Gibson

Gibson mixes up seriously good cocktails with a sense of humour – look behind the bar and you’ll see that the jacket and bowtie-clad bartenders also wear shorts. Cocktails draw on regional ingredients like the homemade Philippine mango fermented in the style of a Pedro Ximénez sherry (Mango PX); Malaysian white guava paired with tequila and ulam raja (a local medicinal plant); and a coconut-infused Botanist gin sorbet with sparkling sake (Always Summer). Be sure to try the Gibson, which features a specially commissioned vermouth from a Kansai sake brewery, and the piquant condiments: a pickled pearl onion, pickled wasabi leaves and smoked quail egg.

Manhattan

Hailed Best Bar in Asia at 2018’s World’s 50 Best Bars, the Manhattan at the Regent Singapore hotel can also boast of having the world’s first in-hotel rickhouse, where more than 100 oak barrels age whiskies and other spirits. The America Whiskey Embassy programme features 150 varieties, including rare collectibles like Pappy van Winkle’s Family Reserve 20 Years. The solera-aged Negroni has traditionally been a top seller, though the bar’s new trolley service (where staff mix a punchbowl tableside) and the adults-only Sunday Cocktail Brunch are also top draws.

Tippling Club

Tippling Club has forged a path for inventive cocktail pairing since its British chef-owner Ryan Clift’s 2008 arrival. As of 2020, it ranks 17th among Asia’s 50 Best Bars – and made its debut on the World’s 50 Best Bars list. Clift works with head bartender Andrew Loudon on evocative concepts, from the menacing sounding Blood & Sand (Old Perth whisky, vermouth, cherry and orange) to The Campfire, including gin, citrus and hickory.