The Singapore Cocktail Bar Association Is Now Established!
In the midst of the Circuit Breaker, one group of people have come together to gather those who are passionate about Singapore’s craft cocktail culture. Enter the Singapore Cocktail Bar Association (SCBA), a non-profit organisation that champions Singapore's craft cocktail culture.
Established in May 2020, SCBA was initiated by Gan Guoyi, Co-Owner of the Jigger & Pony Group in Singapore. Mr Gan also serves as the Founding President of the Association, and is further supported by four other Founding Board Members, Andrew Yap, the Association’s Treasurer and Co-Owner of The Old Man Singapore; Vivian Pei, the Association’s Vice President and Academy Chair for Asia’s 50 Best Bars; Paul Gabie, Founding Board Member and Director of 28 HongKong Street; and Ivy Woo, Founding Board Member, Owner of Food News Integrated Marketing and Co-Founder of Singapore Cocktail Festival.
The Association aims to establish itself as an active voice for the cocktail community, while working with its members to identify opportunities for industry growth and education. The immediate purpose of the Association is to acquire corporate donations that will be distributed as a means of support for the cocktail community in need.
“The cocktail community in Singapore has made an impressionable mark in the international circuit over the last decade. The immediate work of SCBA is to collaborate with like-minded organisations to preserve that mark and pave the way for cocktail bars and bartenders to emerge and pivot strongly out of this pandemic,” said Gan.
Aside from its Founding Board Members, to ensure strict governance and further participation from the industry, the Association has also appointed six Committee Members, consisting of Bai Jiawei from Employees Only; Charmaine Thio from William Grant & Sons; Colin Chia from Nutmeg & Clove; David Nguyen-Luu from Manhattan; Jesse Vida from Atlas; and Jess “Hutch” Hutchinson from No Sleep Club. Committee members will work with Board Members to ensure that the Association’s initiatives are always conducted in transparency, fairness and with the industry’s interest as a foremost priority.
Their current goal right now is to help roll-out initiatives aimed at raising funds to support the cocktail community during this time, as well as recovery programmes designed to help bars and bartenders get on a faster track to recovery. More information on these initiatives will be announced in June 2020.
Members must meet a pre-set list of criteria before admission. Membership fees will be waived for the first two years of SCBA’s operation, with operational costs of the Association sponsored by Jigger & Pony Group, Proof & Company and Singapore Cocktail Festival during this time.
Organisations who are keen to support SCBA’s upcoming initiatives can reach out to guoyi@jiggerandpony.com or paul.gabie@proofandcompany.com.
