The best cocktail bars in Singapore

Follow the neon red grin of a Cheshire cat along Duxton Road to enter Cat Bite Club, a fun and casual speakeasy shaking up agave and rice spirit-based drinks. Don’t be confused when you first have to pass through the unassuming Monument Coffee and nondescript curtains though. The bar is helmed by Jesse Vida (former head bartender at Atlas) and Gabriel Lowe (ex-bar manager at Paradise Lost Bangkok). Apart from the signature Cat Bite Margarita ($26) which features a tequila blanco and smoky mezcal base, you’ve got to try the Soju Sprint ($24). The light spritz is nicely balanced, with hints of honey, peach, mint and anise. Other classic cocktails such as the Espresso Martini, Queen's Park Swizzle, and Vieux Carre, are also available, and come accompanied by one variation of agave and rice liquor each.

Head to heritage boutique hotel 21 Carpenter, once the Chye Hua Seng Wee Kee remittance house, and you’ll find Kee’s – an irresistibly stylish cocktail bar with charm to spare. Inspired by 1930s Art Deco banking halls, the space nods to Carpenter Street’s spice-peddling heyday with cocktails infused with heritage spices and fruits. Signature sips include the Rosé Spritz ($20), Timeless Tipple ($24), made with Kee’s Signature 1936 Gin, and the Chye Negroni ($24), concocted with spices like clove, cinnamon and star anise.  Happy hour – cheekily called Quick-Kee’s – starts at 3pm to 6pm, Mondays to Thursdays, and runs all day on public holidays, with cocktails from $14. Expect a solid line-up of classics to keep your happy hour vibes just right. Pair your glass with the comforting flavours of European and Pan-Asian cuisine, and you've got yourself an elevated cocktail experience.

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Home to the world’s first in-hotel rickhouse, this grand hotel bar pays homage to the 19th century’s Golden Age of fine drinking in New York. Dress to the nines as the bar sets the stage for its new cocktail menu: Broadway Spirited. Celebrating the theatre of bartending, it spotlights 34 cocktails over five categories, including The Manhattan ($32) which is aged for eight weeks in an American oak barrel before it’s finished off at your tableside. That’s not all – hidden within is East47, an exclusive bar inspired by Andy Warhol’s Silver Factory. It offers a progressive menu of rare, artisanal spirits and refined cuisine by Chef Carolyn Or, embodying the spirit of New York’s cultural melting pot.

This spunky izakaya-bar is still somewhat of a well-kept secret, hidden behind an inconspicuous wooden sliding door at Pullman Singapore Hill Street. MOGĀ – short for ‘modern girls’ – might be the first bar in Singapore to draw inspiration from the 1920s Japanese Prohibition Era. The cocktails here make liberal use of Japanese ingredients – think shiso leaf, kinako, sesame, and even wasabi. For something classic, try the Geisha’s Garden ($24) that comes in a cute Japanese tea cup. The smooth tipple features familiar ingredients like Roku gin, jasmine tea, vanilla, citrus and matcha, making it ideal for a first drink. But if you’re feeling adventurous, go straight for the Wasabi Smash ($24) – it’s a punchier cocktail with stronger notes of Asian herbs, featuring gin with wasabi, green shiso, basil, lemongrass, and citrus.

At Republic, stories from yesteryear are brought to life in the form of cocktails. The bar evokes the soul of 1960s pop-culture, with vintage posters and vinyl records lining the walls, and oldies playing through the speakers. You’ll find cocktails inspired by the art, cinema, fashion and music of the 60s. Sip on the Mondrian ($26) which pays tribute to the iconic Yves Saint Laurent dress inspired by Piet Mondrian’s paintings. The concoction features Stranger & Sons gin, Rinomato, cinnamon, apple, citrus and egg whites. History and film buffs will appreciate the Lion City ($26), named after the first local Chinese film that was produced after the Second World War. Bacardi rum, kaya, pandan, Cointreau, pineapple and citrus are blended to evoke familiar old-school flavours that have become associated with the Singaporean palate.

