The Top Trends Shaking Up the Cocktail World

My last visit to Singapore was an eye opener to the Lion city’s vibrant and highly evolved mixology culture. From The Elephant Room’s India-inspired cocktails to the award-winning duo-concept bar Stay Gold Flamingo, Singapore’s young and experimental bartenders are setting trends globally. With seven of its bars securing spots on Asia’s 50 Best Bars 2025, the city’s bartenders are pushing the boundaries—infusing local ingredients, street food influences, sustainable practices, theatrical presentation, and unexpected flavour pairings to shake things up and create cocktails that are anything but ordinary. Expect a tipple that goes beyond the usual Old Fashioned or Martini—here, every cocktail is a bold, boundary-pushing drinking experience, strong enough to keep you in high spirits on an unforgettable bar crawl.

At the forefront of this evolution is Republic Bar, at the Ritz-Carlton Singapore, where senior bartender Cassandra Sim and her team craft cocktails that capture the essence of the Swinging Sixties while embracing contemporary creativity. At Republic bar, also No. 57 on Asia’s 50 Best Bars 2024, you find cocktails that merge nostalgia with modern creativity. Its Volume Three Menu is a testament to this, drawing from four thematic pillars—Icons, Media, Aesthetics, and Innovation—to create drinks that tell a story. From the Elvis Presley-inspired Fool’s Gold to the avant-garde Psychedelia capturing the era’s visual and artistic revolution or the Bullet Train that takes cues from Japan’s iconic high-speed rail, their cocktails strike a balance between history and innovation.

 

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With her finger on the pulse of mixology trends, we picked Sim’s brains at an event in Mumbai as part of the Luxury Dining Series by Marriott International to find out the top cocktail trends shaping the world of mixology, her favourite bars and the future of tequila.

 

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Top Cocktail Trends To watch out for

1. Low- and No-ABV Cocktails

The shift toward low- and no-ABV cocktails is significant due to the growing demand for healthier alternatives. It’s exciting to experiment with innovative flavour combinations and techniques to craft delicious, spirits-free cocktails. At Republic, the cocktail menu is thoughtfully designed to span from the lightest to the strongest ABV, ensuring something for every palate. Gemini is one of the popular choices under our “Innovation” cocktails with a low ABV, but we often get requests to make it zero-proof by removing the gin, leaving a refreshing and tangy mocktail choice.

2. Sustainability and Zero-Waste Cocktails

Beyond exquisite flavours, guests are drawn to eco-conscious options that reflect a commitment to the environment. At Republic, we incorporate locally sourced ingredients such as calamansi leaves, ginger, and chilli into our cocktails, highlighting regional flavours while minimising reliance on imports. This approach not only reduces our carbon footprint but also has a strong local connect with our consumers. In Visions of Stella, we use leftover coffee to make our orange cold brew, ensuring that nothing is wasted or discarded.

The Rise of Agave Spirits

Mexico’s dominance in the World’s 50 Best Bars rankings highlights the growing global fascination with agave spirits like tequila and mezcal. These spirits are extremely versatile with complex flavours that inspire us bartenders to experiment with bold flavour profiles while celebrating the rich heritage of Mexico. Agave spirits also represent a sustainable choice, as many producers use traditional farming methods that preserve the environment and heritage of mezcal or tequila production.

Global Inspirations

Emerging cocktail hubs to watch out for are places such as Vietnam and Taiwan that are making waves—The Racha Room in Ho Chi Minh City combines traditional Vietnamese ingredients with modern mixology while Futura in Taipei is redefining mixology with cutting-edge uses of food, fruits, and botanicals through along with the art of fermentation. Japan continues to be a key source of inspiration due to its precision and artistry in cocktail-making.

 

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Personal favourites

Apart from Republic Bar, Atlas Bar is my favourite bar in Singapore. Atlas is a towering beauty in the heart of our cocktail scene, renowned for its Art Deco style and world-class gin collection. The bartenders here masterfully blend gin and other spirits to create exceptional cocktails, many of which pay homage to the golden age of cocktails. The bar’s ambiance, with its grand staircase and towering gin shelves, makes it an unforgettable place to enjoy a drink.