Cocktail bar The Old Man Singapore rebrands as Papa Doble

For being Singapore’s latest craft cocktail bar, Papa Doble already has a familiar feel.

It’s because the Keong Saik Road venue was formerly known as The Old Man Singapore, which rebranded at the start of this year after they separated from their Hong Kong counterpart of the same name.

The new identity was based on co-founder and owner Andrew Yap’s desire to give his Ernest Hemingway tribute bar a fresh start and freedom to explore their own direction.

“It was an amicable split,” he said. “We want to stand on our own two feet and offer a different perspective.”

Yap debuted The Old Man Singapore in 2019 together with co-founder Agong Prabowo of The Old Man Hong Kong. Both outlets were designed to reflect one another, from the H-shaped bar counter to their first two cocktail menus.

The Singapore location, however, was slowly shaping its own character. The bar’s third menu veered significantly away from Hong Kong when it launched late last year. It did better on the 2021 Asia’s 50 Best Bars list than its parent. In November 2020, Prabowo left The Old Man Hong Kong to open his bar Penicillin in the Chinese territory. 

Yap is planning a major overhaul of the bar since the split. Already, the Hemingway mosaic has been replaced by an image of the author’s coat of arms, flanked by canvases of bull fighting, which Hemingway enjoyed. A food menu has been added, with dishes made by neighbouring venues Mag’s Wine Kitchen and Olivia Restaurant & Lounge.

Papa Doble now has a signature namesake cocktail too. It’s based on Hemingway’s preference for his Daiquiri to be served “without sugar and with double rum,” and the later additions of maraschino liqueur and grapefruit juice caused it to evolve into its own drink called the Hemingway Daiquiri. Likewise, Yap’s version follows this template but with a twist of green peppers.

“We try to play with what people here like, and Singaporeans like spicy stuff!” he said. “It also gives the drink a bit of context, a bit of body and a bit of natural sweetness.”

Currently, Papa Doble is still serving cocktails from The Old Man Singapore’s V3 menu, but Yap is hoping to refresh the offerings by April this year. Prices are also expected to rise due to the growing cost of ingredients.

“The inflation rate is going really high,” he said. “As it is, we are one of the cheaper cocktail bars in town. People are doing about $24 (per cocktail) on average, we are still at $22.”

In the long run, Yap hopes to build Papa Doble’s brand recognition up to where The Old Man Singapore was in hopes of expanding regionally.

“Hopefully we can get people’s confidence level back and move on from there,” he said.

The post Cocktail bar The Old Man Singapore rebrands as Papa Doble appeared first on Lifestyle Asia Singapore.