and “Play” at Singapore’s Best Cocktail Bars
Attendees of #SGCF2017 will enjoy great discounts and promotions on cocktails, pairing menus and more. Cocktail bar tours, workshops and masterclasses will also be available for booking online at www.singaporecocktailfestival.com from 1 February 2017.
We don’t have the full details on all the drinks yet, but what we do know so far seems exciting:
- Nutmeg and Clove will be presenting Our“Kopi” Cocktail ($14++), made with Cognac, coffee beans infused ruby port, egg yolk and simple syrup.
- Gin lovers can enjoy a series of four G&Tea cocktails ($14++) prepared with tea- infused artisanal gins at Cin Cin.
- The Raffles Hotel Bar and Billiard Room will offer three concoctions including Reminiscences ($14++), a vodka-based cocktail signifying a “beautiful ending for the iconic Raffles Hotel, and the new chapter that is about to begin”.
- 28 HongKong Street will be releasing special bottled cocktails ($23++) that have been aged in wood barrels since 2011.
- The newly opened Crackerjack will offer a “Recovery Breakfast” special ($19++), designed to get festival goers back on their feet. Decide between a “naughty” or “nice” breakfast, with a choice of coffee and a hangover prevention packet.
- Mitzo Restaurant & Bar will present the Uncle Negroni ($14++), a tipple of red date infused Genever, vermouth and orange bitters, barrel aged for one month.
Other participating bars include Anti:dote, Atlas Bar, Bar Stories, Bread Street Kitchen, Bob’s Bar, Cé La Vi, Employees Only, Fat Prince, FOC, Gibson, Highball, Horse’s Mouth, Hopscotch, Jigger & Pony, Kuvo, La Maison Du Whisky, Manhattan, Neon Pigeon, Operation Dagger, Potato Head Folk, PYXIEMOSS, Smoke and Mirrors, Sugarhall, Tess Bar & Kitchen, The Cufflink Club, The Library, The Other Room, Red Tail, The Wall and Tiger’s Milk.
The #SGCF2017 Festival Village
Without a doubt the biggest change from last year’s event is the Festival Village, It will be located at 99 Beach Road, in a former police station built in the 1930s.
In addition to live music creating the party atmosphere, cocktail fans will be glad to know that there will be:
- 10 cocktail and mocktail rooms presented by brands such as Hendrick’s Gin, BOLS and Perrier;
- A food street showcasing gourmet fare by restaurants such as The Disgruntled Brasserie, Ninja Bowl, Ninja Cut and IZY Dining and Bar
- A Tasting Room of handcrafted and small-batch spirits such as Black Cow Vodka and Paper Lantern Gin
With so many friends coming over from abroad, it is perhaps inevitable (though by no means boring), that there will be an “Asia Bar Battle”. Nine teams representing Hong Kong, Thailand, Philippines and Singapore (we’re rooting for Singapore, of course) and others will compete in creating cocktail experiences that represent their homelands, selling their cocktails, and entertaining the audience. The finals will be held on on Sunday, 19 March, and we wouldn’t miss it for the world- in this case, literally.
Visitors also have the opportunity to crown “Singapore’s Next Top Cocktail”. Through two rounds of shortlisting, industry experts will winnow down submissions from bartenders all across the island down to four drinks. The final four bartenders will then present their cocktails at the village for voting by the public. Here’s to hoping that we witness the birth of the new Singapore Sling.
The #SGCF Festival Village will be open on 16 and 17 March 2017 (Thursday and Friday) from 4pm to 10pm, and 18 and 19 March 2017 (Saturday and Sunday) from 12noon to 10pm. Entry to the village will be free(!) and all cocktails will be retailed at $12 nett.
All images courtesy of The Third Eye Photography (the-third-eye.com).
