Cool Off With These Seven Summer Cocktails
In Singapore’s sweltering heat, tasty tipples from The Elephant Room, Manhattan and Nutmeg & Clove will do more than refresh the senses.
Summertime: it’s hot, people are thirsty, and suddenly everyone’s chasing spritzes and citrus. It’s a cliché, but an effective one. Because there really is something about an ice-cold, acid-bright drink that resets the senses.
In Singapore, bartenders tackle the genre with seasonal ingredients like watermelon, pineapple and coconut cream. It’s not just about taste, but also texture, temperature and the mood-boosting magic of a perfectly-timed drink. Summer cocktails may be all too familiar, but in the right hands, they’re never played out.
Bright and wildly drinkable, this take on a summer thirst-quencher simply involves watermelon juice and a hit of tequila. “It’s something you’d sip barefoot by the beach,” says co-founder Yugnes Susela, recalling summer trips to Pangkor Island and eating fresh watermelon slices seaside. The drink’s name came from a passing comment by a construction worker who worked on the bar — he referred to the fruit in Hindi, basically.
The Elephant Room, 33 Tanjong Pagar Road
Served in an avian-shaped glass, Spicy Finch is as dramatic to behold as it is to sip. At its heart is Tanglin gin infused with chilli padi, which is fiery but never overpowering. The piquancy is mellowed out with passion fruit, lime, and just enough syrup to round the edges. “We wanted to awaken the palate, but still cool you down,” says bartender Guganesvaran Sambasivam. “Like a breeze on a hot day.” Perfect for sultry Singapore evenings.
Opus Bar & Grill, voco Orchard Singapore, 581 Orchard Road
“I wanted it to taste like summer fruit with a whiff of bonfire,” says head bartender Timothy Aw. That smoky sweetness defines El Diablo, a rooftop-ready cocktail that brings together berry-rich sloe gin, mezcal and a housemade pineapple-red wine syrup spiked with pink peppercorns. Served over crushed ice, it’s cold, fast, and refreshingly bold.
But El Diablo isn’t just about flavour — there’s also a commitment to sustainability. The syrup is crafted from upcycled happy hour wine and leftover pineapple skins, while house-dehydrated pineapple and lime garnishes complete the zero-waste loop. “It’s our way of being seasonal and sustainable, without preaching,” says Aw.
Cygnet Bar, 35 Robinson Road
Head bartender Ron Aransay describes this cocktail as a highball at heart, with a creamy twist: strawberry yogurt meets gin, berries and bubbles in a clarified milk punch that’s equal parts playful and refined. “We wanted the fruit to be the hero,” he explains. The result is something between a spiked smoothie and a grown-up soda, with tartness from yuzu and citric acid, rounded by umeshu and vanilla, and a final touch of fizz.
Las Palmas, Courtyard by Marriott Singapore Novena, 99 Irrawaddy Road
Named after the iconic 1980s street dance, Harlem Shake channels a summer afternoon in New York: think heat bouncing off the pavement, music spilling from stoops, and bodies in motion. “It’s something you’d sip at golden hour, with a breeze in the air,” says 27-year-old head bartender Zana Mohlmann. Part of the Seasons of Manhattan menu, the tiki-inspired drink is built on a blend of Planteray rums and layered with coconut cream, pineapple and lime. Frangelico and gardenia add texture and lift, nodding to Harlem’s rich cultural complexity.
Manhattan, Conrad Singapore Orchard, 1 Cuscaden Road
Rattan-tastic pays tribute to one of Singapore’s traditional small businesses: Chun Mee Lee Rattan Furniture, a longstanding family-run workshop that still weaves cane by hand. “Since rattan is rooted in tropical living, we wanted something crisp and cooling,” says operations manager Sim Sze Wei. The result: a layered, rum-based cocktail brightened with lime and green apple, grounded in dried sugarcane, pine syrup, and a touch of celery for herbal depth. The drink is part of The Stories of Our Community, the new menu at Nutmeg & Clove marking the watering hole’s 11th anniversary.
Nutmeg & Clove, 8 Purvis Street
“I wanted something thirst-quenching and easy to enjoy, just like the mojitos I usually reach for at the beach,” says bar manager Ooi Foo Giap. “It has to be light, refreshing and unfussy, capturing that breezy beachside vibe.” Enter Chu-High, a pared-back blend of Ichiko Shochu, guava, and Perrier soda. Crisp, fruit-forward and stripped of excess, the drink fits neatly into the world of timeless cocktails and unassuming Japanese bites favored by Last Word.
Last Word, 8 Purvis Street
