A page dedicated to the best martinis we’ve found around the globe:

The Living Room at the Sheraton Grande Sukhumvit, Bangkok: Vanilla Martini

In a great jazz jounge with live band, this sublime drink is made perfectly and served in stunning glassware.

MO Bar at the Landmark Mandarin Oriental Hotel, Hong Kong: Ginger Lily

Chic chic bar serving this mixture of Sake, Vodka, Vanilla and a slice of Ginger. Amazing. And they serve lovely nibbly things too.

Grand Hyatt Singapore: Sakura Martini

Having never heard of actually drinking Sakura (the Japanese word for “cherry blossom”), this menu item invited closer inspection. A mixture of Absolute Vokda and Sakura Liqueur, and served with a little twist of lemon rind, the result is delicately fragranced, clear but ever-so-slightly pale pink, and absolutely superb.

Grant Hyatt Singapore: (yes two from the same venue!) Lemon Tree Martini

Pale yellow and served with salt on the rim of the glass, a la margerita, it’s a nice balance of Absolute Citron, Cointreau, and fresh lime juice. Top marks.

And of course in the spirit of providing a community service to protect the unsuspecting consumer, the worst drinks ever can’t escape mention either:




Rawi Warin Resort, Koh Lanta, Thailand: Tom Yum Martini

Revolting is the only word to describe this one. It’s got the booze and the flavour is odd although not horrible, but this is destroyed by an inedible flotsam of bits of chilli, kaffir lime leaf and lemongrass floating about it in. Foul.

Cloud 9 at the Grant Hyatt Shanghai, China: Dirty Martini

87 floors up in highest bar in the highest hotel in the world. OK so it turned out there’s no view because the whole place was enveloped by cloud but a decent drink would have been nice compensation. A dirty martini is supposed to have a little of the brine from the olive jar in it; this nightmare had about 200ml of the stuff. Vile.

Sky Bar, Bangkok: Apple Martini

Yes it’s one of our very favourite venues in Bangkok, the lovely Sky Bar however-many floors up on the rooftop, but this shocking drink is way out of character for the place. The specific ingredients aren’t listed on the menu, but you would expect that an apple martini might be, well, apple flavoured… wouldn’t you? Instead you get a champagne flute full of vodka which tastes like… well… cheap vodka. What’s all that about?