Countdown 2023: Singapore beverage experts share top New Year's Eve drinks

Ricky Paiva, Co-Founder and Master Mixologist, FLOW Bar

FLOW

1/6

What’s your favourite holiday drink?
Nothing speaks of celebration than a glass of beautiful Champagne rosé. For my afternoon pre-dinner festive drinks, I’ll always go for a mulled wine or hot apple cider to really soak up those festive feelings.

How do you ring in the New Year?
We are usually working during New Year, and I will be partying alongside with my colleagues and the guests with a glass of champagne on hand. When our shift is over, we might have a "special" place where we can celebrate with other friends in the industry.

What are some of your special festive cocktails?
We have five festive cocktails. These are my interpretations of some of my favourite Christmas classics: Mulled Wine – a blend of Wild Turkey Bourbon, Pommeau Apple Liquor, Cointreau, red wine, and spices served with an orange wheel and cinnamon stick; Santa’s Day Off – My version of eggnog with a good measure of Remy Martin 1738 cognac; Nutcracker – a mix of vermouth, Noix walnut liquor, and hazelnut liquor; Oh Christmas Tree! – a concoction of Botanist gin, green chartreuse, sapinette, lemon, and soda. And Christmas Spritz - Christmas-spice-infused Aperol with prosecco, soda, and served with candy cane.

Rodolfo Rodriguez, General Manager, Barood

Barood

2/6

What’s your favourite celebratory drink?
My favourite beverage for the New Year is always champagne. It’s a tradition to celebrate with bubbly as we ring in the New Year. Throughout the evening, I’d choose a classic Negroni or our signature Barood cocktail – Naked Flower – which is very close to the Negroni, but with an interesting twist of yellow chartreuse and jasmine.

What are you planning to do for your New Year’s party?
I spend a lot of time in Barood, so many of our regular customers and friends are like family to us. So, during the festive season, we celebrate with them at the bar. You can’t ring in the New Year twice, so we are there with them during the countdown and I love that festive atmosphere. When work is over, I take time to visit my family and good friends, and just hang out with them.

What should guests order at Barood this year end?
We opened in September, and in those few months, our signature cocktails, like the Café con Leche, Smoking Gun, and Single Tonight, have become extremely popular among our guests. We want them to enjoy their favourite drinks, especially on such an important celebratory occasion as the New Year.

Adam Bursik, Bar Manager, Origin Bar

Origin

3/6

What’s your favourite celebratory drink?
When it comes to drinks for the New Year, I will definitely go with a glass of champagne. My choice of bubbles is the Ruinart Blanc De Blanc. For my cocktail selection, if it is a party setting, I will go for either a Daiquiri or a classic Negroni; if I want to take it easy, then an amaro with tonic will be my other choice.

How do you ring in the New Year?
We normally celebrate at work, and toast to new beginnings with colleagues, guests and friends. Unless there’s a miracle and if I happened to have a day off on New Year’s Eve or Day, I will spend time with my family.

What drinks will Origin Bar serve for New Year’s Eve and Day?
Every year, we will offer a small selection of special champagne cocktails, which are meant to be served as a surprise for our guests on New Year’s Eve and New Year’s Day. Guests are welcomed to spend time with us for a celebratory cocktail or two (think: the ‘Million Dollar Fee’ made of in-house distilled coconut rum, saffron, gold, and champagne).

Kate Pascual, Tea Specialist, Esora

Esora

4/6

What’s your favourite non-alcoholic drink for a special occasion?
My favourite drink will be one of the sparkling teas we have at Esora. It is an Oolong tea called Oriental Beauty – infused with orange peel and umeshu – in which we burn-out the alcohol. It is my favourite because it's refreshing and I love that it can pair with all kinds of dishes, especially with foods of higher oil and fat content. After all, it is the New Year and we tend to indulge in richer foods during the celebrations. So a more healthful drink like the Oriental Beauty will be beneficial as teas have anti-oxidants with plenty of natural benefits.

What will you be doing this New Year’s Eve and Day?
As I am usually working at the restaurant on New Year’s Eve, we normally count down at the restaurant and celebrate with the guests. And since New Year's Eve falls on Saturday this year, I will celebrate with my colleagues the day after. The team has a favourite restaurant in Outram Road called Tian Tian Seafood. We always head over on Sunday evening to end our work week with supper, so I guess for this year, we will be there on 1 January evening as always. And then we will go home to do a late celebration with our family, housemates, friends on our day off on Monday.

What kind of seasonal drinks will Esora serve this year end?
We have introduced a seasonal Junmai Daiginjo sake for the winter months. Hakkaisan Yuki-Muro Chozo (3 Years Snow Aged) Junmai Daiginjo Sake – is a pure rice ginjo liquor snow-aged for three years in the Hakkissan Snow Room. The Uonuma region in the Niigata Prefecture goes through severe winters and heavy snowfall of 2-3 m of snow, so the makers harness the power of the snow’ to ‘snow age’ the sake throughout the months when there is no snowfall, maintaining a natural refrigerator in the Hakkaisan Snow Room.

Gabriele Rizzardi, Wine Director, Buona Terra

Buona Terra

5/6

What’s your favourite champagne?
I absolutely enjoy Krug Grande Cuvee Edition 170. It is elegant, rounded and balanced, with fine, vivacious bubbles - everything I love in a drink for any type of celebration.

How do you usher in the New Year?
I usually work on New Year’s Eve and after dinner service, we will toast to a year’s of hard work, and have a drink or two while chatting till the early hours. This year, my mother will be visiting, so I’ll be celebrating New Year with her, my wife and son.

What’s a special wine pairing can guests enjoy during the festive period?
We offer wine pairing depending on our guests’ preferences – they can include natural wines as well as a whisky flight with vintages from the 1960s, 70s, 80s & 90s. And of course, I’d also recommend celebrating with Buona Terra’s Champagne of Choice – Krug. We serve it by the glass and bottle.

Edriane Lim, Bar Manager, The Bar at 15 Stamford

The Bar at 15 Stamford

6/6

What is your favourite drink for year-end celebrations?
Champagne is always great for festivities and celebrations. It is bubbly, effervescent and is an instant mood lifter. My go to champagne will be a bottle of Louis Roderer Brut.

What would you recommend guests to enjoy at your hotel's bar?
Hoto Matua is made with Six Saints Grenada Rum, Amaro, Angostura Bitters, Peychaud Bitters, and topped with sparkling wine. The addition of sparkling wine in this cocktail makes it easy to drink and a great choice for New Year's Eve. The drink is actually named after Hotu Matuꞌa, Easter Island's legendary first settler (from Polynesia), supreme chief and the ancestor of the Rapa Nui people.