Asia's 50 Best Bars Guest Mixologists at The Ritz Bar Tonight!

By That's Shanghai, June 23, 2023

Tonight is the last chance to catch guest mixoligists Martin Villareal, Head Bartender at Republic bar – nestled in The Ritz-Carlton Millenia Singapore – and his sidekick, Du Songze, Captain at Republic, shaking up their award-winning cocktails at The Ritz Bar & Lounge at The Portman Ritz-Carlton.

With a passion to pass on the story of Singapore’s 1960s pop culture through cocktails, the pair – together with their dedicated bar team in Singapore – has won numerous influential bar industry awards, including:

Ranked number 12 - 2022 Asia’s 50 Best Bars
Ranked number 90 - The World 50 Best Bars Extended List
Ranked number 162 - Top 500 Bars
Top 30 Bars in Singapore – 2022 The Tatler Bar Guide
The World's 50 Best Discovery

Republic is known for its signature cocktails from its ‘Volume Two’ cocktail series. Drawing inspiration from the influential hallmarks of Singapore 1960s pop culture, the themes of art, cinema, fashion and music lie behind the cocktails, which celebrate beginnings, innovation, hits and legends.

Republic Head Bartender Martin Villareal

“We have approached the curation of the Volume Two menu through focusing on classic cocktail techniques, but putting our own spin on them through novel flavor combinations, and incorporating the use of culinary techniques to elevate their characteristics and presentation,” says Republic Head Bartender Martin Villareal. “Most importantly, we had to ensure that the narrative behind each cocktail is expressed through its appearance and taste profile.”

Villareal has selected on cocktail from each theme to be served at The Ritz Bar & Lounge at The Portman Ritz-Carlton, including Fab Four from the music theme, Georgette from the art theme, Smoking Suit from the fashion theme and Breakfast at Tiffany’s from the cinema theme.

For this exclusive event, The Ritz Bar & Lounge is in partnership with Diageo. Three brands under the Diageo portfolio – Ketel One, The Singleton and Tanqueray – will be used as major ingredients for these four signature cocktails.

Movers and Shakers

The event is part of The Ritz Bar & Lounge at The Portman Ritz-Carlton’s Movers and Shakers program.

It all began back in 2017, when The Ritz Bar & Lounge first introduced a guest mixologist program, engaging with many renowned bars and award-winning mixologists from China and around the world.

With an overwhelming positive response from fans, Movers and Shakers became one of the most talked about events amongst the bar industry and cocktail enthusiasts in Shanghai.

Benefiting from the relaxing of travel restrictions, and now that we have entered the post-pandemic era, The Ritz Bar & Lounge will continue to collaborate with outstanding bars to bring in guest mixologists for a few nights on a quarterly basis.

This is the first Movers and Shakers event in two-and-a-half years, and The Ritz Bar & Lounge is excited and honored to welcome the Head Mixologist and Captain from Republic at The Ritz-Carlton, Millenia Singapore.