This year’s Asia’s 50 best bars ceremony was an inevitably atypical moment for this ominous 2020. What should have been a big celebration in Singapore turned out to be a virtual presentation that had the merit of restoring, at least for a couple of hours, a pleasant feeling of (pseudo) normality. While we are all waiting for the reopening of bars all over the world (we at BlueBlazeR will publish in the upcoming days a long series of interviews with some of the most important bartenders around the world in order to understand how they will tackle this crisis) and that we can return to enjoy cocktails at the counters of our favorite venues, we try, like every year, to closely analyse the freshly announced list.
Asia’s 50 Best Bars
Let’s begin by analytically reviewing some data: there are 11 different states in Asia’s 50 Best Bar 2020 (considering Hong Kong as a “reality” in its own right). A number of “attendance” that shows how much the bar world is growing, even outside of the more traditional routes. There is to say that 23 of those cocktail bars come from only two countries; Singapore, the real triumphant of this year’s edition, with as many as 11 venues located within the top 50 and China, in its entirety, manages to place 12 of them (8 in Hong Kong + 4 in mainland China). It’s been known for years that the capital of mixed drinks in the East was the small city-state that extends to the slopes of the Malacca peninsula; a record well established in the October edition of The World’s 50 Best Bars as well as this ranking.
Climbing from the fiftieth position, we meet two bars from South Korea, both from Seoul to be more precise, but with very different feel from each other. The Bar Cham, headed by Lim Byungjun, is in fact situated inside a “hanok”, a traditional Korean house, while Le Chamber is the first (of many) hidden bars among this ranking. From Seoul again, two other South Korean venues participate in the Asia’s 50 Best Bars 2020, Alice (n°47) and Charles H., the gorgeous hotel bar at the Four Seasons in Seoul, which wins, with its 29th place, the acknowledgement of The Best Bar in Korea 2020 sponsored
Charles H
by Mancino Vermouth.
Coming up the ranks we find Coley, Malaysia’s first venue to feature in the rankings representing a country, more specifically of a city, not particularly known in the bar industry but still capable of placing three bars in this list. In addition to the aforementioned Coley we find the Junglebird, the first rum bar in Kuala Lumpur, and, perhaps the most famous, Bar Trigona. Another hotel bar within the prestigious Four Seasons chain, this cocktail bar, led by Ashish Sharma, makes a real strength out of sustainability and the use of local raw materials, so much so that it has been awarded for the second consecutive time, in addition to the recognition as the best bar
Bar Trigona
in Malaysia (with its 14th place), the Ketel One Sustainable Bar Award.
In 45th place, and yet another indication of the importance of hôtellerie in this classification, we find The Back Room. Born in 2018, the first cocktail bar from the Philippines is located inside of the Shangri-La hotel at the Fort in Manila. But the award of Best Bar in the Philippines 2020 sponsored by Illycaffè goes to The Curator, 42nd in this Asia’s 50 Best Bar 2020.A cocktail bar extremely different from the previous one that testifies how much the culture of mixing drinking is spreading, even with very different declinations, in countries that until a few years ago were almost unimaginable.
In 43rd place, the only Indonesian bar and for this reason, of course, winner of The Best Bar in Indonesia
Union Brasserie, Bakery & Bar
2020 sponsored by Four Pillars, we can find Union Brasserie, Bakery & Bar in Jakarta. If some nations have been surprising for their presence in the ranking, it is in this case the absence of a region that caught our attention. In fact, this edition of Asia’s 50 Best Bars 2020 Bali is missing, an island belonging to the Indonesian archipelago that is also famous for its nightlife, bars and restaurants.
Only two steps up and we find the Bar Orchard Ginza, the first establishment of the large Japanese representation. The country of the rising sun has always been one of the most influential nations for the culture of contemporary mixed drinking, and in 2020 it maintains six cocktail bars among the top 50 in Asia. Considered masters of service and style, these premises have been a true point of reference for the entire sector for years now. Considered masters of service and style, these premises have been a true point of reference for the entire sector for years now. This is certainly the case of famous Hidetsugu Ueno’s High Five, currently 20th, a true dean of the list, or of Hiroyasu Kayama’s Bar Benfiddich, a model of elegance and “tailor-made” service. The recognition as The Best Bar in Japan 2020, however, goes to The SG Club, a venue that bears the signature, starting from its name, of one of the most influential bartenders in the global landscape, Shingo Gokan. The Bar Trench
Bee’s Knees
and Bee’s Knees complete the japanese team, respectively 39th and 21rst place on the list. The ladder, a New York style speakeasy created in 2018 by Toru Ariyoshi, also wins the prestigious recognition of the Disaronno Highest New Entry Award 2020.
