Watering Holes - Happy Hour in a Time of Covid-19

Raise a glass at singapore's best lounges and bars

by Lauren Raps

I hope that the Stay-Home Notice (SHN) will be a thing of the past by the time this article is published; but in case it’s not (or even if it is), I decided to pass some time trying out a few cocktails to-go with a little help from some fellow quarantined friends, all in the name of research.

So, on an evening when we should have been celebrating the MidAutumn festival, four SHN friends and a supportive spouse Zoomed over cocktails from the Fairmont’s Anti:Dote Bar, Nutmeg & Clove, and Ah Sam Cold Drinks Stall. We tasted, laughed and compared meals and rooms. We also challenged ourselves to use whatever we had in our rooms to hack the drinks to make them cocktail loungeworthy. Some of our ice was delivered in a silver bucket, some in a Styrofoam cup. Some of us cheered from balconies, some from a room with a window that didn’t open and faced a wall. But we all got to escape for an evening, make new friends and laugh about the craziness of it all.

Now for the drinks…

Anti:Dote Bar at the Fairmont

The bottled cocktails that Anti:Dote offers are very generous portions, good for about five cocktails each. The bottle fits nicely in the mini-bar too, if you don’t knock it all back in one night. We were lucky to try three of their offerings and they were delicious.

Some of the tasters suggested adding milk to the Cold Brew Martini and having it for a midday boost. I added sliced apples from that day’s lunch to the aptly named Apple of my Pie cocktail, which was slightly sweet and tangy. If I’d had cinnamon sugar in the room, I would have put it on the rim of my glass. The Queen’s Favorite is not for the faint of heart – strong and bitter in the best way. One taster saved some of hers to make sangria with whatever fruit she received with breakfast. Super-fun and unique cocktails.

Bottled cocktails from Anti:Dote

Nutmeg & Clove

Visitors to Nutmeg & Clove are familiar with their bespoke cocktail offerings, and their drinks to-go do not sacrifice any of this bar’s inventiveness. The Rosita with Campari was “smooth and tasted like an improved Old Fashioned.” A peachflavored cocktail was made with Rye and peach vinegar cut with a bit of soda water -- best served on the rocks, one taster suggested.

My personal favorite, the Almost Colorless Negroni, was not the typical red color. The addition of chrysanthemum gave this cocktail a beautiful yellow hue and a very subtle floral sweetness. As a Negroni connoisseur, I loved this unique twist. All of the cocktails were very well balanced and beautifully presented. Whether alone in your room or hosting cocktails at home, they would be sure to impress.

Ah Sam Cold Drinks Stall

Don’t judge, but there were some mornings during SHN when I woke up and really wanted a good Cosmopolitan. Thanks to the distraction of Netflix, I was strong and could hold out until 5 o’clock. After some quick research, I found an interesting option at Ah Sam Cold Drinks Stall, a place I have been wanting to try. I placed my order at 4 pm, and it was in my room by 5 pm. Their take on the Cosmo is sparkling and with lychee – literally the perfect combination of champagne, a Cosmopolitan and a lychee martini…yum! I would definitely add this to your list.

While all of us want SHN to go away, may this new ability to get takeaway cocktails from Singapore’s best bars continue on. Cheers!

Lauren Raps is AWA's Bar Night Chair. She moved to Singapore in January 2021 with her husband and three boys. She is the President and Founder of Travel Prospect, a full service leisure travel planning company.