The Cocktail Capitals Nobody Saw Coming

Asia. 4.8 billion people. 60% of the world’s population. And some of the world’s best cocktails. For nearly a decade, those drinks were mostly served in the cocktail capitals of Singapore and Hong Kong, Seoul and Tokyo. But this year’s Asia’s 50 Best Bars 2025 redrew the map entirely, recognizing Bangkok’s ascent to cocktail capital status and celebrating breakthrough bars in Phnom Penh and Penang, Hanoi and Jakarta.

Since Asia’s 50 Best Bars launched in 2016, Hong Kong and Singapore have always topped the list – starting with 28 Hong Kong Street in Singapore and ending in 2025 with Bar Leone in Hong Kong retaining the crown for the second consecutive year.

Between those bookends came Manhattan and Jigger & Pony from Singapore, The Old Man from Hong Kong, and Coa’s remarkable three-year reign from 2021-2023 before the title shifted a ten-minute walk away to Lorenzo Antinori’s Italian neighborhood-style cocktail bar.

But the other stories aren’t at the top. One is in the numbers.

Bangkok claimed seven spots on the 2025 list, more than any other city, overtaking both Singapore and Hong Kong for the first time in the awards’ history. While Singapore dropped from its typical 11 bars to just five, and Hong Kong held steady with six, Bangkok’s surge signals a fundamental shift in Asia’s cocktail geography – one that extends far beyond Thailand’s capital to emerging scenes across the continent.

The other is in the stories themselves.

“Cambodia hasn’t traditionally been part of that conversation,” Jonas Vittur, Director of Bars at Rosewood Phnom Penh, nods. “For Sora to be recognized on that stage validates the years of quiet work: training local talent, building systems, crafting a vision that felt bigger than just a bar.”

Seven Months And Seven Cocktails

Although Vietnam’s capital city of Hanoi crept into Asia’s 50 Best Bars top 50 for the first time last year with the atmospheric night-at-the-museum themed Haflington Bar, the look of surprise on Richard McDonough’s face as he led co-founders Cuong and Hieu, and bar manager Winnie to the stage in Macau when Workshop14 was named Campari One To Watch this year was equally revealing.

The seven-month-old bar’s beverage director helped launch the bar with a hurried seven signature cocktails in December – the construction had only taken three months – and, between guest shifts and growing the menu, there’d been no time to contemplate accolades, particularly for a small bar sat in the shadow of the InterContinental Hotel on Hanoi’s West Lake.

From 2012 to 2022, Vietnam’s exports grew at an average rate of 12%, four times faster than the global rate, and strong economic growth and rising job opportunities created a rapidly growing middle class – the kind of people who would like a cocktail or two.

Richard reckons 98% of the bar’s guests are local. The occasional annoying influencer aside, griping about the sophisticated space’s insistence on no flash photography, Workshop14 often welcomes women drifting in alone for a drink – something unheard of ten or even five years ago.

Raw, Honest And Unfiltered

Maybe these new regional cocktail hotspots, like Hanoi, offer a sense of discovery – raw, authentic destinations now with good drinks. “There is an honesty to Phnom Penh,” Jonas agrees. “You have centuries-old temples next to neon-lit cafes, street food beside luxury hotels, and a creative energy that’s still unfiltered.”

The sense of discovery could hardly be stronger at Backdoor Bodega in Penang, where the cocktail bar is hidden behind a streetwear store. True, Georgetown was recognized with UNESCO World Heritage status in 2008. And even before that, the town welcomed personalities like Somerset Maugham, Rudyard Kipling, Noël Coward, Lee Kuan Yew and Queen Elizabeth II.

These days tourists still flock to Penang to savor the food, see the sites, and indulge in some ‘heritage tourism’. Not usually, it’s safe to say, for an unmissable Martini.

Behind The Streetwear Store

Since 2016, Backdoor Bodega – at No. 64 on Asia’s 50 Best Bars 2025 list – has been doing something about that.

In 2014, Penang had virtually no cocktail culture. Following the widely held opinion that “Kuala Lumpur is three years behind Singapore, and Penang is three years behind KL,” the island was positioned for its cocktail moment… eventually.

What was once purely a street food destination now hosts natural wine bars and local chefs hosting guest chefs, all lifting each other up in true community spirit, Backdoor Bodega’s founder Koh Yung Shen thinks.

Burgers That Taste Like Cocktails

Koh’s drinks tell stories rooted in place. The Ulam Mojito replaces mint with local botanicals – lemongrass, ginger flower, kaffir lime leaf – turning traditional raw salad herbs into syrup. The popular Klapa Hotta uses coconut-infused rum that “drinks like kaya toast,” instantly familiar to anyone who’s had Malaysian breakfast. His most adventurous creation, RBS (Ramlee Burger Special), is a milk punch using tomato vinegar that tastes like an actual burger – “described as either interesting or amazing, but never hated,” he promises.

“Everything feels less rushed here,” Koh reflects on Georgetown life. “Time goes slower.” It’s this unhurried authenticity that makes Penang special – a place where a clothing store accidentally becomes a cocktail destination, and creativity thrives without pretense.

Since they opened, the challenge wasn’t quality, it was visibility. The launch of Penang Cocktail Week did much to address that. “All our outlets are owner-operated,” Koh Yung Shen notes. “Publications only know what’s happening if someone reaches out.” This is where Penang Cocktail Week became crucial. “Regional exposure is everything when you’ve been overshadowed by Kuala Lumpur for too long,” he smiles mischievously.

Your Friend With Very Good Taste

With 29 venues, Jakarta’s Union Group could hardly be described as off-the-radar. The latest, Modernhaus, has the feel of having a drink in your friend’s living room. “A friend with very good taste,” Stefanie Wijono, the deputy director of marketing & PR at The Union Group adds quickly.

The group has grown while developing an evolving sense of what a Union Group space should be like, from their oldest venues turning 18 years old to new ones like Modernhaus, which was a new entry in Asia’s 50 Best Bars 2025 list at No. 12, making it the best bar in Indonesia and winner of the Three Cents Best New Opening Award 2025.

Like most success stories, Union Group’s ascent belies many challenges. “There are still difficulties in importing certain spirits due to inconsistent customs regulations, as well as a lack of support from the government compared to some regional cities,” Stefanie adds. “There is also a lack of international talent. But we’re lucky to have a wealth of local talent and local ingredients, and things are slowly improving.”

Improving but not quite yet a cocktail capital in the general consciousness. “The scene really is extremely exciting right now,” Stefanie continues, “even though in terms of number of bars it is very much behind established capitals, the quality of bars and concepts is very high, and the international community is watching.”

And the city’s secret weapon might be its people. “The energy and fun-loving nature of Jakarta is unmatched, and it will only go up from here.”

The Last Thing They Expected

What’s certain, like discovering Backdoor Bodega behind Koh’s streetwear store, is there’s a sense of magical discovery about the cocktail scene in these cities right now.

“People often say Sora is the last thing they expected to find in Phnom Penh,” Jonas Vittur smiles, “something world-class, yet grounded in local rhythm. You can see their faces light up when they realize they’re in a place that could be in Singapore or Bangkok, but still feels very Cambodian in spirit.”

And that might be the real story here – not just that Asia’s cocktail map is expanding, but that the next great bar might be hiding behind a streetwear store, in the shadow of a hotel, or in a city that wasn’t even part of the conversation five years ago.

“People see Phnom Penh differently now. And that’s exactly what we aimed for,” Jonas adds finally.