Raising the Bar: Singapore's evolving cocktail scene

It is the birthplace of one of the world's most famous cocktails, but there is no doubt the city's bar scene has surpassed its namesake, the Singapore Sling. Today it takes inspiration from all over the world, and it is this diverse and exhilarating mix of global tastes that drew Indra Kantono to Singapore to open his first iconic bar, Jigger & Pony. For Kantono, Singapore's bar scene is itself much like an expertly mixed cocktail — "the perfect storm of the right ingredients," as he puts it.

Take a population hungry for new experiences, mix in influences from all over the world, add expert bartenders keen to push the boundaries of mixology, and combine with a good slug of creative energy and you have the Singapore bar scene. When Kantono arrived to scope out the hospitality scene, he found a market ready to embrace new concepts and transformative ideas that offer a more experiential encounter that brings the customer closer to the action. He wanted to create a bar that was "more than just four walls and a drink, which you could get anywhere in the world," a bar that channelled that "sweet spirit of convivial energy."

The challenges created by the pandemic over the past year have seen restaurants and bars adapt with style, unleashing new and imaginative ways of experiencing everything that Singapore has to offer in the way of food and drink. Bars and restaurants are harnessing the acceleration in technology and digital progress to bring a whole new world of cocktails to consumers here.

Kantono himself has responded with ideas that reimagine the bar experience, bringing the excitement of hospitality into people's homes. He noticed the rise in delivering cocktails as gifts to family and friends or as a form of self-reward after a hard week. The result has been a hugely popular service that delivers ready-made, high-quality cocktails, vacuum-sealed in a pouch complete with garnish, bringing the cocktail experience to a new environment. As the service took off, Kantono's team doubled as designers, creating labels and crafting personalised messages, and collaborating with local artists to design branding.

As well as cocktail kits, Kantono's bar now offers virtual masterclasses in which expert bartenders take customers through the process of creating drinks. He has even launched an e-commerce brand, described as "convivial hospitality in a bottle," which offers spirits and other Jigger & Pony products. He recognised that there was still a huge appetite for the cocktail experience in a way that was accessible, safe and innovative. "Singapore is a city that that never sleeps," Kantono explains, "and we always embrace modernity. We're always hungry for new experiences, to be educated about new cuisines or new ways of entertainment."