Singapore Cocktail Festival returns in May this year, and within this edition’s calendar will include the announcement ceremony of Asia’s 50 Best Bars.

Singapore Cocktail Festival first started as Singapore Cocktail Week back in 2015, but last year reinvented itself into a full-blown week-long festival celebrating all things cocktail. This year the festival will stretch from 4 to 13 May 2018, and will kick off at a new location, to boot. The SGCF Festival Village will be located at Empress Lawn, right at the core of Singapore’s Civic District and in the midst of many iconic historical and cultural landmarks. Festival goers can expect representation from over 30 of the best cocktail bars from Singapore and the region. Participating bars from Singapore will include the likes of Astor Bar, Bob’s Bar, Caffe Fernet, Cin Cin, Mitzo Restaurant & Bar, Nutmeg & Clove, Propeller Bar, Red Tail Bar, Smoke & Mirrors, Tess Bar & Kitchen and The Wall, while guest bartenders from around the region – James Estes from Skullduggery (Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia), Bob Louison from Pussyfoot Salon (Seoul, South Korea), for example – will also make a showing.

“Consumers will be able to sample creative cocktails by internationally-acclaimed bars, bartenders and partnering brands such as Hendrick’s Gin and Monkey Shoulder by William Grant & Sons, while soaking in an outdoor festival vibe,” shares Wai Mayleng, co-founder of Singapore Cocktail Festival.

What’s particularly interesting this year though is that the organisers of Asia’s 50 Best Bars – the same people behind World’s 50 Best Bars – have elected to host its first-ever awards ceremony here in Singapore on 3rd May 2018 to announce the 2018 edition, as part of the Singapore Cocktail Festival 2018 calendar to kick off the rest of the events. To be held at the Capitol Theatre on the evening of 3rd May 2018, the invite-only event will be attended by Asia’s top bartenders, influential bar owners, industry figures and international media. This will be followed by an after-party at an iconic destination in the city.

Now the Asia’s 50 Best Bars list was first introduced in 2016 as an extension of The World’s 50 Best Bars – which had its inaugural edition in 2009 – and having the awards in Singapore is a testament to the burgeoning cocktail scene in Singapore. Indeed, Singapore bars took a whopping 13 spots in the 2017 list, with Manhattan Bar in the Regent Singapore taking the No.1 spot and cementing Singapore’s reputation within the cocktail world.

“Singapore is undoubtedly the leading cocktail destination in Asia,” says William Drew, Group Editor of The World’s 50 Best Bars and Asia’s 50 Best Bars.

As for Singapore Cocktail Festival 2018, Festival Village tickets will go on sale from 3pm (Singapore time) on 23 February 2018, and are priced from $28 nett for a 1-day pass to $50 nett for a 3-day pass. For more information, visit www.singaporecocktailfestival.com.

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