Eight days worth of special cocktails, masterclasses, parties and drink tours at the first-ever Singapore Cocktail Week start this Saturday. If you’re feeling overwhelmed at the thought of planning your itinerary, fear not. We spoke to industry insiders for their tips and tricks.
Plan your route
With 30 bars, cocktail workshops and tours going on, eight days may not seem enough, so be smart about your bar hop routes. “Cocktail Week is a great time to try out bars you’ve never been to before or were unsure of spending money at,” says Howard Lo of The Secret Mermaid. It means you’ll get to size a bar up without having to pay full price for drinks, too.
Be adventurous
Don’t stick to your weekly after-work drink routines. “Gather your friends and try to hit up as many bars as possible in one go,” says Brandon Hon, who shakes cocktails at new Portsdown cocktail bar DSTLLRY. Plus, it’s a great time to start exploring all those cocktail bars you’ve never been to. “Absorb the atmosphere and use it as an opportunity to try out new bars and spirits you weren’t ready to make a financial commitment to,” says Tom Hogan of Antidote.
Find your cure-all
All that drinking will eventually take a toll on you. Cocktail Week founder Pauline Wee swears by a shot of Hendrick’s Red Snapper, a variation on the Bloody Mary, every morning. But if you’re too lazy to shake up a cocktail, Jigger & Pony‘s Indra Kantono stocks up on 100Plus or coconut juice.
Chug water
Ah, the live-giving substance. Don’t forget to stay hydrated by asking for a glass of water with every cocktail you have.
Pace yourself
In the cocktail world, there is such a thing as too much of a good thing. “Be careful of taking too many stirred cocktails. Vary them with a tall drink ever two or three drinks to slow down your pace,” says Indra Kantono, “And no shots or laybacks.”
Have the magic ratio down to pat
We all know our limits, so it’s time exercise it. Maracatu cachaca’s founder Andreas Schneider always asks for a small glass of Japanese draught beer with every cocktail he orders to pace himself.
