There’s something special about Asia’s 50 Best Bars. Europe’s inaugural awards took place just last month, and the World’s list undoubtedly catches more eyes. But from 24 to 28 July in Macau—perhaps the buzziest, busiest plot of land in Asia last week—the air was electric.
The bustle of movement, the pioneering spirit, the gathering of like-minded, passionate community: it was all delightfully palpable. Industry folk and press from across Asia might have been drawn to the prestige of the awards initially, but by awards night, everyone stayed for the company—and rightfully so.
It wasn’t just in my head, either. The camaraderie I felt—the ‘vibes’, as it were—around the 10th anniversary of Asia’s 50 Best Bars was utterly unique to the region. Instead of a genteel exercise in sophisticated refinement, think a rousing, raucous celebration of all the beautiful, human elements that make community special.
It was an opportunity to throw your inhibitions out the window, and not just because the drinks flowed with abandon. Whether you were a grizzled bartender, long in the tooth from one too many shifts by the countertop, or a complete newcomer to the awards scene, it was easy to feel a sense of belonging. We were all there because we loved cocktails, and, more importantly, the people behind them.
So how does one celebrate this kind of momentous event? It’s simple, really: make a return to Wynn Palace, a glittering paradise that not only kept my pillow cold every night I was in the city, but also hosted last year’s edition. After all, where better to sip on some of the best drinks and rub shoulders with the masters behind some of these concoctions, than in Asia’s very own Las Vegas? Sparkling and incandescent, Wynn Palace is an opulent metropolis in its own right, and proved more than equipped to host the multi-day affair, from the resort-wide ‘Wing Lei Bar & Friends’ festival to the awards night.
The bartenders and their guest shifts
It wouldn’t be a Best Bars event without guest shifts aplenty. A whopping 16 takeovers graced various establishments within Wynn Palace, including the snazzy Palace Reserve Club and the resort’s flagship hotel bar, Wing Lei Bar. Within the property’s grand sprawl, every slice of Asia (and even some of our beloved Western cousins) came out to play. To help keep it all within mental reach, attendees were given a verdant green binder—’The Collectors Archive’—with which they could document their globe-trotting journey.
Bangkok and Ulaanbaatar. Kathmandu and the Isle of Man. Sri Lanka, Hong Kong, Singapore and Guangzhou. Aperitif hour and afterparty alike, each guest shift was expertly carried by seasoned bartenders, threading together a binding narrative of solidarity that would inevitably culminate in the awards night itself.
While the diversity on the list was impressive, far more heartwarming was the manner in which the bartenders came together to celebrate their hard-earned craft. Inside a guest shift, it may be a cacophonous affair, but what’s there to complain about when Lorenzo Querci, owner of Moebius in Milan, slings you a handcrafted martini and then hand feeds you a strip of delectable cheese—all to the heady roar of a jubilant crowd?
Between an intimate ‘Meet the Bartenders’ interview session and guest shifts like ‘Behind Her Bar’, however, I was reminded that Asia’s 50 Best Bars wasn’t just an occasion to blast yourself into oblivion. The latter was a special standout, prefaced by a stirring panel talk moderated by Jen Queen (The Pontiac, Hong Kong) and Beckaly Franks (Call Me Al and Artifact, Hong Kong).
On the panel itself were a slew of wholly inspiring women who have honed the craft of bartending over years of hard work and patriarchal resistance, boldly and unapologetically setting standards for everyone in the industry to follow: Evangeline Malley (Below Stairs, Leeds), Nicole Slater (Pontiac), Zana Möhlmann (Manhattan, Singapore), Arlene Wong (The Green Door, Hong Kong) and Chloe-Rose Natterer (Call Me Al, Hong Kong).
An intimate testament to the indomitable strength of womanhood, within the bar scene and without, Queen said it best: in a world of microaggressions, theirs is a brave, thankless work, a form of “invisible labour” and a constant, uphill battle for simply doing the bare minimum. It shouldn’t be this way (indeed, it should never have been this way to begin with), but if these women are any indicator, progress in the industry is possible—and most assuredly ongoing, one coupe glass at a time.
