Asia's 50 Best Bars 2025 in Macau Highlights Asia's Diversity, Heritage and Culture

Words: Wariya Intreyonk, Photos: 50 Best Bars and Wariya Intreyonk

Asia's 50 Best Bars is a vibrant celebration that fortifies the bar community across the Asian continent. This esteemed annual list has been honouring and showcasing this dynamic regional scene since its inception in 2016. As the community has flourished, numerous bars from this region have gained international acclaim, shining a spotlight on Asia's rich and diverse drinking culture.

"Well, I think, particularly this year, given the volume of incredible new entries and the diversity of cities represented, which speaks to the diversity of drinking styles, cultures, and heritages that everyone is enjoying, sampling, and clearly loving, I would say it speaks to Asia's continued evolution," stated Emma Sleight, Head of Content for the Global 50 Best. "This bar scene constantly changes. You can go to a city or a town and think you know it really well. Come back years later, and you won't recognise it; there'll be a new place to go. But what's really wonderful is to see that not only the volume of new exciting entries is the install warts and the favourites, and the old hands are still absolutely represented. So again, it speaks to the diverse nature, regardless of how you prefer to enjoy your drinking culture, Asia has something for everyone."

In 2025, Asia's 50 Best Bars made a groundbreaking decision to hold the announcement ceremony in the dazzling city of Macau for the very first time. This choice infused the event with a thrilling energy and fresh perspective. Renowned for its unique cultural tapestry, Macau is a fusion of influences, boasting a remarkable culinary landscape alongside a growing bar scene that captivates both locals and visitors alike.

"As an organisation, we spend months, sometimes years, finding destination partners, so a lot of people think the reason we choose the location is connected to the list or something that, but really, it isn't." Emma explained, "We spend an awfully long time as a team, as a brand, looking for a suitable location, so the whole city is chosen based on a variety of reasons, including whether the candidate cities can physically host us and do they have the infrastructure to the hotels the ability to get there because we bring an awful lot of people with us. We don't lie when we say we bring the community across the continent to celebrate all together, and that's a lot of people coming. Hence, we need to make sure that they have the very best time possible, plus we also choose places based on their facilities to really showcase that diversity and special nature of Asia's bar culture, and well, Macau's world-class and driving hospitality space really speaks to that, as demonstrated. This year's celebration was ultimately a celebration of the region's bar culture. So anywhere the ceremony takes place, the reasons are based on whether it's the very best place to be for the community, and it's the very best place to celebrate the culture."

Wynn Palace was the exquisite venue selected for the prestigious ceremony. Beyond serving as the backdrop for the event, it also played a prominent role in welcoming guest shifts from some of the most celebrated bars and bartenders around the globe. Among the distinguished participants was the talented Beckaly Franks, representing the acclaimed The Pontiac and Call Me Al, whose innovative cocktails have garnered widespread acclaim. Holly Graham brought her flair and expertise from Tokyo Confidential, while the skilled Rogerio Igarashi Vaz showcased the craftsmanship of Bar Trench. Erik Lorincz, known for his artistry at Kwant London, added a touch of sophistication, and the Schofield brothers put their exceptional skills on display, representing Schofield's Bar. The talented Gavin Yeung, representing Kinsman, showcased local ingredients. Rounding out this impressive lineup were Lorenzo Querci and Giovanni Allario of Moebius, who took over Wing Lei with style alongside Wing Lo of Bar Leone, each contributing their unique style and expertise to unforgettable evenings. These guest shifts, rich with personality and innovation, served as a captivating prelude to the ceremony itself.

Before the ceremony, the 50 Best team organised an event called Meet the Bartenders at Wynn Palace's Palace Reserve Club. During this session, selected members of the media were divided into five groups to engage in 12-minute Q&A discussions with each of the chosen bar teams. The participating teams included Penicillin, Penrose, Vender, and Bar Us. This exclusive gathering centred around the theme of Heritage & Culture in Cocktails, showcasing the unique approaches each bar brings to the art of mixology.

The inaugural bar team, known as Penicillin, featured the talented trio of Laura Pabrowo, Agung Prabovo, and Jamie McCleave. Hailing from Hong Kong, Penicillin has gained a stellar reputation as a renowned bar, expertly blending experimental flair with a sustainable approach. After opening a new branch in Shanghai, Mainland China, the team has been challenged by the unfamiliar clientele.

"As we have expanded with Penicillin's second location in Shanghai, the culture is different from Hong Kong. The bar is bigger in size, and we use different local ingredients. However, we don't adjust the flavour to the local (Shanghai) palate. We present our DNA to the locals." Said Jamie McCleave, General Manager of Penicillin Shanghai.

In Malaysia, Penrose Kuala Lumpur encounters a different kind of challenge.

"The majority of Malaysian bartenders usually work outside Malaysia first, and we come back and bring those cultures into our country." Said Jon Lee of Penrose Kuala Lumpur. "Those cultures stem from classics. Ultimately, every bartender is judged by their ability to craft classics. You can be sciencey, but as long as you know your foundation, you can build upon it. One of the toughest things here is reintroducing the classics. Many of them are made with sherry, amaro, or bitters, which often have a medicinal taste. What we do is when guests want to send a drink back, we ask them what they like and make cocktails based on the information we receive, without removing the drinks they want to send back. We then ask them a favour to go back and forth between the old and new drinks. The drinks that they want to send back eventually grow on them."

