Manhattan Presents Seasons of Manhattan
The new menu invites guests to experience the bar through the lens of seasonal change and time in the borough.
Manhattan Bar at Conrad Singapore Orchard presents Seasons of Manhattan, a new cocktail menu that honours the city behind its name. With time as its muse, the bar’s latest menu invites guests to savour the journey through each year as New Yorkers do. This latest menu, by the decade-old bar that helped put Singapore on the global craft cocktail map, presents 31 cocktails that capture the essence of Spring, Summer, Autumn, and Winter in the city that never sleeps – taking guests on a sensory tour through the city’s culture, climate, and hallmark moments.
Designed as a desk calendar, the menu is born from the team’s creativity and unfolds like a curated journal of the city. Vivid pop-up illustrations bring each season to life— from the bloom of spring in Central Park to the festive glow of Rockefeller Center — while a built-in light allows visual clarity as guests peruse in the bar’s softly lit enclaves. With this menu, Manhattan reasserts itself as a storied bar at the vanguard of Asia’s cocktail culture, where storytelling, craft, and time converge in an experience that never stops changing. Each season within the menu also features a zero-proof creation inspired by the various pillars from across the chapter, bringing mindful drinkers a front seat at the table in this celebrated bar.
A quintessential New York tradition, Spring Break is reimagined in Where the Boys Are—a bold union of tequila and mezcal, lifted by citrus, plum and blackberry. In a celebration of the classic game of Beer Pong, the liquid’s crimson hue nods to the beer-filled ‘solo cup,’ while a dehydrated plum portrays the splash as a ‘ping pong ball’ melon sphere appears to land in the glass. In contrast, Meet Me Halfway offers understated glamour: a refined whiskey sour laced with pear liqueur, lychee rose, honey, and peach. Paying tribute to the Met Gala, the cocktail is finished with rice-paper motifs inspired by illustrious couture.
Summer in the city arrives with It’s Gettin’ Hot in Here—an elevated toddy featuring butter-washed genever and spiced honey infused with basil, sage, thyme, and chilli. Gently sous-vide and served at 70°C, it’s presented in a teacup atop a concrete slab, nodding to New York’s urban heat island effect, where sun-soaked streets intensify the blaze. Meanwhile, Harlem Shake captures the cultural pulse of the borough it honours. Named after the iconic dance born on the courts of Rucker Park in the early ’80s, this tiki-style cocktail celebrates Harlem’s creative spirit with a blend of rums, coconut cream, pineapple, and lime; hazelnut liqueur and gardenia lend a nutty, floral finish.
The Tatami Shot opens the autumn season, inspired by An Autumn Afternoon—the Japanese film that debuted at the inaugural New York Film Festival. Drawing from the Espresso Martini, but far from predictable, this cocktail defies expectation at every turn. Crafted with Japanese single malt whisky, baijiu, spiced pear, pimento, and a lemon-mushroom oleo, it’s crowned with a creamy espresso foam and topped with seaweed and matcha. In many ways, the cocktail is a sensory sleight of hand, revealing itself in layered complexities with every sip. Echoing the savoury notes of the Tatami Shot, the zero-proof Autumn Sonic captures the magic of fall with the same lemon and mushroom oleo, a creamy espresso foam, and a crisp blend of soda and tonic.
New York’s winter countdown takes form in Minutes to Midnight. Arriving in a miniature champagne bottle and poured tableside into a martini glass, this sparkling drink blends Lillet Blanc, bergamot liqueur, champagne, and grape. A fizzy grape crowns the drink, signifying the Grapes of Luck tradition that captivated the world in 2024.
“For me, creating a cocktail always starts with a scene, a feeling. That first warm day in Central Park, the buzz of a summer party, the crisp crunch of autumn leaves underfoot. With Seasons of Manhattan, we built the entire menu around those moments. It wasn’t just my vision-the whole team brought forward their memories, references, and stories. Every drink tells a story, not just of New York, but of how we see and feel it. It’s less about what’s in the glass and more about where it takes you,” shares Zana Möhlmann, Head Bartender of Manhattan.
THE RICKHOUSE & BEYOND
Time is regarded not only as the driving force behind the changing seasons, but also as a patient craft at Manhattan, home to the world’s first in-hotel rickhouse. In Seasons of Manhattan, four barrel-aged expressions inspired by the seasons are introduced,including Triumph of Liberty—a smoke-laced Old Fashioned created in tribute to Independence Day.
The rickhouse also serves as a living archive of the cocktail world’s most influential voices. Through the Friends of Manhattan series, visiting bars, brands, and bartenders are invited to leave their mark, ageing bespoke cocktails in the barrels as a testament to shared craft. The new menu invites guests to savour time-honoured expressions by Melbourne’s trailblazing Millie Tang and London’s legendary Connaught Bar. Each pour is a layered reflection of collaboration, character, and the effortless mastery that only time can reveal.
CULINARY PAIRINGS
Food is intrinsic to the Manhattan experience, and new dishes join the repertoire of favourites to celebrate the seasons and New York City’s multicultural palate. A Smoked Soy Egg marks spring, served devilled-style with whipped avocado and soy-cured trout roe, while summer arrives as a bright Lobster Taco wrapped in crisp wonton. Autumn offers nostalgic warmth through an amber-hued Burmese curry featuring roasted Cauliflower, burrata and toasted pepitas. Closing the year’s arc is a clean finish: Hamachi tartare tossed in tom yum and served on golden tostones.
