Fifteen years ago, Singapore’s craft cocktail scene was nonexistent. The few existing cocktail bars served beer and whisky. Today, Singapore is filled with world-class venues serving unique drinks that highlight the regional ingredients and culture of the southeast Asian metropolis.
The National Geographic explores “the city-state’s roster of award-winning drinking dens includes stellar hotel bars, sleek speakeasies and reimagined Chinatown shophouses.”
Creative drinks include those served by Nutmeg & Clove. Its Singapore-inspired cocktail list features a changing bar menu, like the current cocktail Can Bubble Gum?, a mezcal-based drink topped with candy-flavored foam. The drink is a tongue-in-cheek jab at Singapore’s ban on chewing gum. Another unique cocktail, the Oyster Omelette, is served at bar Native. The yellow, umami-packed drink is made with a base of distillate of oysters harvested off a nearby island, Pulau Ubin. The drink is served, appropriately, in a cup made of oyster shells.
“When we opened eight years ago, there were a few cocktail bars in Singapore, but they were mainly quite international,” says Colin Chia, owner of Nutmeg & Clove. “I wanted to set up something that we could proudly call a Singaporean cocktail bar.”
While sourcing can be a challenge in Singapore – an island off southern Malaysia – bars get creative. Menus are seasonal, ingredients are local and often cured, pickled or fermented to extend shelf life. Pictured, Yugnes Susela, the owner and bartender of The Elephant Room, that focuses the establishment on the colorful markets of Singapore enclave Little India. The drink is the Peranakan cocktail at Native Bar.
Read more (National Geographic)