Three chapters, twenty-one drinks, and a single guiding word: Embrace. That’s the concept behind the latest menu from Jigger & Pony, a shining star on Singapore’s cocktail scene.
Jigger & Pony’s Menu Is More Than Just a Menu
With the arrival of its annual menu refresh, Jigger & Pony chose to go beyond the expected. The result is a menuzine—a hybrid between a menu and a fanzine—spanning 68 pages. It’s structured into three narrative arcs that organise and explore the new drinks, while also celebrating the team that makes the magic happen every night, one portrait at a time.
Embrace: More Than a Word, a Philosophy
To shape the concept, creative director Uno Jang turned to a powerful theme: the embrace. “We believe a great bar is much more than the drinks it serves. It’s built by people, the stories they share, and the moments they create together. A great bar, like a heartfelt embrace, should be open to everyone, no matter where they come from.” And so the menuzine was named Embrace, divided into three parts: Embrace Change, Embrace Tradition, and Embrace You.
Embrace Change
As the chapter opens: “Change happens, and fortunate are those who sip boldly and embrace the new. Change is progress; here, we explore new techniques and leverage new knowledge to make our cocktails better than ever.” This is the section of creative challenges and innovation.
Take the Red Revival, a bold potion of beetroot, house-roasted Liberian coffee, strawberries, and premium blanco tequila. Or the Peanut Alexander, a daring twist on the classic, where salted peanut flavours harmonise with gin, house-made cacao and fig liqueur, and cream.
Embrace Tradition
Here, the team pays homage to the cocktails that shaped mixology while bringing them into the 21st century. Their Negroni keeps the equal-parts structure of gin, vermouth, and Campari, while adding depth through chinato vermouth and grapefruit peel–infused gin. “A symbol of Italian aperitivo culture,” the menu notes, “capable of bringing people together around bitter flavours and conversation”—with conversazione in Italian, even in the English version.
The section also features a Manhattan with a hint of cherry ratafia and cacao, a Dry Martini elevated with spiced fortified wine, and a Paloma with reposado tequila, lime, and house-made guava and pink grapefruit soda.
Embrace You
The third and final chapter is all about comfort in one’s own skin, and celebrating what we love—unapologetically. Embrace You is a toast to self-expression.
Standouts include the Pony Star Martini, a twist on the Porn Star Martini that swaps vodka for blanco tequila and highlights Southeast Asian citrus. Ingredients: tequila, passion fruit, vanilla, kaffir lime, lemon, egg white, and brut Champagne.
Also not to be missed is the Espresso Martini, made with vodka, locally roasted coffee, rainforest honey, and topped with a cacao tuile, ready to crack with a spoon.
The Final Pour
The Embrace menuzine closes with two final sections: one dedicated to non-alcoholic cocktails—including the Bitter Orange & Raspberry, a fresh take on the Italian shakerato—and one spotlighting punch bowls designed for 15–20 servings.
Images courtesy Jigger & Pony
