The first-ever Philippine Cocktail Week is proving to be a victim of its own success. During the Legazpi Village and Makati Cinema Square shifts, the sheer energy of the crowd transformed the neighborhood into something vibrant and undeniably alive. But with that life comes the reality of the festival grind: long lines, crowded counters, and guest menus that sell out faster than a pre-batched martini. Friends who visited the BGC leg the day before reported similar experiences where they could not get into bars, and with Poblacion being the most well known Manila neighborhood for a night out on the town, there is no slowing down in sight.

G.O.D. and A Jerusalem Cross

While we did visit 3 bars in Legazpi Village (including Grasshopper and From Management), we spent the majority of the night at The Curator, where Bangkok’s G.O.D. (Genius on Drugs) was running a guest shift. This is a bar famous for its garnishes, and they did not disappoint. They brought a level of culinary precision that felt more like a tasting menu than a bar shift. We saw hand-built saucers featuring ingredients like salmon roe or black truffle on pork rind served alongside every drink.

It should be mentioned that the programming for the entire festival was drawn randomly. Sponsors, host bars, and guest bars were assigned based on slips of paper pulled out from a hat. Now while that can create the potential for chaos, it also sets the stage for some magic coincidences. Case-in-point, the irreverent religious themes of G.O.D. lined up nicely with Código 1530 Tequila, a brand that carries the Jerusalem Cross on the bottle. There was a fair amount of playfulness that came from this collaboration and the drinks did a decent job of harnessing a spirit that is known for being powerful and highly textured. Builds were straightforward, allowing the concoctions to stand on alone without being buried by the theatrics of the bar’s flamboyant garnishes. As a whole, it was fun, cocktails were excellent, and this is exactly what a guest shift should be.

Strategy Over Spontaneity

If you are planning to hit the remaining shifts in Poblacion or Quezon City, we have learned that the rolling schedule—with new shifts starting every 15 minutes—is somewhat of an illusion. Given that wait times can easily stretch from thirty minutes to an hour, attempting a traditional bar crawl is unrealistic.

If you want to actually enjoy the festival, we suggest a different approach. Pick one bar and commit to it. Get there early, order the entire guest menu, and make that your home base for the night. Once you are certain you have had a good time, you can try to move on, but do so without expectations.

The Underrated Host

The most important lesson from the Legazpi crawl was this: even if the guest menu is gone by the time you reach your second or third stop, stay anyway. Order from the host bar.

In all of our travels through different cities and bar scenes, we sincerely believe that the Manila cocktail scene remains incredibly underrated. The creativity and service found in our local institutions, are at par with many of the most famous bars in the region.

Philippine Cocktail Week is an excellent excuse to see international stars, but the real takeaway is the strength of the community they are visiting. The neighborhood is alive, the drinks are excellent, and even when the guest menus run dry, the local talent is more than enough to carry the night. As for the lines, and wait times? It’s a testament to how big the appetite is in the Philippine market for these experiences and beverages.