The big night
The awards ceremony for Asia’s 50 Best Bars 2026 was held at Wynn Palace’s aptly named Grand Theatre. Cavernous as convention spaces go, a dozen pop-ups ringed the venue, from Michter’s and Monkey Shoulder to Roku and Perrier, offering the enormous crowd a steady supply of every drink under the sun.
With over 1,000 people in attendance, including whole teams of bars hailing from every corner of the region, the night was a mesmerising one. Spirits were high, regardless of bars’ placement on the list; it was incredibly encouraging just to see bartenders whose establishments didn’t even make the top 50 scream themselves hoarse in solidarity with their industry brethren. But what of the list itself?
Stalwarts South Korea and Hong Kong showed up diligent as ever, landing a handful of spots each. For the former, both Zest and Alice retained their previous rankings, at numbers two and 13 respectively, with newcomer M+MS Bar obtaining the title of ‘Seoul’s coolest new cocktail spot’. For the latter, Bar Leone moved down to third place, while crowd favourite Mius, at number 36, won the SevenRooms Best Bar Design Award 2026. Likewise, Singapore reminded everyone that the small island nation will always have a finger on the industry pulse, with four bars in the top 50: Jigger & Pony in the national pole position at number nine, followed by Nutmeg & Clove (12), Offtrack (16) and Origin Bar (43). However, the real surprise of the night came from Thailand and China, with both countries earning their long-deserved flowers.
On one hand, Bangkok boasted three bars in the Top 10: among them Dry Wave Cocktail Studio, which won the Best Bar in Thailand 2026 at number four, and brand new entry Lennon’s, which skyrocketed out of nowhere to snag 7th place, netting the prestigious Disaronno Highest New Entry Award 2026. On the other, China showed the world that their continued rise to prominence in the global food and beverage scene is fully warranted, the number of their entries in the top 50 more than doubling from last year. MO Bar from Shenzhen moved up 16 ranks to sit pretty at number five, and four new entries adorned the list, including Obsidian Bar from Shenzhen (10) and Tiao from Beijing (50). And for the first time in the history of the awards, a bar from mainland China won the coveted top spot: Hope & Sesame from Guangzhou is officially the Best Bar in Asia 2026.
What lies on the horizon
As third spaces go, bars have always been about community. If you enjoy ending a busy day with a relaxing nightcap, then your local watering hole is usually a good bet—even if you don’t know the other patrons, familiar faces behind the bar can go a long way to making you feel at home. The same applies to going out on the town with a group of friends. Whether you’re at a new joint or an old haunt, it’s the people you’re with that count. That being said, the drinks do matter.
On this front, the future looks bright. My conversations with bartenders behind the scenes of Asia’s 50 Best Bars 2026, paired with firsthand experiences courtesy of the plethora of guest shifts, conveyed one sentiment: localisation is the way forward.
Innovation for innovation’s sake isn’t the move anymore; the brash inventiveness of cocktail recipes in the 2010s are done and dusted. What the people crave is human connection, and one of the best vehicles for that is found in drinks that are made from ingredients that champion a region’s best.
Take Changsha’s CMYK, for example. Situated in what is well-known as one of the friendliest cities in China, the 27th best bar in Asia is putting its money where its mouth is, literally—with flavours and practices that uphold centuries of history. Their menu is brimming with oil washes featuring the rich, briny tang of Hunanese seafood, and the infamous, numbing spice of Sichuanese peppercorn. Familiar flavour profiles given a modern twist: drinks for the people, made by the people.
From Bangkok, Lennon’s is doubling down on this approach, catering to the Gen Z crowd with zero ABV offerings that focus on Thai cuisine, herbs and spices all. Singapore’s Nutmeg & Clove, a household name in Asia’s bar scene, does much the same, pairing local ingredients with playful names taken straight from the lexicon of Singlish slang. Even if some are of the opinion that we may have been snubbed on awards night, Nutmeg & Clove founder Colin Chia might be onto something: “Singapore’s job as the cocktail capital of Asia is to not be the capital forever—it should be to make the region stronger.”
The message from Macau this year is as clear as a plain old vodka and tonic: accolades don’t hold a candle to the hard work of the people that may (or may not) receive them. Be it the spirit of the craft or the people behind the bar, there’s always plenty to raise a toast to.
