How Singapore's bar culture has influenced the way Asia drinks
Indra Kantono and Guoyi Gan, the duo behind Singapore’s award-winning Jigger & Pony talk about the bar landscape
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.
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“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. “When you sit down at a bar or restaurant, you’ll get good, comfortable furniture, a professionally designed menu and attention to detail, but not to the point where it’s formal. We still keep it pretty casual, convivial and welcoming," he says.
Singaporean hospitality also focuses on high-end service to counter one of the industry’s biggest struggles—inflation. Kantono says that prices have been going up consistently and the motto for the industry has to be quality over quantity. “The emphasis in Singapore is how can we deliver a better product and a better experience. It’s going to cost a lot, and we’re not expecting the guest to drink just cold beers," he adds.
An interesting feature of Singaporean bar culture is that it doesn’t follow any particular style or trend. While Kantono was plied with Picantes on his India visit, he says it’s rare for a particular spirit or cocktail to become a fad in Singapore because of the depth of offerings. Constant innovation has given rise to some of the most inventive places in Singapore. Many, like Jigger & Pony, have dedicated labs for creating next-gen drinks.
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On his maiden India visit, Kantono says that the parallels in the hospitality space between both countries is evident. In Bengaluru, Kantono was impressed by upscale bars like Spirit Forward, Soka, Muro, Lupa and Wine In Progress, and popular watering holes like Bob’s Bar. In Mumbai, he visited Papa’s, where he was happily surprised to see people preferring cocktails over wine.
Kantono says chefs and bartenders in India are curious about world trends and proud of Indian ingredients. “We’re seeing cocktail culture growing everywhere in the world from Mumbai to Jakarta to Penang, beyond the so-called ‘cocktail capitals’ of London and New York, which is very exciting for us. It’s great to see Singapore as the place people look to as an inspiration," says Kantono.
Priyanko Sarkar is a Mumbai-based writer covering the F&B industry.
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