Some of Asia’s best cocktail bars are swapping skyscrapers for sea breezes with Cempedak Sunset Takeovers, a series of guest shifts at Cempedak Private Island.
Guest shifts have become a familiar fixture of Asia’s cocktail scene, but they almost always follow the same formula: city bars swapping bartenders for a night before an audience of industry regulars and dedicated cocktail enthusiasts. But here’s one location where that well-worn concept comes rather more unexpected — Cempedak Private Island.
The adults-only island retreat off Bintan recently launched its inaugural Cempedak Sunset Takeovers, where it looks to welcome a roster of some of Asia’s most respected city bars to Dodo Bar. But rather than serving drinks against neon skylines and packed bar counters, here visiting bartenders shake cocktails beside the sea as guests linger and watch the sun disappear over the horizon in a setting that feels considerably more in keeping with the pace of island life.
Just the way we like it.
The first Cempedak Sunset Takeovers guest shift saw Kuala Lumpur favourite Coley drop in earlier this month, and the remaining line-up reads like a tour through Asia’s contemporary cocktail capitals. Bangkok’s Bar Sathorn arrives in August, followed by Phnom Penh’s Sora in September and Bangkok’s boundary-pushing F*nkytown in October. Singapore stalwarts Native and 28 HongKong Street will visit in November, before Vietnam’s Hybrid from Nha Trang closes the series in December.
What’s particularly interesting is how the participating bars reflect the diversity of Asia’s drinks scene. Native continues to champion hyper-local ingredients and sustainable bartending from Singapore, while 28 HongKong Street remains one of the region’s pioneering cocktail institutions. Where Bar Sathorn showcases refined interpretations of Thai ingredients and heritage, its younger Bangkok counterpart F*nkytown instead injects playful gastronomic creativity into every glass.
Then there’s Sora, which brings its distinctive blend of Japanese precision and Khmer flavours from Rosewood Phnom Penh, while Hybrid represents the exciting new generation of Vietnamese cocktail bars pushing the country’s scene onto the regional stage.
Each two-hour evening takeover gives resort guests the opportunity to meet the bartenders behind these acclaimed establishments while enjoying cocktails that reflect the philosophies and flavours that have made each bar one of the region’s standout destinations.
With Cempedak Sunset Takeovers, the private island serves up a leading cocktail programmes that transforms what might otherwise be a leisurely sunset aperitif into a genuinely destination-worthy event, adding cultural exchange and world-class drinks to its existing appeal of pristine beaches, rainforest surroundings and barefoot luxury. For guests staying at Cempedak, it’s an opportunity to experience some of Asia’s finest cocktail talent without ever leaving the island.
Cempedak Sunset Takeovers Line-up: At A Glance
- Coley, Kuala Lumpur – Saturday, 4 July
- Bar Sathorn, Bangkok – Tuesday, 18 August
- Sora, Phnom Penh – Saturday, 19 September
- F*nkytown, Bangkok – Saturday, 10 October
- Native, Singapore – Saturday, 7 November
- 28 HongKong Street, Singapore – Thursday, 12 November
- Hybrid, Nha Trang – Saturday, 5 December
To find out more about Cepedak Private Island, visit: www.cempedak.com.
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