For a cocktail that has survived well over a century, the Old Fashioned remains remarkably adaptable — and Monkey Shoulder’s citywide Monkey Old Fashioned Month is proving just how much life the classic still has left in it.
For all the innovation that defines the global cocktail scene, there remains something reassuringly timeless about the Old Fashioned. Few drinks have demonstrated the staying power of the whiskey-forward classic, a cocktail that continues to anchor menus even as bartenders experiment with ever more elaborate techniques, ingredients and storytelling.
Yet longevity alone does not guarantee relevance. The best cocktail cultures are those that continue finding new ways to reinterpret classics, and Monkey Shoulder is betting that one of the world’s oldest cocktails still has plenty of room for reinvention.
Enter Monkey Old Fashioned Month. Running through to 30 June 2026, this citywide festival celebrates the cocktail and the bartenders behind it. Partnering more than 35 partner venues across Singapore — from neighbourhood bars to established cocktail destinations — you can expect to find different expressions of the Old Fashioned that showcases the versatility of the Speyside blended malt.
I know what you’re thinking — isn’t the base of an Old Fashioned classically American bourbon? Yes, but monkeying around with good ol’ tradition is precisely Monkey Shoulder’s style.
Anchoring the programme are featured serves from Night Hawk, Origin Bar and KOSSA, each presenting distinctly different interpretations of the drink. At Night Hawk, Head Bartender Poh Chuan’s Sunday Sensation draws inspiration from the nostalgic indulgence of an ice cream sundae, while Origin Bar’s Niza Treechanasin leans tropical with Monkey Mango, a coconut fat-washed whisky creation accented by mango tea and a playful Thai look chub garnish.
Over at KOSSA, Bryan Chong introduces a passion fruit-inflected KOSSA Old Fashioned that brings a brighter, fruit-forward dimension to the spirit-forward template.
Other participating venues include party spot Jungle Ballroom at Mondrian Singapore Duxton, longstanding institutions Ice Cold Beer and No.5 over at Emerald Hill, outdoor beach club Bikini Bar, and the various outlets of sports bar Al Capone’s across the city.
Monkey Shoulder will further extend the celebration at Singapore Cocktail Crossover Festival on 13 and 14 June at METT Singapore. Its dedicated festival bar will partner with The Dandy Collection, the group behind Neon Pigeon and Firangi Superstar, to serve both the classic Monkey Old Fashioned and a range of contemporary interpretations.
For a cocktail as venerable as the Old Fashioned, perhaps the most remarkable thing is not that it has endured for over a century, but that bartenders continue finding new ways to make it feel fresh. So if you’re looking to explore the Old Fashioned in all its contemporary guises, Monkey Old Fashioned Month is where it’s at.
Monkey Old Fashioned Month runs now till end June. You can find all participating Singapore bars listed here.
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