Top 5 bars in… Manila

Manila may not be on the cocktail map yet, but the first stirrings of a scene in its infancy show signs of a bright future, finds BarChick.

Manila has a burgeoning cocktail industry, as BarChick discovers

The Philippines wholeheartedly embraces the drinking spirit. With a strong culture of camaraderie and joie de vivre, there are fiestas in different barangays (neighbourhoods) almost every week, in which families and friends feast and drink San Miguel, Tanduay Rhum, Ginebra Gin and Emperador.

But despite deep-rooted local drinking traditions, Manila’s bar scene remains decidedly undeveloped. The Philippines is third out of the world’s heaviest drinking nations according to international research firm Euromonitor, with adults consuming an average of 5.4 shots of distilled alcohol a week, but just 13% of that is on-trade consumption. This is largely due to prohibitive price mark-ups and a median low salary; a US$2 bottle of rum shared among friends is obviously preferable to a US$5 cocktail. But the dearth of variety in the bar scene and the sector’s lack of infrastructure beyond that of big established brands certainly contributes.

“The cocktail scene in Manila is very young,” said bar consultant Lee Watson. “There are a few trailblazers, which have opened in the past couple of years, but before that it was difficult to get a decent drink. The country was still in the stage where vodka or rum with fruit juice and a garnish was considered a good cocktail.”

The Blind Pig really pioneered the craft cocktail scene, heavily influenced by the famous speakeasy bars of America, along with The Curator, both with spirit-forward drinks. The Long Bar (a recreation of the famous bar at The Raffles Hotel in Singapore), Spanish Las Flores, and rock ’n’ roll Finders Keepers all deserve a mention.

But, what will entice local drinkers out of their homes and into these bars to start creating more demand for a thriving local bar culture? “We’ve been trying to push the cocktail aspect, because this is something that is a little harder to recreate at home,” Erwan Heussaff, The Fat Kid Inside food blogger, barman and co-owner of Niner Ichi Nana, explained. “People who have experienced cocktails abroad are looking for the same experience and are willing to pay for it. However, just like many things here, they represent 10% of the population. We are all fighting for that 10%.”

He’s found that people are responding, however. “I think the market is more experimental now, people are taking more risks and are ready to try different things. Consumers here are still creatures of habit, but there is a lot more room for fresh ideas. Bar and club owners keep on pushing the envelope to see how far they can go.”

In fact, it’s Heussaff ‘s Niner Ichi Nana which is regularly cited as leading the way. Harking back to the classic tiki bars of old, their interpretation is unique, most notably because they are the only bar in town to play with indigenous and seasonal produce beyond the typical mango, pineapple and coconut. Heussaff uses Tuba (fermented palm sap) and Lambanog (fermented sap of coconut trees), as well as creating his own shrubs, syrups and tinctures. “Apart from Niner Ichi Nana, bars haven’t taken local flavours and ingredients and incorporated them into their cocktail programme, at least not yet,” Lee said. “I think we’ll see more of this in the near future.”

So, what does the future hold? In Heussaff‘s words: “We’ve hit a point where people now know what to expect from cocktail bars, but the scene is quite small and I’m not sure if it can expand aggressively yet. However, there is a huge demand for boutique bottles and a variety of alcohol that still needs to be imported. At the time of writing, ABV, The Edge and The Palace were all causing whispers of excitement amongst the industry.

The Philippines, after all, has played its part in the history of cocktail culture, with many tiki cocktails championed in the past. In The Gentleman’s Guide to Cocktails, The Baguio Country Club and The Subic Yacht Club are both referenced as places where you could find exotic drinks in the 1920s. Perhaps it’s through rediscovering this past cocktail culture that the country will pave the way forward.

Flick through the next few pages to discover the best bars in Manila.

Black Sheep

Penthouse, 5th Avenue, Taguig, Metro Manila; blacksheepbgc.com

A creation of multi-talented team Jed Lim, Attica, Raphael Cruz, Kato Chua and Jordy Navarra, Black Sheep is a marriage of fine spirits and fine food. Here you’ll find a well-stocked whisky bar, the largest collection of single malts in Manila, with excellent cocktails to boot. Smoking is allowed indoors, so this is your cigar and single malt moment.

The Blind Pig

227 Salcedo St., Legaspi Village, Makati; blindpig.ph

No name, signage or streetlight? Yes, this is Manila’s first speakeasy style bar, and a total game changer. The rules are strict, so inside voices only and switch off that phone, which shouldn’t be hard as the drinks come from some of the best barmen in town. Tuck into a dark booth and order a Gold Rush (honey, lemon and Bourbon) for its intense flavours.

The Curator

134 Legaspi St, Makati; thecurator.com.ph

Come for some of the best coffee in town by day, a browse of their pop-up boutique, and then bring on the craft cocktails come 6pm. With concrete, minimal eclectic furniture and shelves of cocktail books, it’s a good place to kick back.

Edsa BDG

209 EDSA, Mandaluyong, Metro Manila; www.edsa-bdg.com

From the same team as The Curator this is another half-hidden coffee-cum-cocktails place. They offer co-working spaces for creatives, which means the crowd are cool freelance types who move from cold press coffee to craft cocktails in the evening. It looks the part with lots of wood and coffee contraptions in an industrial loft space.

Niner Ichi Nana

The Globe Tower, 32nd Street, Bonifacio Global City, Taguig; ninerichinana.com

They offer a studied and original take on tiki classics without taking the craft too seriously. Cue plenty of trinkets, oversized garnishes, novelty glassware and heaps of local fruit.