Ngie Kok Kiong Wins The Wonderful Race 2025

Ngie Kok Kiong (KK) of Frank’s Bar KL has been crowned the All-Star Champion of The Wonderful Race 2025 with his cocktail, “The Spice That Remembered”.

Judges included Evgeny Yashkovich (Brown Forman’s Regional Advocacy Manager), Kiki Moka (Indonesia's top bartender from The Cocktail Club), and Scott Lee ( Noble 名人)

As champion, KK earns an exclusive visit to the Woodford Reserve Distillery in Kentucky and will represent Malaysia at The Woodford Reserve Wonderful Race Asia Final 2026. 

The Roku Gin x Sun and Moon Experience

Roku Gin Malaysia’s collaboration with Sun & Moon offers an immersive journey from afternoon into twilight.

Guests can explore creative tapas-style pairings and signature Roku Gin serves, including a Malaysian-inspired Gin & Tonic and Roku Fizz cocktails that showcase Roku’s six signature botanicals.

Martell Noblige Swift Festival 2025

The Martell Noblige Swift Festival returns on 13 December 2025 at JioSpace, Petaling Jaya with a "surrealist-inspired" theme with immersive visuals, interactive art and dreamlike experiences. 

The lineup features both international and local talent, including Wujackers (the collaboration between Dutch duo Bassjackers and Singaporean DJ Wukong), Malaysian singer-songwriter Yihuik, South Korean DJ and former Dal Shabet member Suvin, as well as local DJs Exclusive Pete, Nina, Reeve, and Svggy. 

Jameson's Cheers & Cheer Christmas Party

Jameson is celebrating Christmas throughout December across Klang Valley, Penang, and Johor, offering a mix of parties, coffee raves, markets, and live music.

 

The lineup includes three key festive parties:

Edelweiss Limited-Edition Lemon Honey Flavour

Edelweiss has introduced a limited-edition Lemon Honey variant of its wheat beer, available exclusively in Peninsular Malaysia. 

 

The flavour combines lemon with honey flavours and will be sold in 320ml cans.

Glendronach's New ‘Master’s Anthology’ Collection

The Glendronach Distillery has introduced a new collection of Highland Single Malt Scotch Whisky -The Master’s Anthology, highlighting the distillery’s long-established focus on sherry cask maturation. 

Curated by Master Blender Rachel Barrie, the series features three non-age-statement expressions, each featuring a different dimension of the distillery’s character, while maintaining The Glendronach’s signature style.

 

Neo Bar & Gaia’s KL @ Level 37, Ilham Tower

Gaia’s KL and Neo Bar KL have opened side by side on Level 37 of ILHAM Tower, creating a seamless night out that takes one from creative cocktails to woodfire flavours within the same floor.

Penfolds French Collection Lands in Malaysia

This collection sits alongside Penfolds’ international portfolio - including wine ventures in the US and China - marking its continued expansion beyond its South Australian roots.

The Malaysian lineup includes three new releases:

Woodford Reserve’s “The Wonderful Race” Returns

As part of its Old Fashioned month celebration this October, Woodford Reserve’s “The Wonderful Race” is back - now in its 3rd edition. 

 

Malaysia’s bartenders are challenged to craft the ultimate “All-Star Old Fashioned” — one that not only tastes great but redefines what this timeless cocktail can be.

India's Hapusa Gin

Hapusa calls itself the “world’s first Himalayan dry gin” because it uses juniper that actually grows in the Himalayas.

The name comes from the Sanskrit word for juniper, and the berries are foraged from near the Himalayan snow line. The higher altitude junipers are said to have a wilder, more resinous character than the cultivated varieties typically used in Western gins.

 

Planteray Cut & Dry Coconut Rum now in Malaysia

Cut & Dry Coconut is Planteray's new release, highlighting the two icons of Barbadian culture—coconuts and rum.

Ripe coconuts are harvested, cracked open by hand, and left to dry under the Caribbean sun, which concentrates their oils and flavour. These dried coconut chunks are then infused into a blend of Barbados column-still rum and pot-still rum (including their “Old Gregg” pot distillate). After infusion, the liquid is married with more Barbados rum.

Negroni Week 2025: 22 to 28 September 2025

Campari and Imbibe Magazine reunite for the global celebration of one of the world’s most iconic cocktails, once again partnered Slow Food, raising funds to support the hospitality industry. 

In 2024, Negroni Week saw the participation from nearly 13k venues across 90 countries, raising over USD600k. Funds were used for scholarships via the Negroni Week Fund Innovation Award and micro-grants supporting community projects.

 

Here in Malaysia, 165 venues nationwide are serving up their own Negroni creations, including premium donor contributors Marini’s On 57, Mesa On 51, Troika Sky Dining, and Bar Two Pour One.

Vietnam's Lady Triệu Gin

We recently got acquainted with Vietnam’s most awarded gin and best-selling craft gin (per IWSR), Lady Triệu, at Triptyk Kuala Lumpur.

The brand, launched in 2020, leans into Vietnam’s biodiversity — citrus, florals, tea, spice — pulled from different regions of the country and bottled into five distinct expressions.

Heineken Malaysia's Star Academy 2025: Now with VR

Heineken Malaysia’s Star Academy is back for its 8th year, once again inviting bartenders nationwide to train, compete, and raise the bar.

For 2025, Star Academy is going futuristic with “Tap Into The Future”, an all-new VR training module. Bartenders will now learn their craft in a gamified, multi-sensory world — using sight, sound, and touch to master pouring techniques and deepen product knowledge. 

Tiger Crystal Coldpot

Tiger Beer has rolled out a new way to enjoy mealtimes together with the Tiger Crystal Coldpot.

Styled after a traditional hotpot, the Coldpot is actually an ice bucket filled with bottles of Tiger Crystal, placed at the centre of the table for sharing.