It’s that time of the year again.
No, sadly, it’s not Christmas, but perhaps the next best thing. The Singapore Cocktail Festival returns from 4th to 13th May 2018. A whopping ten days of drinking, revelry and all around good fun.
On second thought, maybe it is Christmas come early.
The Festival Returns
Like last year, there will be an outdoor festival village where everyone can mingle and enjoy some bar-hopping without all the fuss. This year, the venue has to be one of the most picturesque in Singapore; it will be on Empress Lawn, right outside the Asian Civilizations Museum, in the dead center of the old Central Business District. If you’re feeling up to it, you can enjoy a tipple while enjoying views of both the National Art Gallery or the Singapore River.
We suspect that there might also be room for more than one Merlion on the River.
The bar lineup is pretty strong, as always. We have Bob’s Bar, Caffe Fernet, Elixir Bar, Mitzo Restaurant & Bar, Nutmeg & Clove, Smoke & Mirrors, Tess Bar & Kitchen, and The Wall serving up some tasty tipples, among others. Stay tuned for a sneak peak further down the article.
It wouldn’t be much of a festival without award-winning bartenders coming down from other countries to share a bit of their cocktail culture. Notables include Bob Louison from Pussyfoot Saloon (Seoul), Brian Lu from Woo Taipei, Elliot Ball from The Cocktail Trading Co. (London), James Estes from Skullduggery (KL), Jamie Rhind from The Bamboo Bar (Bangkok) and Jericson Co and David Ong from The Curator (Makati).
If Drinking isn’t Enough
As before, you won’t go hungry at the festival. Expect some pretty good food on the Food Street, with grain bowls produced by Ninja Bowl and Ninja Cut, Italian cuisine by Sinfonia Ristorante and- definitely try it- modern Chinese Food from Zui Hong Lou. The Artisanal Spirits Tasting Room will also be back this year, where you can sample artisanal spirits and meet the makers. This year, we will be seeing Black Cow Vodka, and Mekhong, a unique spirit from Thailand with authentic Thai flavours.
If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it, we like to say. The Asia Bar Battle also returns, presented by City Nomads. If you want to enjoy the spectacle of some friendly competition, teams from Singapore, Vietnam, Malaysia, and more will be competing in challenges for guts, glory, and, most importantly bragging rights. There’s also the small matter of a cash prize.
If you’re looking for something a little more hands on, as opposed to mouth-in, there will be Festival Workshops where you can get right into the thick of things. Our own interest is piqued by Kyrö Distillery Company’s Gin Blending Workshop, where you can learn about gin-making and perhaps even take your unique concoction home.
Festival Village tickets are currently on sale from $28 for a 1-day pass, including an exclusive 3-piece SGCF cocktail shaker set (valued at $50). The Cocktail Passport is available for purchase at $15 nett from the Festival Village but Festival Village ticket holders will receive it for free.
Beyond the Party
The festival village is just the beginning of the Festival. During the week, there will be deals for drinks at a whole slew of bars, ranging from discounted cocktails to special cocktail and food pairing menus. You will need to buy a Cocktail Passport to enjoy them, but Festival Village ticket holders will receive the passport for free.
The list of participating venues is pretty large, but it includes some of the best ones in town, such as 28HKS, Amrith, Anti:Dote, Caffe Fernet, Nutmeg & Clove, Operation Dagger, Origin, Smoke & Mirrors, Tess, and the list goes on and on. The full list will be on the festival website here.
If that all seems overwhelming, the Bar Tours will also be making their return. Each is a guided bar hop which features three or four bars each. Or, if you’re feeling adventurous (always good), why not plan your own jaunt around town? Each bar tour ticket is priced at $98 per night, inclusive of a cocktail at each venue.
A Little Sneak Preview
Well, we did mention a sneak preview, so here it is. Mitzo will be part of both the pop-up and festival portions, and they’ve actually created a new cocktail for the occasion.
Camillo’s Island ($20++) is a hybrid of a Singapore Sling and a Negroni. It sounds hideous, but it turned out more to be unicorn than Frankenstein’s Monster. Best described as a tropical Negroni, the typical sweet pineapple of the Singapore Sling is counterbalanced by the Negroni’s bitterness. The orange island in the centre melts over time, subtly adding citrus flavours to the cocktail over time. The flamed rosemary adds a wonderful aroma on top of all that. Quite nice.
The Garden of Eden is already a signature at Mitzo, but it will be available at the festival grounds. Espolon Tequila is infused with 8 treasures tea, then shaken with Luxardo Maraschino, grapefruit bitters, chrysanthemum syrup and lemon juice. There is a thick sweetness at first, but then a light herbal and savoury cherry flavour shines through. The drink has shades of an herbal tea, but in a good way.
For those who want something a little lighter, the Shiso Mojito will also be available at the festival grounds. A long drink consisting of osmanthus infused Mt Gay rum, Shiso liqueur, lime juice, orange bitters and ginger beer. A refreshing drink with a floral-herbal aroma, rounded fruitiness, and a nice peppery green flavour to end off. A mojito variant that has some interesting flavour and depth.
And if that’s still not enough…
There’s a parallel event running at the same time as the Singapore Cocktail Festival. A quintet of award-winning Asian bars will be setting up shop here from 2nd May to 12th May, which should satisfy even the most ornery of cocktail drinkers (including us).
The highlight this year will be The Botanist Residences at Gibson and the eponymous Islay gin. During the residences, Gibson will feature suspend its own offerings and offer exclusively curated menus around the themes of Asian botanicals with Bar Ben Fiddich, and sustainability in cocktails with Charlie Parker’s.
The visiting bars:
Ben Fiddich: Hiroyasu Kayama, considered to be one of Japan’s best bartenders, will be holding court at Gibson on 4th and 5th May. Along with Gibson’s Aki Eguchi, Gento Torigata, and Silvio Daniele, he will create a 10-drink menu featuring Japanese and Southeast Asian botanicals. A must see; when we tried Kayama-san’s drinks last year, they were nothing short of masterful.
Charlie Parker’s: The bar will be presenting a 10-drink menu highlighting the concept of eco-conscious bartending. Highlights of the menu include the Clarified Singapore Sling and Macadamia, with each cocktail and ingredient chosen to tell a story. They’ll be at Gibson on 11th and 12th May.
Alice Cheongdam: Celebrated bartenders Terry Kim and Demie Kim will be concocting their signature cocktails with a Korean twist, including Stone Pot, inspired by Korean Ginseng soup, and Sujeonggwa, a boozy rendition of a traditional persimmon punch. They’ll be at Jigger & Pony on 2nd May, and Anti:dote on 4th May.
Q&A Bar: Veteran mixologist Attapon De Silva will be creating a different 4 drink menu for each of his 3 guest shifts. On 3rd May, he will be at Artemis. On the 4th, Attapon will be presenting his Coloured Cocktail Series at Tess, and on the 5th, mixing up his Party Animal Cocktail Series at Potato Head Singapore.
AHA Saloon: Singaporeans will no doubt be familiar with Taiwan’s food and flavours. Yet, many of us have only scratched the surface. AHA Saloon’s Jeffrey Chang, will show us how deep the rabbit-hole goes, incorporating Asian flavours such as pandan, yam, and the mysteriously peculiar Calocedrus – a plant native to Taiwan. Jeffrey will be at Neon Pigeon on 10th May, The Horse’s Mouth on 11th May, and Employees Only on 12th May.
