SINGAPORE – Five Singapore bars have made it to the 51-100 ranking of 2023’s World’s 50 Best Bars list – the most of any Asian country, but fewer than the eight which placed in 2022.
The 51-100 spots were released on Tuesday, a week before the announcement of the top 50 list at Pasir Panjang Power Station.
In 2022, two Singapore bars made the top 50, including Jigger & Pony at No. 12 and Manhattan at Conrad Singapore Orchard at No. 33.
Manhattan dropped to the 51-100 list for 2023, placing at No. 63.
At No. 59 was 28 HongKong Street, down from its ranking of No. 55 in 2022.
In contrast, Nutmeg & Clove in Purvis Street rose 10 spots to No. 64, continuing its upward momentum from the Asia’s 50 Best Bars list in July, where it was No. 7.
Analogue Initiative at Chijmes placed at No. 78, a drop from No. 65. Its sibling bar Native, also founded by entrepreneur Vijay Mudaliar, in Amoy Street rounded up the list at No. 83. The sustainability-forward bar last appeared in the World’s Best Bars ranking in 2020 at No. 18.
Notable absentees included Sago House, which was No. 51 in 2022.
The drinking joint in Sago Street could make an appearance in the top 50 list – which will be announced next Tuesday. Earlier in 2023, it received the Michter’s Art of Hospitality Award and the No. 10 ranking at the Asia’s 50 Best Bar ceremony.
Elsewhere in Asia, Bangkok and Hong Kong had two bars each on the 51-100 list, including Vesper (No. 55) and Tropic City (No. 66), and Penicillin (No. 71) and Darkside (No. 97) respectively.
The United States had the most number of bars in the 51-100 list with six entries, with New York City’s Attaboy at No. 57.
The annual ranking – owned and organised by British media company William Reed Business Media since 2009 – is voted on by an international academy of 680 drinks experts, including bartenders and drinks writers.
Each voter casts seven votes based on his or her best bar experiences of the previous 18 months.
The top 50 awards ceremony in Singapore next week marks the first time that the influential ranking leaves Europe for its annual celebration of the world’s top watering holes.
