Hotel bars turn up the cool factor in decor and drinks

Jigger & Pony director Indra Kantono (seated) and bar manager Jerrold Khoo. ST PHOTO: DESMOND FOO
1927 at SO Sofitel Singapore is a rooftop oasis serving tropical, tiki-style cocktails, many of which centre on rum. PHOTO: 1927, SO SOFITEL SINGAPORE
Bar manager Michele Mariotti includes savoury cocktails on MO Bar’s menu because he says such drinks “have not been explored much”. ST PHOTO: JASMINE CHOONG
Skai beverage manager Rusty Cerven infuses a range of flavours in the bar’s 16-drink menu. ST PHOTO: JASMINE CHOONG
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Hotel bars were once seen as an afterthought in the lobby, or boring, stuffy places where business meetings are held. But this is no longer the case, as a recent crop of hotel bars proves.

Several hotel bars have opened in the past month -including MO Bar at Mandarin Oriental Singapore, Skai Bar at Swissotel The Stamford, 1927 at So Sofitel Singapore and Jigger & Pony at Amara Hotel - offering creative cocktail programmes, plush interiors and, for some, great views of the city.

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A version of this article appeared in the print edition of The Sunday Times on September 30, 2018, with the headline Hotel bars turn up the cool factor in decor and drinks. Subscribe