Cover Jigger & Pony team
Jigger & Pony team
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At 11 years old, this cocktail saloon has been named Singapore’s number one, four years in a row at Asia’s 50 Best Bars awards. Find out how founders Indra Kantono and Guoyi Gan have grown their home ‘bar’ into a bona fide F&B hospitality group, and what’s next for them
When Jigger & Pony clinched the award for Singapore’s best bar for the fourth consecutive year during the Asia’s 50 Best Bar 2023 ceremony in Hong Kong, it set a new benchmark for our shores. The pioneering 28 HongKong Street, older by two years, in comparison was No. 1 in the inaugural 2016 list, then No. 4 in 2017, zigzagging No. 30 in 2020, No. 21 in 2021, No. 49 in 2022, and No. 24 in 2023. The list, powered by voters, is notoriously hard to predict. So what’s the story behind Jigger’s performance?
By no means did Jigger & Pony have a meteoric rise or sudden entry into the consciousness of bar aficionados worldwide. In fact, as co-founder Indra Kantono points out, “We didn’t become a World’s 50 Best Bar until 2019, the seventh year of our existence.” Taking their time and building their business with the Japanese philosophy of kaizen, or continuous improvement, means that their identity is stronger and that they have never compromised on their values, he reasons. It’s no coincidence that Jigger & Pony’s 10th year menu is dubbed Identity, a strong stance on what they’ve built over the years. Incidentally, at the 2023 Tales of the Cocktail Spirited Awards, Jigger also won the title of Best International Hotel Bar, plus a top 4 nominee for Best International Bar Team and a top 10 nominee in the World’s Best Menu category.
Read more: Asia’s 50 Best Bars 2023: Hong Kong’s Coa bags top spot for 3 years running
Above Indra Kantono and Guoyi Gan
Indra Kantono and Guoyi Gan
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“Couple of amateurs”
The bar first started out in a shophouse in 2012 along Amoy Street, which was not the hub of creativity and concepts that it is today. Co-founder Guoyi Gan was a flight attendant with Singapore Airlines when she met Kantono, who was in finance. As he describes it, she’s the heart of the company while he’s the analytical brain. Bonding over a mutual love for F&B, but with no prior background, they discovered a variety of cocktail bars while travelling through Japan, Europe and the US, and toyed with the idea of opening a bar in the nascent Singapore scene as early as 2010.
Gan received invaluable advice from a mentor: to see if their idea could work, test it on 100 people. In addition, she also hand carried back speciality spirits that she scouted on her work flights. “We were convinced that we had a chance at success. Through the hosting of many home parties, we realised that people—friends and friends of friends—seemed to like what we were offering even though we were a couple of amateurs making cocktails off YouTube channels,” Kantono reminisces. Naming the bar Jigger & Pony, after the measuring device used by bartenders, stemmed from their observation that there were no classic cocktail bars in Singapore then, and that for the industry to come to age, it has to embrace the classics at some stage. Its name and approach eventually provided the DNA of the group even as some other cocktail bars embraced molecular mixology, bespoke cocktails, or other trends.
Above Ugly Tomatoes
Above Espresso Martini
Ugly Tomatoes
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The cocktail style
Roping in Japanese ace Aki Eguchi in 2013 was a coup, as he took a leap of faith to leave his position as head bartender at Waku Ghin to join this very fledgling company. His steady influence is very much part of the Jigger story, steering the classic cocktail programme that they became known for. “Even though we were making classics, we balanced the recipes for modern drinkers. Over time, we developed our signature style of drinks that took into account different factors like craftsmanship, consistency, efficiency and even visual identity. We call our version of classic cocktails ‘improved and true’,” Eguchi elaborates. He is now a partner in the group.
“In the first few years, I was the main person creating the cocktails and curating the beverage programme. Now, it is more of a collaborative effort within the team, which I’m really proud of,” he adds. The creation process, unsurprisingly, is a structured one. It starts from a strong understanding and study of spirits, and how each choice of spirit can impact the character of the cocktail. “For example, in bar literature, gin cocktails such as the Gimlet and Martini state the use of dry gin. It has to be more specific than that; every classic has a most suitable spirit,” he shares. He also points out that Jigger adapts, but doesn’t follow trends. “Stand firm, stick to what we do in producing quality cocktails. Good taste is never irrelevant,” he asserts.
Some of the new items on the Identity menu include Ugly Tomatoes, a concrete step by the team to build an authentically sustainable cocktail that takes into account real-life problems faced by the F&B industry. Another was inspired by the sense of camaraderie among the bar community, resulting in a cocktail favoured by them while highlighting the most ubiquitous fruit behind the counter—thus the Super Lemon Highball.
Jigger isn’t too proud to include cocktails that aren’t quite classic, such as the popularised party go-tos of espresso martini and dirty martini—except that they will do them in their meticulous, fully researched style. That’s why the dirty martini comprises a brine that they make in-house, to control its salt and consistency, while stuffing their own olives with a not-overly ‘dirty’ blend of miso, cream cheese and more olives. With espresso martinis, the time and skill needed to pull fresh, consistent shots of espresso is often the weakest link. The team solved the problem by creating their own ideal coffee pods, in collaboration with local roasters PPP Coffee. This makes it possible for them to bring this signature drink on the road for guest shifts as well.
Above Jigger & Pony mezzanine
Jigger & Pony mezzanine
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The next 10 years
Today, the Jigger & Pony Group encompasses four cocktail bars, three restaurants, and Pony Cocktails, across a total of eight brands. Along the way, they have had concepts that didn’t work out, such as whisky-dive bar Flagship that operated from 2015 to 2019. “It was a few steps removed from our core DNA of convivial hospitality and showcase of craft. We decided in 2019 to completely renovate the space into Live Twice, focusing on elevated classic cocktails with attention to details. The change and alignment have really paid dividends for us,” says Kantono.
As for what the future brings, the couple won’t be resting on their recent laurels. He continues, “We hope Singapore blossoms into the bonafide cocktail capital of the world, and for us to continue evolving our bars to champion our community. We also hope that Southeast Asia and Asia overall continues growing their respective cocktail identities, and with us playing a direct and active role in contributing to that as well.”
Eguchi is perhaps a bit more forward. “I really love the diversity in Singapore’s bar culture and the confidence that Singapore bars now possess in showcasing our unique identities. I am very proud that increasingly Singapore bars are becoming global benchmarks and reference points for many bartenders and cocktail enthusiasts around the world. Professionally, I hope to be able to take the Jigger & Pony Group overseas. I believe our DNA, core values, and ethos will allow us to expand outside of Singapore,” he expounds.
