QT Singapore Cygnet Bar Blends Lit With Southeast Asian Soul

Step past velvet drapes into a world where literature meets mixology, and where New York’s literary icons trade stories with Southeast Asia’s most evocative ingredients. Welcome to QT Singapore Cygnet Bar, the city’s newest and most imaginative cocktail destination. Hidden within the heritage bones of the old Eastern Extension Telegraph building, this intimate bar invites you to sip your way through stories – one chapter, one cocktail at a time.

QT’s Boldest Bar Yet: A Space That Reads Like a Novel

Located in the heart of Singapore’s Central Business District, Cygnet Bar redefines what a hotel bar can be. Plush booth seating, palm-patterned tiles, ribbed glass mirrors, and exotic green marble surfaces create a richly layered aesthetic that evokes both Singapore’s tropical charm and New York’s golden literary age. As soulful R&B and 90s Hip Hop fill the air, guests find themselves transported, leaving the bustle of Lau Pa Sat behind for a slower, more soulful pace of conversation.

A Menu Written in Two Chapters

Head bartender Timothy Aw has composed a 16-drink menu that reads like a novel. Split into two chapters – The Lion’s Library and The City That Never Sleeps – each cocktail is inspired by a literary masterpiece or a reinvention of a beloved classic, all interpreted through the lens of Southeast Asian ingredients and storytelling flair.

Chapter 1: The Lion’s Library

Cocktails in this chapter are deeply rooted in literary inspiration. Here is New York ($28), a tribute to E.B. White’s iconic essay, offers bourbon, apple brandy, cinnamon and cream—like sipping on spiced apple pie. Dorsia ($25), referencing Bret Easton Ellis’s “American Psycho,” is a clarified milk punch that marries Brass Lion Gin, pomelo, and curry leaf in a chillingly elegant glass. Other standouts include:

• Memoirs of a Geisha ($28): Campari, Sichuan pepper strawberry syrup, and white rum.
• Just Kids ($28): A dreamy Ramos Fizz inspired by Patti Smith and peach-cream swirl candy.

Chapter 2: The City That Never Sleeps

This chapter celebrates American cocktail classics reimagined with Southeast Asian nuance. The Penicillin ($26) substitutes ginger with galangal, deepening its aroma. The Vesper ($28) boasts house-made pomelo bitters spiced with cinnamon, cloves and saffron. Other brilliant reinterpretations include:

• Hemingway Daiquiri ($26): With coconut liqueur and island rum for a tropical turn.
• Kingston Negroni ($26): Features Jamaican rum, Cynar, and chargrilled pineapple garnish.

Zero-Waste, Zero-Proof, and Full-Flavoured

Cygnet Bar doesn’t just raise the bar in taste—it leads the charge in sustainability and inclusivity. The El Diablo ($26) is a zero-waste wonder featuring red wine pineapple syrup and pink peppercorns. For guests seeking alcohol-free options, cocktails like Breakfast at Tiffany’s and The Devil Wears Prada (both $18) prove that zero-proof doesn’t mean zero pleasure.

Additional non-alcoholic creations like the Nogroni ($20) and Non Collins ($28), crafted using Lyre’s spirits, make Cygnet Bar one of the city’s most inclusive watering holes—where flavour and experience take centre stage, no matter your drink preference.

Designed to Stir Emotion, Not Just Spirits

“At Cygnet, we believe great cocktails should tell stories just as compelling as the literary works that inspired them,” says Timothy Aw. “Each drink is a translation—of theme, mood, and memory—distilled into something both familiar and surprising.”

It’s that kind of thoughtful creativity that elevates Cygnet beyond cocktail bar status. It’s not just a place to drink—it’s a place to feel. Each sip is a paragraph, every glass a page turner. Whether you come for the ambience, the artistry, or the literary nods, you leave with a story of your own.

Plan Your Visit

Cygnet Bar is open from 4PM to 12AM, Monday to Saturday, at QT Singapore, 35 Robinson Road. You can view the full menu and book your evening of narrative indulgence at cygnetsingapore.com.

For those looking to celebrate, unwind or simply be transported, Cygnet Bar offers a uniquely curated cocktail journey that marries the literary legacy of New York with the sensory richness of Southeast Asia—only in Singapore.