Cover Gear up for a weekend of world-class cocktails, engaging masterclasses and one epic party—The Philippines Cocktail Fiesta is back (Photo: Pexels / Hamsheen)
Gear up for a weekend of world-class cocktails, engaging masterclasses and one epic party—The Philippines Cocktail Fiesta is back (Photo: Pexels / Hamsheen)
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The Philippine Cocktail Fiesta 2026 runs from November 13 to 15 across Cebu, bringing bartenders from across Asia for guest shifts, free masterclasses and panels, plus an epic closing party
Three days, 25 guest shifts and pairings, four panels, five masterclasses and a closing party—The Philippine Cocktail Fiesta returns for its sophomore run, and this time, it’s bringing the party to Cebu.
Spearheaded by DrinkCollectiv and Drinks Be With You (DBWY), The Philippine Cocktail Fiesta was created with one goal in mind: to uplift the bar industry across the country. Much of it still runs on volunteer work, with sponsorship money going back into staging its programmes. The 2025 debut in Metro Manila looked outward, bringing 38 guest bartenders from abroad to nearly 100 bars across 10 cities and putting Philippine bars in front of the region’s industry.
This year, the Fiesta keeps that outward push going and adds another ambition: sharing what the region’s bars know with Philippine cities outside the capital. Cebu is the first stop in a new rotating host-city programme backed by the Department of Tourism – Central Visayas and the Tourism Promotions Board, bringing bartenders from 13 foreign cities and from across the Philippines to work alongside local bars.
Related: Tatler Best-in-Class: awarding the best bars in the Philippines 2026
Above The Philippine Cocktail Fiesta organisers, DrinkCollectiv and Drinks Be With You (DBWY) (Photo by Midnight Dream Studio)
The Philippine Cocktail Fiesta organisers, DrinkCollectiv and Drinks Be With You (DBWY) (Photo by Midnight Dream Studio)
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Among them are Hanoi’s The Hudson Rooms, which took home Tatler Best Service Vietnam 2026; Wing Lei Bar, Tatler Best Bar of the Year Macau 2026; Punch Room Tokyo, part of the Tatler Best 100 Bars Asia-Pacific 2025; and New Delhi’s Sidecar, named to the Tatler Best 20 Bars India 2026 in the inaugural year of Tatler Best India. Manila’s delegation includes Big Fuzz, Tatler Best Bar of the Year Philippines 2026; Problem Child, Tatler Best New Bar Philippines 2026; and Recraft, Tatler Best Innovation Philippines 2026.
“What started in Manila last year has grown into something much bigger than a single-city festival,” shares Tatum Ancheta, founder of DrinkCollectiv and festival director of The Philippine Cocktail Fiesta. “Moving the Fiesta to a different city each year allows us to introduce different Philippine destinations and their bar communities to people from across the region.”
Read more: The best meals of your life might be in cities you’ve never considered
Bar-hopping across Cebu
Above Catch Kyle Quismundo of Big Fuzz at The Philippine Cocktail Fiesta (Photo: Sonny Thakur)
Catch Kyle Quismundo of Big Fuzz at The Philippine Cocktail Fiesta (Photo: Sonny Thakur)
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Guest shifts move through Mactan on November 13, then Cebu City and Mandaue City on November 14, with several pairing visiting bartenders with Cebu’s own. Hosting them on the ground is a local committee of Cebu bartenders, bar owners and supporters, who shape the local programme and introduce visitors to the city’s bar community: Gab Carlos, John Orozco, Eugene Dy, Kevin Obach, Fred Obach, Adrian Muntuerto and John Park. Big Fuzz shares its night at Warehaus with Bar by East (Tatler Best 20 Bars Philippines 2026), while Fat Cat (Tatler Best Bar of the Year Philippines 2025), represented by World Class Philippines Bartender of the Year 2026 Ron Cruz, teams up with Luna Bar + Tapas. Bangkok’s Lennon’s (Tatler Best 20 Bars Thailand 2026) and Jakarta’s Carrots (Tatler Best 20 Bars Indonesia 2026) are also on the lineup, alongside bars from Dumaguete, Siargao, Pampanga, Davao and La Union.
Four cocktail pairing dinners match guest bartenders with Cebu chefs, including Manila’s The Grasshopper Bar (Tatler Best 20 Bars Philippines 2025) at Balai Brunch by Cafe Plus and Sidecar at Anzani. Throughout November, nearly 40 participating venues run Fiesta cocktails and offers, all listed in a Fiesta Passport you can pick up free of charge at airports, partner hotels and participating venues.
