As March rolls around, so does the annual celebration of all things served in fancy glasses and imaginative garnishes across the Causeway. Singapore Cocktail Festival 2017 will be running from 16 to 21 March, touting an impressively intense six day calendar, showcasing talents from bars on Asia’s 50 Best Bars list, with over 40 participating local bars, and a 5000sqm Festival Village.
#SGCF17 provides a platform for guests to ‘Taste’, ‘Learn’ and ‘Play’ in a world of cocktails. Visiting bartenders from around the region (including our own Shawn Chong from Omakase+Appreciate), as well as from London and New York, will be doing bar takeovers and delivering seminars in various spots across the city.
From 16 to 19 March, the Festival Village will be in full swing. Located on 99 Beach Road and housed in an old police station built in the 30s (so no misbehaving!), are nine immersive cocktail and mocktail rooms, including:
- “Room of Illusion” by Kult (an underground gallery known for its support for young street artists and illustrators);
- “Dreams” presented by Monkey Shoulder, Hendrick’s Gin and Reyka Vodka;
- Artisanal Spirits Room for unique handcrafted spirits;
- Asia Bar Battle Room where bartending teams from across the region battle through various bartending challenges;
- Singapore’s Next Top Cocktail Room, showcasing the final four cocktails in the running for the honour (open for voting by festival guests). All cocktails will be retailed at $12 nett.
Bar tours, workshops and masterclasses can be booked online now. Not to be missed is the seminar on 19 March by London-based Distill Ventures titled “Brick by Brick – Building a modern spirit business in Asia”, led by Co-Founder Dan Gasper and a panel of drink entrepreneurs from across Asia. The 60 minute seminar is complimentary, but registration is on a first come, first served basis. All booking is available on the SGCF17 website.
Entry to the Festival Village is complimentary, and is open from 16 to 19 March 2017, 4pm to 10pm on Thursday and Friday, and 12pm to 10pm on Saturday and Sunday.
Find more details at www.singaporecocktailfestival.com.