Seasons of Manhattan, a new cocktail menu that honours the city behind its name
May 26th, 2025
Manhattan Bar, located at the Conrad Singapore Orchard, and home to the world’s first in-hotel rickhouse, was conceived as a grand hotel bar inspired by the 19th century’s Golden Age of cocktails and fine drinking. Delivering on its name with a glamorous yet modern space reminiscent of old New York, craft bartending meets artisanal spirits to pay homage to classic and forgotten cocktails that leap from the pages of history.
The latest menu – Seasons of Manhattan – by the decade-old bar that helped put Singapore on the global craft cocktail map, presents 31 cocktails that capture the essence of Spring, Summer, Autumn, and Winter in the city that never sleeps – taking guests on a sensory tour through the city’s culture, climate, and hallmark moments.
Designed as a desk calendar, the menu is born from the team’s creativity and unfolds like a curated journal of the city. Vivid pop-up illustrations bring each season to life—from the bloom of spring in Central Park to the festive glow of Rockefeller Center — while a built-in light allows visual clarity as guests peruse in the bar’s softly lit enclaves.
With this menu, Manhattan reasserts itself as a storied bar at the vanguard of Asia’s cocktail culture, where storytelling, craft, and time converge in an experience that never stops changing. Each season within the menu also features a zero-proof creation inspired by the various pillars from across the chapter, bringing mindful drinkers a front seat at the table in this celebrated bar.
(L: Spring Break – “Where the Boys Are” – R: Summer in the City – “It’s Getting Hot in Here”)
New cocktail highlights include, from the Spring Break season is reimagined in Where the Boys Are—a bold union of tequila and mezcal, lifted by citrus, plum and blackberry. In a celebration of the classic game of Beer Pong, the liquid’s crimson hue nods to the beer-filled ‘solo cup,’ while a dehydrated plum portrays the splash as a ‘ping pong ball’ melon sphere appears to land in the glass.
Summer in the City is featured with It’s Gettin’ Hot in Here—an elevated toddy featuring butter-washed genever and spiced honey infused with basil, sage, thyme, and chilli. Gently sous-vide and served at 70°C, it’s presented in a teacup atop a concrete slab, nodding to New York’s urban heat island effect, where sun-soaked streets intensify the blaze.
(L:Autumn Season – “Tatami Shot” – R: Winter Countdown- “Minutes to Midnight”)
And for the Autumn season, the Tatami Shot is inspired by An Autumn Afternoon—the Japanese film that debuted at the inaugural New York Film Festival. Drawing from the Espresso Martini, but far from predictable, this cocktail defies expectation at every turn. Crafted with Japanese single malt whisky, baijiu, spiced pear, pimento, and a lemon-mushroom oleo, crowned with a creamy espresso foam and topped with seaweed and matcha. In many ways, the cocktail is a sensory sleight of hand, revealing itself in layered complexities with every sip.
While New York’s Winter Countdown takes form in Minutes to Midnight. Arriving in a miniature champagne bottle and poured tableside into a martini glass, this sparkling drink blends Lillet Blanc, bergamot liqueur, champagne, and grape. A fizzy grape crowns the drink, signifying the Grapes of Luck tradition that captivated the world in 2024.
Food is intrinsic to the Manhattan experience, and new dishes join the repertoire of favourites to celebrate the seasons and New York City’s multicultural palate. A Smoked Soy Egg marks spring, served devilled-style with whipped avocado and soycured trout roe, while summer arrives as a bright Lobster Taco wrapped in crisp wonton. Autumn offers nostalgic warmth through an amber-hued Burmese curry featuring roasted Cauliflower, burrata and toasted pepitas. Closing the year’s arc is a clean finish: Hamachi tartare tossed in tom yum and served on golden tostones.
To make a bar reservation click here or visit www.conradsingaporeorchard.com
Manhattan Bar Opening Hours:
Monday to Thursdays, 5pm to 12am
Friday and Saturday, 5pm to 1am / Sunday 12pm to 3pm and 6pm to 12am
See also our Manhattan 2014 review article
(images credit Conrad Singapore)
