Appearances are deceiving. The glitzy Singapore hotel lobby I’m standing in looks a little vanilla, but there’s something very exciting about it.
On one side is a small, dark corridor that leads to what is officially the best bar in Asia, Jigger & Pony.
The establishment received this prestigious title at this year’s World’s 50 Best Bars Awards, which ranks among the crème de la crème of cocktail bars around the world.
Jigger & Pony – a jigger is the hourglass-shaped gauge used by bartenders – is 12th overall.
Ailbhe MacMahon visits Singapore’s Jigger & Pony (above), which won Best Bar in Asia at the World’s 50 Best Bars Awards 2022
It’s a formidable feat for the couple behind it, husband-and-wife team Gan Guoyi, who has a hospitality background at Singapore Airlines, and Indra Kantono, who previously worked at US consulting firm Bain & Company.
When it opened in 2012, it was located on Amoy Street in Singapore’s Chinatown, but as business grew, it moved to the Amara Singapore Hotel, where it still resides.
Head down the hall to the bar and you’re ushered into a dark, atmospheric space where sophisticated, jazzy music blares from the speakers. Chic Singaporean couples and groups of friends mingle in crescent-shaped booths, while a long central counter encourages shared seating – an unusual touch for an intimate cocktail bar. Décor is suitably sophisticated, with lots of velvet, mid-century lamps, peach curtains and plush orange swivel chairs.
Golden light shines from the bar, where staff in formal gray jackets and ties are hard at work shaking and stirring elegant concoctions.
Jigger & Pony – a jigger is the hourglass-shaped gauge used by bartenders – took 12th place in the World’s 50 Best Bars Awards
Jigger & Pony is located in the lobby of Amara Singapore Hotel. Head down the hall to the bar and you’re ushered into a dark, atmospheric space where sophisticated, jazzy music blares from the speakers
As soon as I’m shown to my table, senior bartender Adrian Foo tells me that there are many elements that go into making the bar such a success story. He says: “It’s about the hospitality, it’s about the drinks, it’s about that [the] atmosphere. at the same time, [it’s about] how we treat our guests, not just as customers, but we treat them more like a friend. Everything comes together.”
The menus are presented in a glossy menu magazine filled with detailed descriptions of the drinks. You can take one home for 18 Singapore dollars (£11).
Flip to the cover and you’ll be treated to a plethora of unconventional drinks, from the Patat Opera (Hendrick’s Orbium gin, sweet potato, and cocoa liqueur) to the Corn Colada (Bacardi Reserva Ocho rum, corn, butter, lime, and egg white) .
Decor is suitably sophisticated, with lots of velvet, mid-century lamps and peachy curtains
The menus are presented in the form of a glossy magazine “menu-zine”. Turn to the first page and you’ll be presented with a plethora of unconventional drinks
Above is Ailbhe’s cocktail – the “Soy Milk Punch,” a concoction of Japanese Ki No Bi Gin, soy milk, lychee, oolong tea and red wine
They’re not cheap, with each drink costing 28 Singapore dollars (£17) – although alcohol tends to be expensive in the city. To experience the bar on a budget, there’s happy hour from 6pm, during which select cocktails are priced at S$18 (£11).
A waitress points out the drinks that have long been popular with patrons — the Yuzu Whiskey Sour with bourbon and “yuzu jam”; the Madame President with orchid and melon liqueur and a “Campari lollipop”; and the Crimson Bullet, a mix of tequila, mescal and beetroot.
I tell Adrian what I like in a drink (gin based, slightly sweet) and he recommends trying the “Soy Milk Punch”, a concoction of Japanese Ki No Bi gin, soy milk, lychee, oolong tea and red wine.
It arrives chilled, with a crimson layer resting on a translucent base. Adrian tells me not to mix the two layers together, but to sip them as one. It gets full marks from me – you get an initial splash of spicy red wine, followed by a dose of sweet, floral syrup.
To experience the bar on a budget, there is a happy hour from 6pm, during which cocktails cost S$18 (£11).
Ailbhe (above) describes her cocktail: “First you get a whiff of spicy red wine, followed by a dose of sweet, floral syrup.”
The bar is also known for their punch bowls, which offer 15 to 20 servings per pop. The Chatham Artillery punch, for example, which has a staggering price tag of 330 Singapore dollars (£198), is a blend of yuzu-infused bourbon, rum, cognac, green tea and Louis Roederer champagne. Wines, beers and mocktails are also offered, and the bartenders choose cocktails to take away.
Drinks are paired with free small plates of chicken chips, while sharing plates with pistachio and hummus dip or blue crab with smoked leeks are also on the menu.
As I leave, spirits are high and the tables are full. Adrian reveals that Jigger & Pony hasn’t seen much business growth since being named the best bar in Asia, but remains a favorite among Singaporeans – and a hidden gem for travelers.
The World’s Best Bar Awards say that Jigger & Pony has “always done things a little differently”. I tend to agree. The drinks are imaginative, the staff are experts and the environment is as mellow as can be.
The best bar in Asia? I can’t confirm this, but it’s definitely worth a visit.
World’s Best Pub Awards say Jigger & Pony “always did things a little differently”
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James is an author and travel journalist who writes for The Fashion Vibes. With a love for exploring new cultures and discovering unique destinations, James brings his readers on a journey with him through his articles.
