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Chloe Loung

Most South Koreans are familiar with somaek – a humble, almost ritualistic pairing of soju and beer, long the backbone of social drinking in the country. Affordable and commonplace, it is often the default choice for everything from barbecue gatherings to post-work dinners with colleagues.
It is also the favourite “cocktail” of Uno Jang, winner of the Bartenders’ Bartender Award at last year’s World’s 50 Best Bars awards – the only category voted for by bartenders themselves – and the co-owner and creative director of Singaporean hospitality company Jigger & Pony Group.
It is, in every sense, ordinary, but in the best way. What would that look like in a high-end cocktail bar?
At BOP (Bartenders of Pony) – Singapore’s first South Korean cocktail dining bar, founded earlier this year by Jang – somaek is far from just a cheap pour.
In a wink to both Seoul and Singapore, Jang first freezes soju into solid blocks, then shaves it using a traditional Singaporean ice kacang machine – the kind typically reserved for local desserts – and piles the delicate flakes atop a pour of crisp, ice-cold beer.

The result retains the familiar soul of somaek while introducing an unexpected textural play: the fluffiness of the shaved soju, the chill of the foam and the gentle fizz of the beer.
“Somaek is perfect as it is, but I wanted to make it new,” Jang says. “This is the identity of Korean cocktails, but Korean bartenders never really think about it like this because they drink it every day.”
How BOP honours its Korean and Singaporean roots
Inspired by the Korean values of kki, jeong, and heung – craftsmanship, human connection and vibrancy – BOP sits in Singapore’s Tanjong Pagar, the city’s unofficial Korea Town. It is Jang’s first solo venture under the Jigger & Pony Group, and a deeply personal project that serves as both an homage to his homeland and a love letter to the city that has shaped his career over the decade he has lived there.
Twelve signature cocktails draw on South Korean pop culture and drinking rituals, incorporating ingredients such as rice, perilla and nuruk (a fermentation starter) with traditional spirits such as soju, makgeolli and cheongju.
Other signatures include the BOP Martini, which delivers savoury hits from house-made makgeolli vermouth infused with roasted seaweed; the Dalgona Iced Coffee, a vodka-based take on the trendy South Korean coffee; and the Bokbunja Pop, which layers wild raspberry wine on a concoction of soju, tequila, Sprite and Korean plum wine.
These are, in Jang’s words, “Gen Z forward” – cocktails designed for adventurous younger drinkers looking for both bold flavours and new experiences.

The food menu is crafted by Jigger & Pony’s executive chef David Tang in collaboration with Netflix’s Culinary Class Wars alumnus Jason Oh. It features takes on distinctly Korean dishes like bossam (boiled pork wraps), banana milk tiramisu, oi muchim (cucumber salad) and even the popular Yukgaejang cup noodle.
“I wanted to create something that felt closer to how I actually grew up drinking,” Jang says.
“In Korea, drinking is never just about the drink. It’s about the people, what’s on the table. With BOP, the idea is to bring that drinking culture with everything I’ve learned about craft over the years.”
Jang’s hospitality origins
When Jang moved to Singapore, he was 22, fresh out of mandatory military service in South Korea and unsure of what to do with his life. A friend suggested a trip through Asia.
“Surprisingly, my friends said, ‘Oh, Singapore is pretty nice. We want to stay here a little bit longer,’” Jang recalls. Eight friends became a group of eight jobseekers on travel visas. Most found work in retail, while Jang, who was in hotel management, landed a job in a bar.
In his first year he entered the Bacardi Legacy competition, one of the biggest global cocktail contests, and got to the finals, proving he had a natural talent behind the bar.
Born and raised in Seoul, he studied car mechanic engineering with hopes of working in a Formula One pit crew before he discovered a love for hospitality. That technical precision – the “engineering thinking”, as he calls it – has never left him.
“After eight years of doing this, I realised that making cocktails is very similar to engineering,” he laughs.

Pursuing cocktail perfection
Jang’s approach to cocktail-making is intricately methodical – enough to give anyone else a headache.
Though he clearly has no problem creating unique and sometimes bizarre cocktails – one of the drinks features extra-spicy Buldak ramen sauce – one of his greatest strengths lies in taking a classic everyone already loves and making it feel entirely new again, much like how he revamped the somaek.
“There are so many new techniques, better ingredients, more knowledge and resources compared to 100 years ago,” he says. “The classic cocktails have a lot of room to improve, but you stay true to [the original].”
This approach is perhaps best exemplified by his Ramos Gin Fizz at Jigger & Pony, a drink that reimagines the 100-year-old New Orleans classic. The traditional Ramos is famously labour-intensive, requiring a prolonged shake to achieve its signature creamy texture. But Jang noticed a problem: the cream and heavy dilution often muted the gin’s character.

