Satiate your wanderlust with cocktails that not only transport you to a happier place, but to a faraway country or a bygone era.

When Friday comes, don't youjust want to celebrate it by rounding up your friends for a drink or two in a bar? If you're looking for new watering holes to visit, we've got some great suggestions for you — from new cocktail bars to the trusted places. Best of all, we also have recommendations on what to order. 


Aloha Poké

Life’s a Beach

When three bankers decided to set up this laidback haunt (tel: 6221 6165) at Amoy Street, they wanted to replicate the holiday experience they had in Hawaii. Thus, the bar menu here includes thirst-quenching cocktails that cool the heat and pack a punch. Try fruity, rum-infused classics like Blue Hawaii and Maitai, or signatures like the Big Island Iced Tea (pictured), an earl grey syrup-infused Long Island Iced Tea. But before that, load up on the traditional poké bowl with ahi tuna or salmon.

Aloha Poke | 92 Amoy Street, S(069911) | 6221 6165


Manhattan

Up North

The popular New York speakeasy-style bar (tel: 6725 3377) at Regent Singapore serves cocktails inspired by the culturally rich neighbourhood of Harlem in Manhattan. Lenox, for instance, is a bright and complex rum and mezcal-based concoction inspired by the district’s famous jazz hotspot Lenox Lounge and its signature drink, Harlem Nights. According to bar manager Philip Bischoff, it’s a drink you’d want to sip all day, all night.

Manhattan | 1 Cuscaden Road, S(249715) | 6725 3377


Bar Canary

Sunny Paradise

This poolside alfresco bar (tel: 6603 8855) at Grand Park Orchard is outfitted with faux grass turf and beanbags for a relaxed vibe that makes you want to kick off your shoes as you sip on ice-cold summery drinks. Go with Liquid Sunshine, a zesty and spicy concoction made with passion fruit juice and a homemade spiced syrup that will transport you to sunny Brazil, whose national cocktail, the caipirinha, inspired the bar’s creation.

Bar Canary | 270 Orchard Rd, S(238857) | 6603 8855


Gibson

Set the Scene

This Bukit Pasoh watering hole (tel: 9114 8385) is helmed by bar programme director Aki Eguchi, who is known to make mean cocktails. He recently added a quartet of nostalgic drinks to the menu, including the subtly potent Snow Field (pictured) that reminds him of winters in his hometown Yokohama, and the energising Botanic Gardens that’s inspired by the whiffs of nature from his walks in Singapore’s heritage park. 

Gibson | Level 2, 20 Bukit Pasoh Rd, S(089834) | 9114 8385


Nutmeg & Clove

House Style

Housed in a refurbished shophouse at Ann Siang Hill, this bar (tel: 9389 9301) offers cocktails that are reminiscent of Singapore’s forgotten eras. Its selection of drinks is flavourful and locally inspired, from the robust gin-based Barrel Age SG Sling (pictured) that rides its way into your heart on a peanut-filled wicker trishaw, to the more intimidating looking Opium Wars, which is a classic margarita spin-off formulated with tequila, lapsang souchong black tea and a dash of gunpowder chutney instead of salt.

Nutmeg & Clove | 10 Ann Siang Hill, S(069789) | 9389 9301