You land in a new city, drop your bags at the hotel and, naturally, open Google Maps. “Cocktail bar.” There are 137 results. There are rooftop bars, hotel lounges, nightclubs, restaurants with cocktail menus, “speakeasies” hidden behind unmarked doors, and places whose five-star reviews seem to be mostly about the music, the lighting, and the attractive people behind the bar. So, what makes a traveling drinker choose a bar over the dozens of others on the map? First, they'll

Most people order a cocktail based on what's in it. Bartenders, on the other hand, think about how it's made. That distinction matters more than you might think. Two drinks can contain nearly identical ingredients yet taste and feel completely different depending on the technique used to prepare them. A shaken Martini has a brighter, airier texture than a stirred one. Roll a Bloody Mary instead of shaking it, and you'll get a silkier, less frothy drink. These techniques aren'

The Southeast Asian cocktail scene did not simply bounce back after COVID-19. It went through a distinct cycle: 2020–21 was about survival, 2022 became the great opening boom, and the following years saw more cocktail bars expand throughout more cities and countries. Cambodia and Thailand were among the earliest movers to remove restrictions in late 2021, followed by the Philippines (Feb), Vietnam (Mar), Singapore (Apr), Malaysia (Apr), and Indonesia (Apr) in the first half o

Sit down at almost any decent restaurant and the first thing you'll hear is some version of "any allergies or dietary restrictions we should know about?" Kitchens ask because they know food comes with risk, and asking costs nothing. Walk up to most cocktail bars, though, and that question rarely comes up at all, even though a modern cocktail menu can carry just as many of the same ingredients as the kitchen next door. Egg whites, dairy, animal fat, nuts: they're all sitting i

Southeast Asia's craft cocktail scene did not spring fully formed after the pandemic years. It was seeded, nurtured, and shaped by a generation of bartenders and bar owners – both local and expatriate – who were doing the work long before the region was on anyone's radar. To understand where the scene is now, you have to understand where it came from. And to do that, we need to go back even further... to the era before craft cocktails existed here at all. Before Craft: Hotel

Back pain might be the headline complaint among bartenders, but it’s far from the only one. Christina Neo, a physiotherapist in Singapore who treats a steady stream of bar industry clients, sees just as much wear and tear in the shoulders, neck, elbows, and knees. These all come from the same repetitive, physical work that makes the job look effortless from the other side of the bar. Most of it builds up slowly. A bartender shaking drinks all night isn’t thinking about their

Ask any physiotherapist who treats bar staff what the number one complaint is, and you’ll get the same answer every time: the back. Christina Neo, a physiotherapist in Singapore who sees a steady stream of bartenders in her practice, says about 70% of her bar-industry patients come in with back pain. It’s not even close; nothing else cracks the top spot. Most bartenders push through it for as long as they can. A physio visit costs money, and finding time for a prescribed exer

Ask any bartender which drink they're most nervous to make in front of their peers, and don't be surprised if the answer is a daiquiri. Not a twelve-ingredient tiki build, not a stirred-down Martinez, but a daiquiri. Rum, lime, sugar. That's it. And that simplicity is exactly why it's become the industry's quiet benchmark for skill. Born in a Mine, Not a Bar The daiquiri didn't start life in a glamorous cocktail lounge. It was born in 1898 near the town of Daiquirí, close to

In a region known for its tropical climate, where temperatures rarely dip below 25°C and drinkers often gravitate towards refreshing highballs, fruity sours, and easy-drinking spritzes, bartenders have become increasingly obsessed with one of the world's most austere cocktails: the martini. Served ice-cold, crystal clear, and often consisting of little more than spirit and fortified wine, the martini appears to be the antithesis of what Southeast Asia drinks. Yet from Singapo

Cocktails are served (and drunk) in very different glasses or stemware, depending on what you order. Not all cocktail glasses are created equal because they’ve all been specially designed to enhance the flavors, aesthetics, and temperatures of the cocktails you’re drinking. Yes, there’s actually science behind your favorite bar drinks! Here are some of the most popular cocktail glasses: Highball / Collins glass These tall and narrow highball glasses (8-12oz) are compatible wi

You wouldn’t immediately connect one of the earliest ingredients in cocktails to a photo-sharing app that now serves as the primary language of cocktail bars worldwide. But without bourbon, there might not have been Instagram – or at least, not the Instagram we know today. The Bourbon Drinker and the Bad Idea Long before filters and flat lays, Kevin Systrom was known among friends for two things: tinkering with side projects, and a genuine fondness for bourbon. Not in a conno

Indonesia is the world's largest archipelagic state , comprising over 17,000 different islands. As a region, it has a rich history of foreign influences, both as a colonized region and a trading hub. Combined with the rich tapestry of the different tribes, ethnicities, and religious beliefs throughout its many islands, Indonesia probably produces one of the most diverse varieties of spirits in Southeast Asia. While most of the drinks are palm and rice spirits typical of the

When we think of iconic alcoholic beverages from Thailand, beer is always at the forefront. However, in terms of spirit consumption, the majority of the market gravitates towards foreign liquors such as Scotch and brandy. Although there has been an emergence of native-born spirit brands in recent years, they tend to adopt the format of Western spirits, such as gin and rum. However, there is a small handful of spirits that are distinctively Thai, with roots deeply intertwined

Vietnam is one of the strongest agricultural powerhouses in Southeast Asia, with some of its commodity outputs ranking the country among the world's top ten. It's a remarkable feat, given that Vietnam was struggling to feed itself just a couple of decades back as a result of constant power struggles. Nurtured by the Mekong Delta and assisted by strong agricultural policies, rice became one of the country's biggest exports. Rice is a staple part of Vietnamese cuisine, used in

At any cocktail bar, the centerpiece is undoubtedly the bar counter: it defines the space as a 'bar' that serves booze. This long, elevated surface serves the purpose of not just serving drinks to customers (standing or sitting), but also a space for conversation between both sides of the counter. The bar counter seems so natural that it’s easy to assume it has always existed. In reality, it emerged in the 19th century alongside another important development in drinking cultu