Asia’s Biggest Drinking Trends For 2026 (According To The Bars Already Doing It)

5th Jan 2026

Written by:

Gracie Stewart
Editor | Urban List Singapore

If you thought Asia’s bar scene had already peaked, 2026 is shaping up to be the year it throws the rulebook out the window, sets it on fire, then serves the ashes in a bespoke glass. Across the region bartenders are pushing harder into hyper-craft, hyper-local and hyper-theatrical drinking. Translation: expect your cocktails to be more personalised, more experimental, and way more fun.

Here’s your first look at the trends bubbling up across Asia now and exactly how they’ll shape your drinking plans for 2026.

Clay Is The New Oak

Ageing cocktails isn’t new, but ageing them in clay? That’s a comeback story 8,000 years in the making. Clay doesn’t add flavour the way oak does, it adds texture, bringing this velvety, rounded, deeply drinkable mouthfeel that bartenders across Asia are obsessed with right now.

Osaka’s Canes & Tales is already leading the charge using clay pot ageing for its Mr Icky cocktail but the big news for Singapore drinkers? Studio Ryecroft is opening a cocktail bar at The House of Tan Yeok Nee in April and an entire section of their menu will be dedicated to clay-aged cocktails.

Image credit: Canes & Tales | Supplied

Agave Is Going Niche

Tequila’s still having a moment, but Asia’s bars are moving into deeper, nerdier territory. Think sotol, raicilla, and hard-to-find regional Mexican spirits that even seasoned agave drinkers may not have tried.

Singapore’s Cat Bite Club is already miles ahead, with the city’s biggest agave collection and cocktails built on lesser-known varietals. And in Niseko, newly opened Tepache is championing agave culture with one of Japan’s most diverse line-ups. So expect more bars offering agave flights, deep cuts, and cocktails that go way beyond your standard mezcal sour.

Image credit: Cat Bite Club | Supplied

It’s Not Just The Drink, It’s The Glass

If 2024–25 was about technique, 2026 is all about the vessel. Across Asia, glassware has become part of the storytelling, with bars treating the serve as a statement in itself. Bangkok's BKK Social Club is co-designing luxe pieces with John Jenkins Glassware, while Hangzhou’s Galley By The Guts Bar hunts down one-of-a-kind vintage glasses, sometimes with only a handful ever made.

In Singapore, Horatio’s Dragon’s Breath is a cocktail inspired by travels through China and served in a traditional Chinese tea cup rather than conventional barware. The unexpected vessel instantly evokes heritage and ritual, transforming the drink into a visual moment, while the bold red date garnish adds colour, texture and symbolism.

Image credit: Horatio | Supplied

No- And Low-Abv Drinks Have Gone Premium, Not Punishment

The no- and low-alcohol wave isn’t slowing anytime soon, and across Asia, bars are moving well beyond token mocktails. In Singapore, venues like Cat Bite Club are already setting the standard, offering no- and low-proof versions of select cocktails so non-drinkers never feel like they’re ordering from a consolation menu.

At one of the city’s most celebrated cocktail lounges, Manhattan Bar treats alcohol-free drinks with the same reverence as its legendary boozy pours. Using premium zero-proof spirits like Lyre’s, the team builds layered, aromatic mocktails that channel classic cocktails without the ethanol. Over at Jigger & Pony, the mocktail menu is just as considered as the rest of the lineup. Expect flavour-forward, thoughtfully balanced drinks like Pear & Hops, Apple & Cedar and Merlot & Blood Orange, where fruit, botanicals and aromatics come together in polished, grown-up sips that prove going booze-free doesn’t mean missing out.

Over at Canes & Tales, zero-alcohol cocktails such as Tarquin of Cheapside and The Lees of Happiness are gaining momentum, offering guests the complexity and structure of a full cocktail without the alcohol volume.

Image credit: Canes & Tales | Supplied

Local Sourcing Goes Next-Level

The “local” movement isn’t just about sustainable garnishes anymore, it’s about building an entire drinking identity around where you are. Canes & Tales builds cocktails around Kansai ingredients like gobo, kokuto, wasabi leaf and local honey, not as decorative add-ons but as the backbone of the menu. The result? Drinks that taste unmistakably of their region, not just the bartender’s skillset.

Singapore has long been punching above its weight: Native continues to champion hyper-local sourcing through collaborations with regional farmers and foragers, spotlighting Southeast Asian botanicals, house-made ferments and indigenous ingredients (from wild ginger and local honeys to ant eggs and bespoke distillations). The Elephant Room brings a different but equally rooted approach, blending craft with nostalgia, drawing on the city’s culinary heritage and tropical flavours to tell distinctly Singaporean stories in the glass. Further north in Bangkok, Bar Sathorn’s Tomato Brunch pushes the idea in a playful but purposeful direction, placing Thailand-grown tomatoes at the heart of the cocktail. By celebrating peak-season produce and provenance, the drink transforms a familiar local ingredient into something refined and unexpected.

W Bangkok
Image credit: Bar Sathorn | Supplied

Tea Keeps Winning And 2026 Is The Year It Goes Mainstream

Tea cocktails have quietly been building momentum, but this year they’ll hit full-blown must-have status. Bars like Tell Camellia in Hong Kong and Mixology Salon in Tokyo have been pioneering the category with tea-driven cocktails and "teatails," and now the rest of Asia is catching up. The appeal lies in tea’s versatility, it brings structure, aroma and depth without overpowering, making it a natural base for more thoughtful, layered drinks. Think tea cordials, foams and tinctures, alongside super-layered flavour profiles built around oolong, white tea and high-mountain varieties.

Singapore is already primed for this (tea culture runs deep here), and the creativity is spilling into more experimental territory too. Pop City x Pony’s HØJ1CHA €SPR€$$Ø MART1N1 captures where the trend is heading, using hōjicha as the backbone of a bold, genre-crossing drink served layered with Haku Vodka, Mr Black coffee liqueur, cream, mezcal and Angostura bitters. Inspired by Japanese techno artist ¥ØU$UK€ ¥UK1MAT$U, it fuses tea culture with music and nightlife. At the other end, a dry martini from Club Rangoon gets a quintessential Burmese twist with the addition of a house-made laphet cordial made from fermented tea leaves, a staple found in virtually every Burmese household. Paired with gin and dry vermouth, the drink stays clean and classic while introducing savoury depth and subtle brininess, proving just how seamlessly tea can elevate even the most timeless of cocktails.

Image credit: Pop City x Pony | Supplied

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Main image credit: Canes & Tales | Supplied