Singapore is once again on the rise as a world bar and cocktail capital, thanks in part to Proof Collective and other American bar pros betting on the region’s wealth of resources and raw talent
story and photos by Elyse Glickman
A little over a century ago, The Long Bar at Singapore’s fashionable Raffles Hotel invented the Singapore Sling, which remains a staple in every kind of bar concept from “tiki” to “speakeasy.” While the drink in its original form may be a bit sweet for 21st-century tastes, it was a major breakthrough that changed the face of bar culture. In an era where pretty much every public area was “a man’s world”—including the pubs—the elegantly presented and gin-based Singapore Sling invited well-heeled lady travelers and expats to join the party.
The Long Bar’s rebirth and a modern version of the classic sling generated so much excitement that it opened as a pop-up during the thorough redo of the hotel before moving back to its original space last September. With a proliferation of luxurious hotel bars with an international and affluent clientele and independent bars drawing curious millennials (as well as older cocktail aficionados), Raffles hotel representative LeRoy Chan acknowledged that The Long Bar needed more than just a fresh coat of paint to be ready for its 21st-century reboot.
Enter Proof Collective—a cocktail bar consulting firm, founded by San Franciscans Spencer Forhart and Snehal Patel and Canadian Paul Gabie—to prescribe the proper steps to ensure that Long Bar and it’s new sibling bar upstairs, called the Library Bar, will be relevant in Singapore’s increasingly sophisticated bar scene.
“There is a balance between maintaining traditions and accepting the fact that tastes have evolved, and you will see that in all of our cocktails,” says Chan. “For this reason, we’ve worked extensively with Proof, which has been and will be far more than our spirits provider. While they bring a lot to what we have to offer through their collection of spirits and bar products, they have also worked with us to create our unique cocktail shaker which enables us to keep up with the demand of the customers (to make many Singapore Slings) at once. Although we have maintained our iconic appearance, they helped us update the recipes. With the Singapore Sling, this means switching up the gin to have a higher ABV content and balancing out the sweetness.”
Tom Hogan, a former Chicago bartender who joined up with Proof Collective to serve as a senior member (or, “Spirits Evangelist”) of the creative team explains that his job is to not only to provide spirits and supplies to bars but also figure in an additional creative support via its consulting services that empower bar owners and managers to create cocktail recipes and nightlife experiences that are genuinely one of a kind.
“There are endless opportunities in Singapore for bartenders, and as a result we’ve seen many coming over from the U.S. and beyond to pursue those opportunities—not just to work, but to travel and experience a new part of the world,” says Hogan. “Our community is really interesting as we constantly have new talent coming in, which ultimately impacts the scene as they’re bringing knowledge from their markets and picking up new techniques and skills here. Singapore also attracts visitors with a more global understanding of our industry which has also helped shape the bar scene in Singapore through their shared experiences, ideas, and interpretations.”
During Proof Collective’s early days, Singapore was on its way to becoming one of the world’s most competitive bar cities, with establishments such as Manhattan, Atlas (now managed by San Francisco native Jesse Vida), and 28 Hong Kong Street (overseen by fellow New Yorker Justin Pallack, who led Miami’s Sweet Liberty towards honors as the “Best American Bar Team” at Tales of the Cocktail). These bars also carved a place for themselves in the venerable World’s 50 Best Bars and Asia’s 50 Best Bars lists, as did the Tippling Club.
Hogan points out a collaborative spirit amongst bar professionals in the Proof Collective client base enables each establishment to find its own vision and voice rather than fall into familiar “theme bar” tropes. The just-opened MO BAR at Mandarin Oriental Singapore, Origin, and Native, are among the other bars that Proof Collective has guided toward regular followings and international accolades.
“In Singapore, you’ll see a lot of bars really committing to a concept through every facet of the program,” Hogan continues. “Native is a really great example of this. Not only are its cocktails made from all regional (Southeast Asian) spirits and ingredients, but so is everything from the bar top itself to the coasters, and their curated music and art nights. We’re proud that 28 Hong Kong Street, the first bar we opened and still own, continues to be one of the most popular cocktail destinations in Singapore, as it opened in 2011 before the modern cocktail scene truly developed. We also operate Junior, our ten-seat cocktail bar which rotates two original concepts each year, in similar fashion to how an art gallery would change exhibitions.”
According to fellow Spirits Evangelist Joe Alessandroni, who was strutting his stuff with tiki cocktails at Junior in its “Pacifica” incarnation, notes it was a mezcal tasting bar with a Mexican backdrop in its first six months as mezcal just started trending in Southeast Asia. The team committed, with some team members hand carrying small batch mezcals from Mexico and Southern California into Singapore to supplement the larger brands already available in Asia. Junior headed south in its second six months by way of New Orleans, bringing the Sazerac and other celebrated libations and food to adventurous locals and U.S. expats craving a very specific taste of home.
“This is a creative lab for the company as well as a showcase for us,” says Alessandroni, “While it is not the most profitable business model, and we don’t take reservations and actively promote it, it is open to the public and a great spot to see what our people do and how new ideas that will push the Singapore bar scene forward, come to life.”
EC Proof is the company’s retail store. It’s managed by Los Angeles native Richelle South—officially Proof Collective’s Commercial Director. However, it fulfills Proof Collective’s requirement of being a self-contained concept. The unusual space includes an events room where public cocktail classes called “Salon Socials” are staged, a kitchen for couples and private cocktail classes, a cocktail book library, and an impressive “secret room” filled with small batch spirits from around the globe. What’s on display, naturally, nicely parallels with current trends in Singapore’s bars, and what trends may end up boomeranging back to the U.S. and Europe.
“Asian ingredients and techniques are very on-trend in the U.S. and beyond,” Hogan says. “Gins are really taking off here, and definitely not just the big global brands. We have several local craft products that have a greater depth of provenance, including spirits from Southeast Asia that I can see doing really well in the U.S. There are some that are there already but haven’t quite gotten the same level of attention they have here, such as Singapore’s East Imperial (sodas and tonic waters) as well as entirely new products which have launched in Asia. We’re seeing a lot of excitement around gins such as Peddlers Gin from China and Never-Never Gin from Australia. Mancino Vermouth is another great product I could see doing very well in the U.S.”
Ricky Paiva is the Beverage Director for the Six Senses Maxwell and Duxton properties in Singapore. Though he doesn’t work directly with Proof Collective, he has fond memories of, and admiration for his fellow San Franciscans who were among Proof Collective’s first employees. He beams when he recalls how, after a series of interviews, he went to Singapore and led the opening of Manhattan, another early Proof Collective client.
“Like London, San Francisco, and New York at the start of their great cocktail eras, a rock dropped into Singapore a few years ago, and the ripples are being felt today,” says Paiva, who spent some of his early bartending years at San Francisco’s fabled Rickhouse Bar. “Singapore is an amazing hub as it is. We get to visit other countries quickly, and see products and techniques that are coming up in their cities’ cocktail scenes. We will come back home, and since we are a port city, we can easily get a variety of ingredients from those other countries and integrate them into our programs. Our community is growing but still very close-knit, and we can visit each other’s establishments, provide feedback on each other’s experiments, and most importantly, learn from one another.”
