With the unveiling of the 2017 Asia’s 50 Best Bars list last night (Jun 21), Singapore can now call itself Asia’s undisputed cocktail capital. Regent Singapore’s Manhattan claimed the top spot and 12 other bars around town also made the list; most of the usual suspects, accompanied by a few newcomers that opened in the last year.
Manhattan jumped to first place from fifth in 2016, while last year’s top bar, 28 HongKong Street, moved in the opposite direction to end up in fourth place. The other Singapore bars on the list are Operation Dagger (#6), Tippling Club (#11), Atlas (#12), Gibson (#14), Employees Only Singapore (#17), Native (#20), Jigger and Pony (#21), D.Bespoke (#29), Nutmeg & Clove (#30), The Other Room (#35) and Sugarhall (#38).
The second edition of the list sees Singapore building on the
successes of 2016. There were nine Singapore entries then, placing it in a tie with Hong Kong as the city with the most venues listed. Singapore’s total of 13 in 2017, however, puts it firmly in first place, bettering even the aggregate of 12 from China and Hong Kong. Japan (six bars), Thailand (five bars) and South Korea (five bars) featured prominently again this year, with bars in Taiwan (three), the Philippines (two), Indonesia (two), India and Malaysia (one each) rounding off the list.
Next up, the
2017 World’s 50 Best Bars list, where Manhattan, 28 HongKong Street and Operation Dagger (#11, #14 and #21 respectively in 2016) will be looking to continue their rise through the ranks.