Aniba’s cocktail bar is easily recognisable for the unique Avatar-like flower lamps that adorn the counter, coming alive every now and then and pulsing to the beat of the music. The bar shakes up innovative tipples to pair with their menu of Middle Eastern fusion plates. Start with something bright and crisp, like the Dome of the Rock Melon ($28), a clarified milk-washed punch with pleasant notes of rock melon. For something on the sweeter end, opt for the Queen of Sheba ($25), a vibrant scotch blend with plum cardamom syrup, citrus, and a pretty pink red wine foam. And for the truly adventurous, go straight for the Jardin Majorelle ($27) – a spicy, herbaceous concoction with green mango and chilli tincture for extra acidity. To add to the experience, drop by on Saturdays to enjoy live DJ sets by the bar. 

Whether it’s your first or fifth visit, ATLAS’ majestic art-deco inspired hall never fails to impress. Champagne-hued decals line the ceiling, gold and bronze balconies flank the space, and an imposing gin tower stands in the middle. Said to house over 1000 bottles of gin, the bar has the most diverse collection of the spirit in the world. This is one place where it won’t be uninspiring to order a Gin & Tonic, since you can customise your G&T by picking your favourite gin from the bar’s collection. The latest menu, Preservation Of Fire, is divided into four chapters according to the four main techniques in bartending – carbonation, temperature, washing and infusion. Try the Silver Bullet ($25) off the Temperature section, which is a lighter version of a Vesper Martini, marrying vodka and gin with floral notes from rose verjus, ylang ylang and a frozen grape.

Hidden away from prying eyes along Purvis Street, Last Word offers an unpretentious curation of the best classic cocktails alongside simple Japanese fare to pair. The minimalist decor allows the limelight to shine on the stellarly executed tipples. The bar’s namesake cocktail is a must-order. In fact, the Last Word ($27) is actually a cocktail invented way back in Japan during the 1920s Prohibition Era. The drink is made with Hendrick’s gin, green Chartreuse, Maraschino, lime, and served with a homemade brandied cherry. Other worthy mentions include a Japanese-inspired Bloody Mary ($27) that uses Haku vodka, together with wasabi and togarashi – a Japanese spice mixture. Or, go for the classic Martini ($25) which is a straightforward blend of gin and house blended dry vermouth.

The bar is a 22-seater hole-in-a-wall inspired by Edward Hopper’s painting ‘Nighthawks’ from the 20th century, a picture of urban alienation. The interiors echo the same 1940s retro metropolitan vibe, with sunken booths in the far back for those who prefer more privacy. By the bar, skilled bartenders shake up mean experimental cocktails ($25 each), like the Gamma-Ray Holiday, a re-imagination of the iconic Midori sour. The gin-based drink is laced with citrus and pineapple notes, followed by a pleasantly mild bitter finish from bittergourd. Other highlights include the Kick Artist Fix which is a nod to the classic Manhattan, as well as the Greenhouse Brew – a vibrant, smoky take on a Bloody Mary. And of course, no visit to the bar will be complete without ordering the signature Nighthawks cocktail, infused with rum, vodka, amara, as well as coconut and gula melaka foam.

Analogue is a vegan-friendly drinking spot that hopes to shine the spotlight on sustainability through its space, food and drinks. The bar’s centrepiece is a sculptural countertop fashioned out of recycled plastic. But it’s not all talk and no taste here. The cocktail menu features thoughtful creations ($26 each) like Cactus – an ode to succulents and their resilience to heat in the midst of global warming. The drink is a thirst-quenching mix of prickly pear, pink dragon fruit and aloe vera. Spirulina is inspired by the role of algae in providing renewable energy, so you’ll expect to taste savoury notes of wakame in this gin-based tipple. The plant-based menu extends to its food as well, so you can expect meatless plates like jackfruit tacos ($25) with a rempah-spiced filling, or nori fries ($14) paired with a unique smoked beetroot ketchup.

Another OG cocktail bar that requires no prologue, Jigger & Pony remains one of the stalwarts of Singapore’s drinking scene. Their themed cocktail menus, or rather, ‘menuzines’ as they call them, show why they are a cut above the rest in terms of the thought that goes into every menu refresh. The latest menuzine titled ‘Smash’ is a hefty 72-pager complete with storied illustrations that take you through the cocktails ($28 each) before you try them for yourselves. Sip on the fruity Lycheetini which sees lychee vermouth and Japanese sweet potato shochu shaken with a citrus-forward gin and topped with lychee jelly. Or partake in the bar’s classy rendition of the Spicy Margarita, crafted with barrel-aged tequila and Mexican chile liqueur. You can even customise the spice level of your cocktail.