When the world’s most skilful shakers, stirrers and spirited conversationalists descend on a city, you know it’s not just another round — it’s a spectacle. This July, Macao becomes the beating heart of global cocktail culture as Wynn Macau and Wynn Palace proudly host the tenth edition of Asia’s 50 Best Bars 2025.
It’s a heady milestone and, as one might expect from a city with UNESCO Creative City of Gastronomy status and a flair for the dramatic, Macao plans to raise more than just eyebrows — it’s lifting the entire cocktail scene.
A Toast to Ten Years: Cocktail Royalty Comes to Town
Serving as Official Host Partner, Wynn isn’t just opening its doors. It’s flinging them wide with a theatrical flourish. From July 11 to 19, its opulent venues will be transformed into a multi-day, multi-venue celebration of mixology and culinary craftsmanship. Think of more than 25 events. Think bar takeovers. Think sake-slinging Canadians and tea cocktailists from Hong Kong. Think seafood pairings, shochu-laced aperitifs and mud crab marvels.
Ms Linda Chen, President, Vice Chairman and Executive Director of Wynn Macau, Limited, was quick to raise her glass to the occasion:
“We are truly honoured to host Asia’s 50 Best Bars 2025. It’s another golden moment in our partnership with the 50 Best organisation, following our successful work on The World’s 50 Best Restaurants 2024. This event will unite the region’s most visionary bartenders here in Macao, celebrating innovation and the spirit of hospitality.”
And celebrate, they shall.
Behind the Velvet Rope: A Week of Spirited Revelry
The curtain rises on July 11. What follows is a who’s who of cocktail royalty:
- SW Steakhouse x Born & Bred serves Korean hanwoo beef with American flair.
- Fresh off his World Class 2024 win, Keegan McGregor pours Canadian excellence at SW Steakhouse.
- Tell Camellia brings tea cocktails to Lakeview Palace, pairing with exquisite Ningbo and Jiangnan cuisine.
There’s even a guest appearance by Elliot Faber, Hong Kong’s own “Sake Samurai,” shaking up Mizumi with his sake-forward concoctions.
By the time we reach July 12, it’s a festival of flavours. Maybe Sammy, Sydney’s own cocktail darling, takes over Drunken Fish — and if that doesn’t stir the senses, an Inventors’ Laboratory featuring legends Julio Bermejo and Sam Ross surely will.
Wing Lei Bar becomes a British invasion with bartenders from Schofield’s, Kwãnt Mayfair, and Hey Palu, all soundtracked by Britpop and stirred, not shaken.
An Open Invitation — Public Events, Global Flavours
What makes this program so compelling isn’t just the high-calibre talent. It’s a fact that most events are open to the public. It’s a rare, perhaps once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for Macao locals, cocktail pilgrims and visiting gourmands to taste the finest from establishments as far afield as Tokyo, New York, Kathmandu and Edinburgh.
Add to that two 50 Best Signature Sessions, including:
- Sushi Mizumi x Martiny’s: a Japanese riff on classics by Takuma Watanabe.
- Maybe Sammy x Drunken Fish: Sydney elegance meets Macanese seafood.
Red Carpets, Revelry and a Riot of Talent
The main event on July 15 will include red carpet arrivals, a dazzling awards ceremony, and the inevitable clink of glasses at the Perrier After Party. There, mixologists from Freni e Frizioni, Vender, Bar Myung, and Dead Poets will take turns behind the bar until 2 a.m.
It’s not just about cocktails. Dining is equally central:
- Chef Tam’s Seasons x Bar Mood on July 12 brings Cantonese fine dining together with Taipei’s cocktail art.
- Chef Tam’s Seasons x Masque x Sidecar on July 15 will unite Macao, Mumbai, and New Delhi in a culinary-meets-cocktail tour de force.
- Drunken Fish x Ministry of Crab on July 18-19 might well be the seafood event of the year.
A Cocktail Crawl with Cultural Soul
From the Napier-born Teresa Cocktail Bar to Nepal’s Barc, the programming spotlights not just drinks, but cultural storytelling. It’s a collision of craft and heritage.
The Wing Lei Bar Beach Club brings Bali vibes, while iichiko’s takeover gives shochu its moment in the spotlight — with not one, but two back-to-back line-ups. Tokyo Confidential, Bar Trench, Call Me Al, and 28 Hong Kong Street will pour till late.
And let’s not forget The Aubrey from Hong Kong or Battle of the Houses, where Sago House and Jing Bar duel it out in spirited form.
Raising Macao’s Profile: The Global Stage Beckons
All this builds toward a larger ambition — reinforcing Macao’s reputation as more than a gaming capital. It is a culinary and cultural heavyweight in its own right. Hosting Asia’s 50 Best Bars signals that loudly and with plenty of fizz.
With the UNESCO Creative City of Gastronomy label and growing global recognition, this is more than an event — it’s a statement. Macao belongs on the world stage.
Linda Chen echoes this confidently:
“Wynn is proud to support Macao’s evolution as a global hub for tourism, gastronomy and the art of cocktail culture.”
Cheers to That
For cocktail fans, the events from 11–19 July will be a grand tour without the passport stamps. This festival is for the senses, from inventive pairings and bar takeovers to late-night DJ sets and seafood symphonies. It places Macao squarely on the map as Asia’s cocktail capital.
For full program details and dining reservations: 👉 www.wynnresortsmacau.com/en.
Raise your glasses, Macao. The world is watching — and sipping.
By Christine Nguyen
