Bar Us, by Sudarat 'Taln' Rojanavanich and Veerach 'Aum' Sawaengsupt, collaborates with indigenous producers and a local designer.

"One of our cocktails, Black Rice Miso, has Thai wine called Sato," said Sudarat 'Taln' Rojanavanich of Bar Us, "The sato is made from black sticky rice. This is a way we present our culture and encourage them to try the product. Our uniform is the result of a collaboration with a local designer from northern Thailand. Our coasters are made by local craftsmen from local fibre. Yeah, we try to slip some culture into our guests' experience at our bar."

While Penicillin doesn't compromise their drinks to the local palate, Vender Taichong thrives by adapting their offerings to the local palate.

"At Vender, our food and beverages are inspired by food and beverages in Singapore," said Darren Lim of Vender Taichong. "For example, the Bak Kut Teh, the Singaporean version, is very peppery and spicy. When we first launched the Bak Kut Teh cocktail five years ago, around eight to ten tables sent the drink back, saying it was too spicy or too strong, so we had to tone it down. The issue with toning it down to the local palate is that when Singaporean tourists visit, they would complain that this isn't the Bak Kut Teh I grew up with. At the end of the day, you have to cater to the locals because it's the locals that bring in the business."

For the much-anticipated announcement ceremony, Bar Leone once again claimed the prestigious title of No. 1 on Asia's 50 Best Bars, marking its second consecutive year at the top. This remarkable achievement can be attributed to the brilliant leadership of Lorenzo Antinori, whose innovative vision has redefined the bar experience.

This year's list is a vibrant tapestry of fresh talents and emerging hot spots, highlighting the flourishing cocktail culture in several regions, particularly India, Mainland China, Taiwan, and Thailand. India shines brightly with five remarkable establishments making the cut: Bar Spirit Forward in Bengaluru, ZLB23 also in Bengaluru, Boilermaker in Goa, Soka in Bengaluru, and Lair in New Delhi.

Mainland China is also capturing attention with its dynamic cocktail scene, boasting three bars on the list and a standout individual accolade. Notably, Andrew Ho from Hope & Sesame in Guangzhou received the coveted Altos' Bartenders' Bartender Award for 2025. The outstanding bars from this rapidly evolving market include MO Bar in Shenzhen and CMYK in Changsha.

Taiwan secured its spot on the list with four exceptional bars, each showcasing the island's unique cocktail artistry. Moonrock in Tainan made a notable appearance at No. 42, followed closely by To Infinity & Beyond in Taipei at No. 41, The Public House in Taipei at No. 40, and Vender in Taichung, which impressively ranked at No. 20. Each of these bars contributes to the diverse and vibrant nightlife scene across the region.

"All the winners are very well deserving, so I wouldn't say that anyone particularly caught us by surprise, and I think it's rather more excitement around that diversity that's really driving the list. So if you think about some of the exciting new satellite cities that are popping up, I think we said it before, when Asia's 50 Best Bars first launched way back in 2016, 70% of the bars in the ranking lists were based in major capital cities, and now you can see how that has diversified — CMYK in Changsha, Bengaluru representing strongly from India and Tainan. The real diversity showcases that you can still get phenomenal drinks in these cities, obviously, but it's truly the culture and knowledge that is radiating outwards, which has been shared and diversified. So for me, it's the part of the list this year, for sure. Just to remind us all that the list is compiled from the votes of more than 300 drinks experts from across the entirety of the region, headed by our four Academy chairs. So the Academy chairs' job is to recruit voters from that region, and they are anonymous and confidential; they just pick their seven very best bar experiences anywhere they've been in Asia. So essentially, the list is going to be the result of their unique opinions during that flash short of time that shows where people are travelling to, where people are choosing as their destinations for drinking, and how that is continuing to change and evolve, which is incredibly exciting."

Thailand's bar scene has made significant progress with 7 bars on this year's list, with Bar Us Bangkok leading the way at No. 4 on the list as the very first stand alone bar that won Destination Award: Best Bar in Thailand 2025, followed by Dry Wave Cocktail Studio Bangkok at No. 5. Additionally, Dry Wave Cocktail Studio Bangkok took home the Disaronno Highest New Entry Award 2025. Former Destination Award Winner, BKK Social Club, made it onto the list at No. 19. G.O.D. Bar Bangkok made it to No. 26. Vesper Bangkok also achieved its milestone with the Rémy Martin Legend of the List Award 2025, finding its place at No. 29. Not yet on the list, Messenger Service Bangkok received the Best Bar Design Award 2025.

The full list is available here for those who wonder if their favourite bars made it.

After the announcement, there was an after-party at the Palace Reserve Club where bartenders could celebrate. To top it off, a closing party was held at Fontana for people in the industry to hang out and bond even deeper.

So far, there has been no confirmation on where or which candidate countries will host next year's ceremony. However, on 8 October 2025, The World's 50 Best Bars 2025 list will be announced at Kai Tak Cruise Terminal. Let's see how many bars from Asia will land on the list.