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Food and Drinks
Lifestyle100 Top Tables

How Asia’s 50 Best Bars expanded to 25 cities, from Kathmandu to Hangzhou

Singapore’s early dominance has given way to Bangkok’s lead on the 2026 list, as new hubs shake up the competition thanks to ‘cocktail tourism’

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Barc’s Orangecello merges rum with vanilla, alongside Barc’s housemade orangecello and a creamy foam made from Aylā, a Newari distilled liquor made from rice, grain or millet. Photo: Handout
Josiah Ng
Since Asia’s 50 Best Bars extended its rankings up to 100 in 2021, the number of countries and cities represented has expanded from an inaugural nine cities across eight countries in 2016 to 25 cities in 11 countries this year.
The effects have been largely twofold. First, no single city dominates as Singapore did in 2017, with its record-high 13 entries. Recognition is much more diffused now. Bangkok, the most represented location this year, fields a dominant but comparatively modest eight entries in the main list, including the year’s highest new entry – Lennon’s from Rosewood Bangkok, which landed at seventh place. A secondary effect has been that the 51-100 list serves as a hotbed for younger cocktail cities. Barc entered the list in 2023, putting Kathmandu on the map, while cities like Hangzhou and Galle made the rankings for the first time this year.
Colin Chia, founder of Singapore’s Nutmeg & Clove. Photo: Handout
Colin Chia, founder of Singapore’s Nutmeg & Clove. Photo: Handout

More cities on the list means more competition for stalwart venues like Singapore’s Nutmeg & Clove, debuting at 30th place in 2017, but it also means that cocktail lovers are expanding their palates rapidly. “Our guests are more well-travelled now,” says Nutmeg & Clove founder Colin Chia, “Cocktail tourism is a real thing. Consumers these days, they will travel to Sri Lanka, or go to Semarang in Indonesia for cocktails.”

Chia, who also started the popular bars #FindThePhotobooth and #FindTheLockerRoom in Bangkok, notes that increased recognition of bars from further afield has led to a cross-pollination of sorts, even in an established cocktail scene like Singapore’s. “When connecting with these overseas guest shifts, we learn the culture and the taste profile,” he says. “We’re not just making drinks for Singaporeans; we try to be as inclusive as possible.”
Angeline Tan, co-founder of Three X Co in Kuala Lumpur. Photo: Handout
Angeline Tan, co-founder of Three X Co in Kuala Lumpur. Photo: Handout

Even if countries with less of a cocktail tradition are starting to make their mark, that doesn’t mean the news is resonating everywhere. In Kuala Lumpur, represented by four bars across both the main and extended lists, Angeline Tan of Three X Co claims, “A lot of Malaysians don’t even know about the 50 Best [Bars] list,” and says the KL scene is still young and dominated by beer drinkers.

Tan has not been deterred, though, in her efforts to build Malaysia’s cocktail scene, and is leading the charge. She is affectionately known as the “mama” of Kuala Lumpur’s bar scene, which includes Bar Trigona at the Four Seasons Kuala Lumpur, the fermentation-focused Reka:bar, and the more classically-oriented Penrose at 64th on this year’s extended list. Together, the bars annually host KL Cocktail Week, while Three X Co focuses on cocktail-pairing menus and approaches Gen Z in addition to their regular service. Tan finds it crucial to bring in regional influence. “Every month we bring in a guest bartender; that is our education.”

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