HONG KONG – Singapore’s Jigger & Pony retained its position as Asia’s second-best bar for the third consecutive year.
During the awards ceremony for Asia’s 50 Best Bars 2023 in Hong Kong on Tuesday night, the bar at Amara Hotel in Tanjong Pagar once again was pipped to the top post by Hong Kong’s Coa.
But it was also named the Remy Martin Legend of the List, an award given to bars that consistently performed well in the rankings since they began in 2016.
Jigger & Pony had landed the No. 1 spot in 2020 before it was overtaken by Coa in 2021.
Coa, which is dedicated to cocktails focusing on agave spirits such as mezcal, has retained that top ranking ever since.
Mr Uno Jang, bar operations manager at Jigger & Pony, told The Straits Times: “It is a pleasure to be No. 2 on the Asia’s 50 Best Bars list – it is well-deserved for the team, for our guests who have consistently supported us, and for Singapore’s tight-knit cocktail community which has always had each other’s backs.”
There were no hard feelings about coming in second to Coa once again, he added. “We plan to celebrate at Coa later tonight... I’m very happy for us to be compared with a bar of that calibre.”
Coa co-founder Jay Khan said that the win in Hong Kong was the most meaningful one of the bar’s three wins.
“I was born and brought up here, and I’ve seen Hong Kong evolve from a scene of karaoke bars to what it is today,” he said during a press conference after the awards ceremony.
“I’m very proud to represent Hong Kong. We don’t plan to change anything at Coa (in the face of this win), but to continue promoting agave spirits in a way that people in Hong Kong and Asia will understand.”
Singapore had 11 bars on the list, the most of any Asian city.
Notably, Nutmeg & Clove in Purvis Street leapt to No. 7 from 36th place last year, Sago House in Sago Street climbed to No. 10 from No. 31, and Analogue Initiative at Chijmes jumped to No. 15 from No. 37.
Like Jigger & Pony, Sago House and Analogue Initiative received individual awards – the Michter’s Art of Hospitality Award and the Ketel One Sustainable Bar Award respectively.
Other Singapore entrants were 28 HongKong Street at No. 24, up from No. 49 last year; Manhattan at Conrad Singapore Orchard, which slid to No. 21 from No. 9; and Atlas at Parkview Square at No. 27, a few positions down from No. 23.
Employees Only and Native, both in Amoy Street, re-entered the ranking at No. 30 and No. 42 respectively.
Their Amoy Street neighbour Stay Gold Flamingo was Singapore’s only new entrant on the list, landing at No. 32.
Night Hawk in Tanjong Pagar Road, which last week debuted on the 51-100 ranking of Asia’s 50 Best Bars at No. 73, received the Campari One To Watch Award during the ceremony at Rosewood Hong Kong.
The bar, which opened last year, features “drinks which are approachable and unpretentious”, said Mr Mark Sansom, content director for Asia’s 50 Best Bars, highlighting the bar as a contender to break through to the top 50 ranking in the future.
Mr Peter Chua, co-founder of Night Hawk, called the win “super validating”, especially given the challenges faced by small businesses in Singapore.
It was a sentiment that Sago House co-owner Jay Gray – who also co-founded Low Tide in Club Street and Underdog Inn in Amoy Street – agreed with.
“Just in the last year, rental in Singapore has skyrocketed, and the food and beverage industry has been the first to be hit by rising costs across the board. This year, we gave everyone pay rises even though we couldn’t afford to, because their costs of living have also shot up.”
The Asia’s 50 Best Bars list has been published since 2016, and is based on votes by Asia’s 50 Best Bars Academy, an Asia-based group of 260 industry professionals that includes bartenders, bar owners, drinks writers, educators and cocktail aficionados.
For the full list of winners, go to https://str.sg/iikR.
On Oct 17, Singapore will host the World’s 50 Best Bars announcement ceremony at Pasir Panjang Power Station. It will mark the first time that the influential ranking is hosted by an Asian city.
