Uno Jang arrived in Singapore with limited English skills and zero bartending experience. Today, he's helping to shape one of Asia's most influential bars. Read on to follow Jang's journey from novice bartender to global cocktail tastemaker and winner of this year's Altos Bartenders' Bartender Award.
Step into Singapore cocktail institution Jigger & Pony on any given night, and chances are you'll find Uno Jang moving with purposeful intensity behind the bar. Warm and quick to laugh with guests, the creative director of the Jigger & Pony Group commands the room with an ease that comes only with experience. From that quiet confidence, you'd never guess the affable Korean native was once quiet and introverted, or that he didn't start out passionate about bartending.
Life in the fast lane
To set the scene, when Jang landed in the Lion City back in 2015, he only planned to stay for a year. "I studied car mechanics in high school and dreamed of joining an F1 team," he recalls. "But I realised I got my energy from people, not engines, so I switched to hotel management. Coming to Singapore was just supposed to be a short adventure."
Jang's first bartending gig was at (the now defunct) Orgo, where he made his very first gin and tonic the only way he knew how – like a soju bomb. It, pun fully intended, bombed.
After moving to Singapore in 2015, Jang joined Jigger & Pony in September 2017
"I started from zero," he laughs. "Those early mistakes taught me lessons I still carry today: practice the techniques, experiment on purpose and share what works so the team can repeat it."
And then there was that language barrier. Jang struggled even in casual conversation during his early years in Singapore, which made integrating into the local bartending community difficult. "I couldn't follow conversations with other bartenders during a guest shift in Hong Kong," he remembers. "That became a lesson: if I wanted to grow, I needed to work at a bar that would push me to speak with guests."
That bar was Jigger & Pony (No.3 in Asia's 50 Best Bars 2025).
Korean flavours, international style
Jang may not have started out a keen bartender, but within a year he was entering competitions and pushing to get his drinks on menus. One of his most personal creations was the Korean Boilermaker, a highball built with soju, American whiskey, hops, pear and passionfruit that was served at Jigger & Pony between 2021 and 2023. A playful twist on the Korean somaek – the soju bomb – it was a return to his roots, in more ways than one.
Jang entered a cocktail competition within his first year at Jigger & Pony
It was also the first time he poured himself fully into a drink. "I was born and raised in South Korea. But rather than just asking where I'm from, I also focused on how far I've come. This drink became a reflection of that – Korean at heart, but international in its outlook," Jang muses.
That same deeply rooted approach would drive his creative philosophy. "Most of the great classic cocktails we drink now were defined 100 years ago," he explains. "I want to stay true to them while using modern techniques and ingredients to make them resonate today."
He describes his process for creating cocktails like an engineer's flow chart: define the classic, break it down, set a hypothesis, then test one variable at a time. Not too dissimilar from how an F1 race team mechanic would approach an engineering problem. His reinterpretation of the Espresso Martini for Jigger & Pony, for instance, leans on fresh coffee and building a stable crema – small details that elevate the cocktail while keeping its essence intact.
Jang celebrating at the Asia's 50 Best Bars 2025 awards ceremony
That unique approach and his relentless drive would help Jigger & Pony become one of Singapore's defining cocktail institutions, ranking among Asia's 50 Best Bars every year since the list's inception in 2016.
Jang's role at Jigger & Pony may have expanded from principal bartender to creative director since early last year – he now carries responsibility for the teams, concepts and direction for the various bars under the group – but you'll still find him behind the bar. "Mentorship is very important to me; I want to help the next generation of bartenders find their own voice and move forwards with confidence," he enthuses.
Just like how Satoshi Iwai, Jang's then bar manager at Orgo, had patiently guided him in his budding bartending career, not only on how to make a proper gin and tonic, but also instilling ethics and mindset. "At that time, I was too young to fully understand what he was trying to teach me," he says. "Looking back now after more years of experience, I realise that being a good bartender isn't just about creativity; it's about attitude, responsibility and presence behind the bar."
From mentee to mentor
A decade after landing on Singapore's shores as a fresh-faced youngster, Jang has been crowned by his global bartending cohort as the winner of the Altos Bartenders' Bartender Award as part of The World's 50 Best Bars 2025 – the only peer-voted-for accolade.
Jang sees the Altos Bartenders' Bartender Award as an opportunity to push himself further
The title, he admits, is utterly humbling for someone who once couldn't make a mixed drink to save his life. "I always thought this kind of award was something you receive at the end of your journey. But I now realise it's the opposite – it motivates me to keep challenging myself.
"I'm proud to bring it home to Singapore's bar scene, which has always inspired and supported me. The cocktail community here continues to push me forwards."
Ironically, the very same community Jang had so much difficulty conversing with so many years ago has become the one that has shaped his creative voice. And it's a voice that's now echoing around the world.
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The list of The World's 50 Best Bars 2025, sponsored by Perrier, will be revealed at a live awards ceremony in Hong Kong on Wednesday 8 October.
