28 HongKong Street, Singapore’s well-loved neighbourhood bar and cocktail destination, is delighting guests with a new cocktail menu created in collaboration with four local tattoo artists. DR-INK! features new signature cocktails inspired by the artists’ designs that depict what 28 HongKong Street represents to them, with references to their own experiences, childhoods and nostalgic influences from Singapore.

The resulting hardback menu is a stunningly visual collection of 12 signature serves, alongside their tattoo art inspiration. The menu also offers guests 10 new ‘28 Classic Twists,’ and 10 ‘28 Classic’ serves – meaning DR-INK! is a 32 cocktail strong curated deep dive into the heart, spirit and legacy of 28 HongKong Street, as well as a celebration of the vibrancy, artistry and technical prowess of modern cocktail culture in Singapore.

Guests at 28 Hongkong Street will be handed a handsome faux-leather bound menu, which first offers them a condensed ‘speed’ summary of the twelve new signature drinks. Turning the page, they can then deep dive into the finer details of these serves as each is laid out alongside the stunning original tattoo artwork that inspired them, with intuitive symbols and messaging to convey each drink’s Alcohol By Volume (ABV), key flavour profile and glassware at a glance.

The River City Paloma ($28),Los Siete Misterios Doba-Yej Mezcal with Avallen Calvados, tomato shrub and citrus, lengthened with grapefruit soda and balanced with a hint of saline, opens the menu alongside Ocean Tattoo’s striking otter artwork. Those who look for a savoury cocktail will love this restorative highball, which delivers some of the piquant notes of a Bloody Mary without the heaviness and makes a playful twist on the classic Paloma. A house-made black bread crostini with a dab of cocktail sauce and furikake garnish provides crunch whilst sipping, and a delicately tasty hint of the otter’s seafood supper.

The relentlessly quaffable and refreshing highball is also available in the form of Petals, Pincers and Parallels ($27), Brass Lion Singapore Dry & Butterfly Pea Gin, lemongrass cordial, Mancino Bianco vermouth, citrus and tonic. This bejewelled serve arrives amethyst purple, with a delicate fried rice paper and tahini garnish to complement the fresh floral notes; tattooist Clifford Wong’s whimsical pastel orchid crab, reflecting the duality of gentleness and might, is perfectly captured in this light yet punchy aperitif.    

“This is the first full bar menu I have curated, and it has been a labour of love for the whole team for the past year,” says Tamaryn Cooper, who took the helm as Head Bartender at 28 HongKong Street in summer 2023. “The concept originated from many discussions around the heritage of the bar, the evolution of bartender culture, what is quintessential to Singapore, and the fact that I trained as an apprentice tattooist. Celebrating Singapore’s tattoo artistry through cocktails felt like a great way to pay homage to the amazing world-class bars and bartenders in this city today – a community that 28 HongKong Street has been instrumental in fostering since it opened thirteen years ago.” 

The 28 HongKong Street team have been unafraid to push boundaries when developing DR-INK!, as illustrated by Samsui Synthwave ($26),Matcha Ilchiko Shochu, Horchata liqueur, Amaro Lucano, coconut milk and egg white. Served in a deftly crafted porcelain cup, this rich and velvety mixture honours the legendary samsui women so central to Singapore’s story, depicted as a boom-box brandishing frog in tattoo artist Clifford Wong’s design, in a nod to the city’s love of frog porridge and 28 HongKong Street’s western hip-hop vibe. This is a uniquely complex cocktail, with notes of rice from the shochu horchata, a punchy depth despite its low ABV, and subtle hints of congee.

Femme Fatality ($28), Greater Than Gin, chrysanthemum, absinthe, Benedictine and honey vermouth is an elegant martini-style cocktail. Served with a homemade lollipop made from rose and the recycled edible flowers that adorn Petals, Pincers and Parallels, guests can add additional sweetness and floral notes by stirring the playful garnish into the drink. The drink is inspired by a Of Gods and Monsters tattoo design, which portrays the bar’s audacious spirit as a cool, tattooed and sword wielding female – a nod to the growing influence of female bartenders in Singapore and the fact that they now make up two thirds of the bar’s team at 28 HongKong Street.    

Honest Bob Tattoo’s exquisite design depicting a batik burung, juxtaposed with bauhaus symbols, is interpreted as Burung Bathikan ($26), Aba Pisco, house-made rambutan shrub, St Germain elderflower liqueur and Mancino Sakura Vermouth. A deliciously smashable twist on the Pisco Sour, with pandan leaves adorning the glass echoing the tail feathers of the bird, this is a perfectly balanced sour that captures the merging of local tradition and Western modernity reflected in the tattoo artwork, as well as the identity of 28 HongKong Street. 

Beloved by bartenders the world over, tattoo art is today part of the DNA of the industry’s cultural identity. To ignite their creative process, the bar team approached four well known and very different artists to create 12 artworks. These designs then formed the creative inspiration for Tamaryn and her team to employ the full range of their knowledge and skills and begin crafting a dozen unique signature cocktails. Every drink went through many iterations, with the whole venue team providing ideas and feedback as each was perfected and, on occasion, served incognito to unsuspecting guests during the bar’s international guest shifts, in order to garner feedback.

“We’re thrilled to finally bring this menu to life at 28 HongKong Street,” says Lukas Kaufmann, General Manager. “It’s getting a tremendous response from our guests, and the team is buzzing after having put so much energy, creativity and passion into it. Singapore’s cocktail lovers have given the bar so much love and support over the years, and we’re excited now to invite them down once more to try these exceptional drinks, toast to the bar’s next chapter and make some memories worth inking!”    

More information about 28 Hong Kong Street available here