His solution was surgical. He removed all dilution: instead of soda water, he used champagne; instead of a simple syrup of sugar and water, he dissolved the sugar directly into the gin. He added layers of texture – meringue cookies with bread crumble on top for crunch, a fluffy foam in the middle and champagne bubbles at the bottom. The result is a five-texture experience – a cocktail that still tastes like a Ramos but has been elevated, refined and made more vibrant.
Another example is his espresso martini. During the Covid-19 pandemic, Jang found himself with time to dive deep into coffee, a subject he had studied briefly back in school but had since abandoned.
He entered a competition called Coffee in Good Spirits. What began as a technical exercise evolved into a full-blown pursuit of perfection.
“It was so difficult to get the best espresso martini elements,” he recalls. He set out to solve a problem that most bars accept: the struggle to maintain fresh, quality coffee for cocktails.
While most establishments extract coffee in advance, allowing it to oxidise and lose its vibrancy, Jang wanted every espresso martini to taste as if the coffee had been pulled seconds before the drink was poured.

The solution came from a six-month obsession, where he spent weeks at one of Singapore’s oldest speciality coffee roasters filtering through different blends, roasting levels and processing methods. He tested five options, grinding them by hand, and eventually made his own capsules, packing them into reusable pods before extracting and tasting each one.
But the coffee itself was only half the battle. Jang then tackled the issue of crema – the golden foam that sits atop a fresh espresso and carries much of its aroma and texture. Traditional espresso martinis lose that crema quickly, but Jang found a workaround: he emulsified the coffee with honey, which contains natural proteins that stabilise the foam, keeping it fluffy and intact from first sip to last.
He also introduced a cacao tuile on the side – a crisp, chocolatey garnish that guests can crumble over the drink, adding texture and a ritualistic element to the experience.
This is a man who loves his job.
“It’s about highlighting the elements and making them better,” Jang says. “We can break down all the different elements of the classic cocktails, and if there is room to improve, I just fix it and put it back – like upgrading software, or sometimes changing the hardware.
“I always try to work outside the box.”
BOP (Bartenders of Pony), 76 Tras Street, Singapore


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Food and Drinks

Top bartender Uno Jang’s ‘Gen Z forward’ Korean drinks offer new experiences in Singapore

Uno Jang, creative director of Singapore’s Jigger & Pony Group and winner of the Altos Bartenders’ Bartender Award at the World’s 50 Best Bars awards in 2025, is pictured at Mius in Central, Hong Kong. At BOP in Singapore, he is elevating traditional South Korean drinks with “Gen Z forward” creations. Photo: Karma Lo

To make the BOP somaek, Jang first freezes soju, then shaves it using a Singaporean ice kacang machine and piles the flakes atop beer. Photo: Instagram/bop_bartendersofpony

BOP’s Honey Maksky Sour is part whisky sour, part makgeolli. Photo: Instagram/bop_bartendersofpony

Jang originally hoped to work in a Formula One pit crew. Photo: Karma Lo

Jang’s Ramos Gin Fizz at Jigger & Pony is a drink that reimagines the 100-year-old New Orleans classic. Photo: Sip Sensei

In creating his espresso martini, Jang spent weeks at one of Singapore’s oldest speciality coffee roasters filtering through different blends, roasting levels and processing methods. Photo: Jigger & Pony

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Lifestyle

Food & Drink

At Singapore’s BOP, Jang is elevating somaek and other classic drinks as he targets adventurous younger drinkers seeking bold new flavours


At Singapore’s BOP, Jang is elevating somaek and other classic drinks as he targets adventurous younger drinkers seeking bold new flavours.


Wine and Spirits

Singapore

Top bartender Uno Jang’s ‘Gen Z forward’ Korean drinks offer new experiences in Singapore

.css-1c6uqr6{color:inherit;font-weight:inherit;font-size:inherit;font-family:inherit;line-height:inherit;overflow-wrap:break-word;}At Singapore’s BOP, Jang is elevating somaek and other classic drinks as he targets adventurous younger drinkers seeking bold new flavours

At Singapore’s BOP, Jang is elevating somaek and other classic drinks as he targets adventurous younger drinkers seeking bold new flavours