Find out who has made the list this May, then dive straight into Singapore Cocktail Festival. By Holly Graham. 

Timed with the start of the 2018 Singapore Cocktail Festival, Asia’s 50 Best Bars will this year host its first-ever awards ceremony in the region. Planned for the evening of 3 May 2018 at the Capitol Theatre, Singapore Cocktail Festival then kicks off the following day from 4 to 13 May, celebrating the best of the region’s bars and cocktail culture.

Now in its third year, the previous edition of Asia’s 50 best Bars counted 13 Singapore bars on the list, including Manhattan at number one. The ranking is voted by 200 industry figures, who each name seven favourite bars they’ve visted in the last 18 months. The ceremony and afterparty will be followed by the #50BestTalks discussion forum on May 4.

For the Singapore Cocktail Festival, now in its fourth year, the 10-day event involves discounted drinks and special cocktail and food pairings at bars and restaurants around the city – accessible with the purchase of a 15 SGD (nett) cocktail passport. However, the event kicks off from May 4-6 at the Festival Village, located on the Empress Lawn in front of Victoria Theatre Concert Hall.

Here, via a 28 SGD (nett) 1-day ticket, guests can sample drinks from over 30 of the best cocktail bars in Singapore and the region, including Singapore’s own Astor Bar, Caffe Fernet, Cin Cin, Nutmeg & Clove, Red Tail Bar and Smoke & Mirrors. The Asia Bar Battle also returns, in which bartending teams representing different countries in the region will battle it out through speed and mystery ingredient rounds.

There’s a whole host of other activities and shenanigans planned – details to be announced in the coming weeks. For those and ticket information, keep an eye on the Singapore Cocktail Festival website.