See also: Marikina neighbourhood guide: Ken Alonso of Proudly Promdi guides us through his city
Masterclasses and the Bar Congress
Above The panellists for Pouring forward: leadership, wellness & sustainable hospitality: Yangdup Lama, co-founder of Sidecar (Tatler Best 20 Bars India 2026); Angeline Tan co-founder of Three X Co (Tatler Best Service Malaysia 2026); Jay Khan, co-founder of Coa (Tatler Best 20 Bars Hong Kong 2026); and Uno Jang, creative director of Jigger & Pony (Tatler Best Bar of the Year Singapore 2026)
The panellists for Pouring forward: leadership, wellness & sustainable hospitality: Yangdup Lama, co-founder of Sidecar (Tatler Best 20 Bars India 2026); Angeline Tan co-founder of Three X Co (Tatler Best Service Malaysia 2026); Jay Khan, co-founder of Coa (Tatler Best 20 Bars Hong Kong 2026); and Uno Jang, creative director of Jigger & Pony (Tatler Best Bar of the Year Singapore 2026)
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The Fiesta’s ambition to develop bar scenes outside the capital is most visible in its education programme. On November 14, Lee Watson, founder of The Spirits Library (Tatler Best 20 Bars Philippines 2026), leads a masterclass on the history of Philippine spirits, cocktails and bar culture. It’s the same subject behind the bar’s new menu, and a history that runs deeper than many local drinkers realise.
The next day, NUSTAR Resort Cebu hosts the Fiesta’s first Bar Congress from 10am to 4.30pm. The programme brings together panel discussions, more masterclasses on subjects from artisan vodka to Philippine rum, and tastings of Philippine craft spirits. It is aimed at bar owners, bartenders, hoteliers and producers, and admission is free with advance registration.
At What’s in, what’s out, a panel on improving bar and cocktail programmes, Pongsakorn “Beer” Akarabunditsakul, bar manager of Bangkok’s Bar Us (Tatler Best Innovation Thailand 2026), sits alongside Kate Osmillo, co-founder of Manila’s Raion (Tatler Best 20 Bars Philippines 2026), among others, in a discussion moderated by DrinkCollectiv co-founder Icy Mariñas.
Pouring forward: leadership, wellness & sustainable hospitality, moderated by Ancheta, explores sustainability through a different lens: that of wellbeing. Hear from leaders of Asia’s bar scene: Coa co-founder Jay Khan (Tatler Best 20 Bars Hong Kong 2026), Sidecar co-founder Yangdup Lama, Three X Co co-founder Angeline Tan (Tatler Best Service Malaysia 2026) and Uno Jang of Singapore’s Jigger & Pony Group, the titan responsible for Jigger & Pony (Tatler Best Bar of the Year Singapore 2026) as well as Pop City x Pony and Gibson (both on the Tatler Best 20 Bars Singapore 2026).
In case you missed it: Tatler Best 20: the best bars in the Philippines 2026
Asia Icons
Above Geumseong Liu 刘津成 of Hope and Sesame (Tatler Best 100 Bars Asia-Pacific 2025)
Above Akarabunditsakul “Beer” Pongsakorn, bar manager of Bar Us (Tatler Best Innovation Thailand 2026)
Geumseong Liu 刘津成 of Hope and Sesame (Tatler Best 100 Bars Asia-Pacific 2025)
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The festival closes that night with Asia Icons: The Fiesta closing party in NUSTAR’s grand ballroom, which gathers nine bars for one night. Guangzhou’s Hope & Sesame (Tatler Best 100 Bars Asia-Pacific 2025) join Problem Child, Bar Us, Coa, Three X Co, Raion and The Spirits Library. Completing the line-up are Recraft and BOP (Bartenders of Pony), the Jigger & Pony Group’s latest project, which opened in January. Tickets are available through NUSTAR’s website.
Fiesta Exchange
The Fiesta’s work continues past the festival weekend through Fiesta Exchange, which this year has taken Filipino bartenders to bars in New Delhi, Singapore, Hong Kong, Beijing and Bangkok. Most recently, committee members Gab Carlos of The Basement and John Park of The Lost Unicorn (Tatler Best 20 Bar Philippines 2026) took over Lennon’s at Rosewood Bangkok. In Manila, the programme brings Beijing’s Bar Long Fong to Raion on November 10, Jakarta’s Carrots (Tatler Best 20 Bars Indonesia 2026) to Malagihay Cocktail Club on November 16 and The Hudson Rooms to BRB on December 12.
“There are so many people contributing their time, experience, and connections because they believe in what the Fiesta can do for the Philippine bar industry,” adds Ancheta. “Beyond bringing great bars and bartenders together, we want to create connections across the region while giving more people the opportunity to discover the Philippines through our bars, food, and hospitality.”
For the full schedule, Bar Congress registration and event details, visit thecocktailfiesta.com, and follow them on Instagram at @thecocktailfiesta.
Credits
Photography: courtesy of The Philippine Cocktail Fiesta
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About
Lauren’s love for food came much later in life than one would expect— an obsession awakened in the streets of Melbourne’s multicultural dining scene. Armed with this newfound passion, she returned to the Philippines determined to discover the best eats in her home country, with a personal advocacy to champion local cuisines and homegrown talent. Nothing is off-limits; if it’s delicious, it’s worth celebrating.
Work
As Tatler Dining associate editor, Lauren covers all things food and drink, from listing the latest openings in our monthly Dining Radar to interviewing chefs and bartenders about the biggest obstacles crippling the industry today. Beyond the digital space, she also organises Tatler Dining’s tentpole events, including Off Menu and Tatler Dining Kitchen, as well as the annual Tatler Best Philippines awards night and guide launch, detailing the best restaurants in the country.
For leads and event invites, contact her via lauren@tatlerphilippines.com or follow her on Instagram at @laurengolangco.
Photo: Ralph Mendo
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