13 out of the 20 top spots in the Asia’s 50 Best Bars awards for 2022 went to drinking venues in Hong Kong and Southeast Asia (part of the areas currently covered by Happy Hour Asia) with Coa in Hong Kong taking the top spot and The Best Bar in Hong Kong. It is the second bar to achieve this back-to-back feat, after Manhattan, Singapore, in 2017 and 2018. Singapore’s bar scene meanwhile continues to stay strong (even despite stringent restrictions there due to Covid-19 during the past few years) with three bars listed in the top ten! In fact, Singapore secures 11 positions on the list, with Jigger & Pony ranking No.2 and named The Best Bar in Singapore.
In Singapore, MO Bar (Mandarin Oriental Singapore) at No.8 is the Nikka Highest Climber with an impressive 37 position leap. Manhattan comes in at No.9 and one-year-old Republic is a new entrant at No.12. There is also No Sleep Club (No.15), Atlas (No.23), Tippling Club (No.27) and Sago House (No.31) which has jumped 18 spots from last year’s No.49. Nutmeg & Clove makes a re-entry to the list at No.36, with bartender-owner Colin Chia winning the title of Roku Industry Icon. For this award, the Voting Academy is asked to give the name of one person who has done more for the progress of the bar industry than any other individual. A well-deserved winner, Chia has contributed tirelessly to the bar sector on a global and regional level, educating bartenders by developing training programmes across the region in his previous roles, as well as currently from his two venues.
BKK Social Club. Photo: Dennis Thern.
Asia’s Best Bars 2022: Hong Kong newcomers
Another newcomer to the list is 100% plant-based bar Analogue at No.37. 28 HongKong Street also comes in at No.49.
Coming in at No.3 is Argo in Hong Kong, a new entrant to the list and winner of the Disaronno Highest New Entry Award. BKK Social Club at Four Seasons Bangkok hotel, meanwhile, grabbed the tenth position.
Thailand secures five spots in the 2022 list that features bars from 16 cities across Asia. BKK Social has also been awarded the Michter’s Art of Hospitality Award as well as The Best Bar in Thailand. The rest of the list from Bangkok consists of Tropic City (No.17), Vesper (No.19), newcomer Asia Today at No.43 and The Bamboo Bar at No.46.
Sponsored by Perrier, the 2022 list was announced at an in-person awards ceremony on 28 April in Bangkok, Thailand. The seventh edition of the annual awards was a chance for Asia’s bar community to come together after a hiatus in live events, as the region emerges from the pandemic’s many challenges and international travel resumes once more. The Asia’s 50 Best Bars list and surrounding programme aims to recognise the immense talent, resilience and constant innovation evident across Asia’s bar landscape.
Atlas Bar
Asia’s Best Bars 2022: winner Coa
On the winner, bartender-owner Jay Khan launched Coa in 2017, which continues its mission to bring agave spirits to the forefront of Asia’s cocktail scene. The bar offers an extensive menu of handcrafted Mexican spirits that include tequila and mezcal, and rarer expressions such as raicilla, bacanora, sotol and charanda. A veteran of the industry, Khan has over 13 years’ experience and was voted Bartenders’ Bartender at Asia’s 50 Best Bars 2020. Coa first debuted on the Asia’s 50 Best Bars list in 2019, winning the Highest New Entry Award at No.12, and has enjoyed a meteoric rise to the top spot ever since.
Siete Misterios Best Cocktail Menu goes to Bar Trigona in Malaysia. The bar at the Four Seasons in Kuala Lumpur uses Malaysian produce as a mainstay, from the wild turmeric harvested in Pahang, raw honey from the eponymous Trigona hives and tropical fruits from a Bangi organic farm.
Bar Trigona, Kuala Lumpur
Mark Sansom, Content Director for Asia’s 50 Best Bars, says: “We could not be happier that Asia’s 50 Best Bars returns to a live event format this year and that the community can experience much-needed connection and conviviality once again. Asia’s bars have shown remarkable resilience and growth in spite of the challenges of the past two years, and we continue to be proud to celebrate the talent and creativity on display in bars all across Asia. Congratulations to Jay Khan and the team at Coa for holding onto their top position after another tumultuous year for Hong Kong. Coa’s winning cocktail of an Agave-spirits-forward menu, expertly-crafted menu and a complete understanding of the guest experience has again proven to strike a winning chord with our voting Academy.”
Elisa Gregori, Perrier Global Business Unit Director, says: “Perrier being present in key Asian markets as the icon of sparkling water since the genesis of the category, and being the lead partner for Asia’s 50 Best Bars since 2018, shows we are proud of the strong, enduring collaboration and solidarity we share with the international bar community in Asia. The ceremony of Asia’s 50 Best Bars 2022, sponsored by Perrier, is the first official physical community gathering for over two years, so we’re thrilled to be able to show our appreciation to all the bars that have made the list and look forward to seeing international community bonds strengthened again. Being the leading premium sparkling water brand in out-of-home worldwide, as travel re-opens across countries in Asia, we’re committed in supporting 50 Best in shining a spotlight on the best bars in Asia.”
Cocktail by BKK Social Club, Four Seasons Bangkok. Photo: Dennis Thern
Awarded bars and their ranking from Hong Kong or cities within Southeast Asia:
1 Coa Hong Kong
2 Jigger & Pony Singapore
3 Argo Hong Kong
8 Mo Bar Singapore
9 Manhattan Singapore
10 BKK Social Club Bangkok
11 Sober Company Shanghai
12 Republic Singapore
13 Darkside Hong Kong
15 No Sleep Club Singapore
16 Quinary Hong Kong
17 Tropic City Bangkok
19 Vesper Bangkok
22 Penicillin Hong Kong
23 Atlas Singapore
27 Tippling Club Singapore
29 Bar Trigona Kuala Lumpur
31 Sago House Singapore
32 The Cocktail Club Jakarta
33 The Pontiac Hong Kong
34 The Wise King Hong Kong
35 Junglebird Kuala Lumpur
36 Nutmeg & Clove Singapore
37 Analogue Singapore
38 The Aubrey Hong Kong
43 Asia Today Bangkok
46 The Bamboo Bar Bangkok
49 28 HongKong Street Singapore
