
How Singapore's bar culture has influenced the way Asia drinks
Subscribe to enjoy similar stories. Indra Kantono, co-founder of the multiple award-winning Jigger & Pony, one of Singapore’s top bars, visited India for the first time recently. In Mumbai, bartenders and restaurateurs thronged his masterclass on growing a great bar brand at The Oberoi’s Eau Bar, which was organised in association with The House of Suntory.
Jigger & Pony isn’t just any bar. Since 2012, Kantono has grown the company from a single bar in Singapore’s Chinatown to a mini empire spanning different properties in Singapore and Indonesia, among them Sugarhall, Live Twice, Gibson, Caffe Fernet and Cosmo Pony. Of these, Jigger & Pony is the one with maximum recall: it has consistently topped award lists, was ranked third on Asia’s Top 50 Bars list and came in at No.5 on the World’s 50 Best Bars list last year.
It also received the Remy Martin Legend of the List Award given to bars that consistently perform well. To understand Jigger & Pony’s rise is to understand how Singapore’s bar culture has influenced and shaped cocktail culture in Asia in recent years. Top bars started bringing in expat bartenders, who introduced their own styles and made the tiny nation one of the most vibrant places to explore drinks from around the world.
Jigger & Pony had its beginnings in Japanese bar culture, while their bar programme today is led by Saverio Casella, who hails from Sicily, Italy. “We don’t have a Singaporean style of cocktails but we have everything from European to Japanese to American concepts in our own style here," Kantono says. This diversity of bars that seeks to attract all kinds of customers, from tourists to locals, is complemented with high-quality service.
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