Fortieth place, and awarded with The Best Bar in India 2020 sponsored by Peroni, Sidecar in New Delhi represents a pleasant surprise inside this ranking. The most attentive observers have been waiting for a long time for the presence of an Indian cocktail bar on the list, representing a nation certainly articulated and complex, but in a very strong scene in every field of our society.
From the 36th up until the 33rd position we see a variety of different cocktail bars like the Hope & Sesame by Guangzhou, two venues from Hong Kong, The Pontiac, a pure and fun dive bar created by Beckaly Franks, and the Caprice Bar, very elegant hotel bar at the Four Seasons, led by “our” Lorenzo Antinori.The mid section of this Asia’s 50 Best Bar 2020 is, however, dominated by Singapore with as
The Old Man SG
many as five bars within the next ten. Nutmeg & Clove (32°), the historic and unmissable 28 HongKong Street (30°), Gibson (25°), D.Bespoke (23°) and The Old Man Singapore (22°) manifest the massive diffusion of quality mixed drinks in what can undoubtedly be described as the cocktail capital of Asia. Andrew Yap and Agung Prabowo’s new opening also won the London Essence Best New Opening 2020.
Going up again in the ranking we find three renowned cocktail bars, the Speak Low in Shanghai, another creature of the polyhedric Shingo Gokan, the Tippling Club in Singapore, historical destination for those who love cooking as much as the bar, and the Quinary, theatre of another real star of the Asian firmament, Antonio Lai.
The winner of the Highest Climber Award 2020 sponsored by Seedlip, which is the bar that gained the most position compared to last year’s list, and therefore at number thirteen, the Bar Mood of Taipei. The small insular nation brings a total of five cocktail bars on the ranking, two of which are in the top 10. Aha Saloon, already listed last year, is infact at number ten, while the famous Indulge Experimental Bistro
Indulge Experimental Bistro
(4°) barely misses the podium. Aki Wang’s cocktail bar receives not only the award for The Best Bar in Taiwan 2020, but also the title of Heering Legend of the List 2020; a fitting recognition for one of the gran protagonists of Asian mixology in recent years.
Closing on the most prestigious positions, we see bars with high-profile names like the Manhattan Bar (8°) from Singapore, a splendid hotel bar that was twice the best bar in Asia and today Michter’s Art of Hospitality Award 2020, the Native (6°), the fascinating of co-owner Vijay Mudaliar already awarded with the Ketel One Sustainable Bar Award at The World’s 50 Best Bars, and the imposing ATLAS (5°), also based, ça va sans dire, in Singapore.
On the lowest steps of the podium for these Asia’s 50 Best Bar 2020, rises Coa from Hong Kong. After receiving the award for Highest new entry last year, Jay Khan’s venue, acclaimed as Altos Bartenders’ Bartender 2020, managed to escalate the list almost reaching the top. Preceding him, there’s another bar
Coa
from the same city, The Old Man. The magnificent job from Agung Prabowo confirms once more his presence in the highest positions of this jewel inspired by Ernest Hemingway’s figure. As the former number one in the ranking, The Old Man in Hong Kong leaves the primacy while still, however, guaranteeing the award as The Best Bar in China 2020 sponsored by Matusalem.
Triumphant winner of the Asia’s 50 Best Bars 2020 is therefore the Jigger & Pony that also collects, of course,
Jigger & Pony
the award of The Best Bar in Singapore 2020 sponsored by Perrier. This bar’s success will not surprise the most careful connoisseurs of the asian world. Already awarded with the Highest Climber in 2019, Indra Kantono’ cocktail bar managed to best represent the trends and style of what, like we stated many times, is, the unquestionable captial of mixed drinking in Asia, Singapore.
