[dropcap size=small]S[/dropcap]ix Singapore bars made it into the 2017 edition of the World’s 50 Best Bars list, which was announced in London on Thursday (Oct 5) evening. This was the strongest showing ever of bars here.
Established cocktail bar Manhattan in the Regent Hotel Singapore moved up four spots from No. 11 to No. 7 and retains its position as Best Bar in Asia. Earlier this year, it also clinched the top spot in the Asia’s 50 Best Bars list.
Atlas, located at Parkview Square, made its debut on the list at No. 15 and was also the highest new entry. The lobby bar, which opened at the beginning of this year, is known for its opulent Art Deco interiors and a collection of more than 1,000 types of gin.
Singapore entrants to the 2017 list:
Also new on the list was Amoy Street bar Native at No.47. It focuses on regionally-sourced spirits and foraged ingredients. The bar had already received a number of accolades since it opened earlier this year, including clinching the No.20 spot on the Asia’s 50 Best Bars List 2017 and snagging Most Creative Cocktail Bar and Bartender of the Year for its head bartender Vijay Mudaliar at the home-grown Bar Awards in June.
Other Singapore bars on the list included Operation Dagger at No.24, which dropped three places, and 28 Hongkong Street which dropped 11 spots to No. 25. Tippling Club, headed by Briton Joe Schofield, re-entered the list this year at No. 31. The last time the bar was in the list was in 2013, where it placed at No. 45.
William Drew, 45, group editor of The World’s 50 Best Bars, said Singapore’s showing in the list was “reflective of the growth in quality, diversity, innovation and buzz in the bar scene in Singapore”.
(RELATED: Manhattan bar in Regent Hotel is no. 1 on Asia’s 50 Best Bars list.)
“It is genuinely one of the most exciting cities in the world now for cocktail lovers and I think any discerning drinker who has visited Singapore in the last couple of years would not be surprised by these results,” he said. “The food and drinks scene are burgeoning hand in hand, and feeding off each other, to make for a thrilling destination.”
He added that Singapore “sits in the top tier of the global cocktail scene, fast catching up the big beasts of London and New York”.
Clinching the No. 1 spot was London bar American Bar at The Savoy Hotel. Dandelyan at Mondrian Hotel, also in London, was No. 2. Both climbed one spot from last year. Last year’s top bar, The Dead Rabbit Grocery & Grog in New York, fell to the fourth spot.
New York’s The NoMad climbed five spots to take third place.
Asian bars had strong representation this year, with 12 bars in total from Singapore, Japan, Hong Kong, China and Taiwan taking spots on the list.
The results were voted by more than 500 drinks industry experts from 55 countries.
The annual list is in its ninth year and is now released by William Reed Business Media, who also organises The World’s 50 Best Restaurants and Asia’s 50 Best Restaurants lists. It takes over this year from London-based Drinks International magazine, which now serves as its trade media partner for World’s 50 Best Bars.
THE WORLD’S 50 BEST BARS 2017
1 American Bar, London (Best Bar in Europe and The World)
2 Dandelyan, London
3 The NoMad, New York (Best Bar in North America)
4 Connaught Bar, London
5 The Dead Rabbit Grocery and Grog, New York
6 The Clumsies, Athens
7 Manhattan, Singapore (Best Bar in Asia)
8 Attaboy, New York
9 Bar Termini, London
10 Speak Low, Shanghai
11 Little Red Door, Paris
12 Happiness Forgets, London
13 High Five, Tokyo
14 Licoreria Limantour, Mexico City (Best Bar in Latin America)
15 Atlas, Singapore (Highest New Entry)
16 Dante, New York
17 Oriole, London
18 Broken Shaker, Miami
19 Candelaria, Paris
20 Himkok, Oslo
21 The Gibson, London
22 Black Pearl, Melbourne (Best Bar in Australia)
23 Floreria Atlantico, Buenos Aires (Highest Climber)
24 Operation Dagger, Singapore
25 28 HongKong Street, Singapore
26 Trick Dog, San Francisco
27 Sweet Liberty, Miami
28 Indulge Experimental Bistro, Taipei
29 Lost & Found, Nicosia
30 Baba Au Rum, Athens
31 Tippling Club, Singapore
32 BlackTail, New York (Best New Opening)
33 Jerry Thomas Speakeasy, Rome
34 Le Syndicat, Paris
35 Tales & Spirits, Amsterdam
36 Bar Benfiddich, Tokyo
37 Employees Only, New York
38 Schumann’s, Munich
39 La Factoria, Old San Juan
40 Quinary, Hong Kong
41 Aviary, Chicago
42 Mace, New York
43 Nightjar, London
44 Linje Tio, Stockholm
45 The Baxter Inn, Sydney
46 ABV, San Francisco
47 Native, Singapore
48 Tommy’s, San Francisco
49 Lobster Bar, Hong Kong
50 Imperial Craft, Tel Aviv
Story first appeared on The Straits Times.
