@anabythebarA speakeasy inside a speakeasyThe room, the changing menu, and the cabinet of curious gin infusions.Watch original on Instagram Book a tableA Singapore original · Since 2019
Built to make something for the first time.
Oriental Elixir began as a bartender’s laboratory: a small room where Tanglin gin, Asian ingredients, and the preferences of the guest could become a drink with no need to exist twice.
@anabythebarA speakeasy inside a speakeasyThe room, the changing menu, and the cabinet of curious gin infusions.Watch original on Instagram Book a tableThe person behind the experiment
Abhishek Cherian George.
Abhishek’s path through Singapore hospitality began behind a bar and grew through a long series of hands-on venues and experiments. Oriental Elixir sits beside The Spiffy Dapper in that body of work: intimate, resourceful, and led by bartender instinct rather than ceremony.
A 2025 profile in The Straits Times places Oriental Elixir among the long-running fixtures he helped build in Singapore’s drinking scene. The same profile describes the bar’s founding idea: Asian flavours, bespoke drinks, vintage finds, and a willingness to make nearly every order as a first attempt.
Read the independent profileThe route here
Different rooms. One useful instinct.
- 2019
The experiment opens
Oriental Elixir begins as a creative laboratory for Tanglin Gin: an intimate bar where Asian ingredients, handmade infusions, and bespoke drinks can be tested in public.
- Then
A reputation grows quietly
Guest stories and independent profiles carry the room further than conventional publicity. The cabinet becomes known for drinks built once, around the person ordering them.
- Now
Back inside The Spiffy Dapper
The bar lives at 294 River Valley Road, inside the shared home of The Spiffy Dapper. The address has changed; the instinct to make something unfamiliar has not.
Historical articles may show earlier addresses. For the current River Valley entrance, hours, and map, use the official visit page.
What survived every move
The bar is a method, not an address.
Conversation before recipe
A good order can begin with a flavour, a mood, a familiar drink, or a willingness to be surprised.
Asian ingredients without a fixed script
The cabinet moves through botanicals, food memories, savoury infusions, spice, tea, fruit, and whatever else earns a place on the shelf.
Make the room by hand
Vintage finds, second-hand objects, low light, old recordings, and bartender attention matter because atmosphere is part of the drink.
Independent record
Written about because the room was worth remembering.
The Straits Times2025
Your favourite bar’s favourite bar
A profile of Abhishek George’s two decades in Singapore food and nightlife, including the origins and continued life of Oriental Elixir.
Read the featureRobb Report Singapore2020
An unusual bar delivering warmth
An early record of the antiques, musical archive, unconventional infusions, and human connection at the centre of the bar.
Read the featureEatbookCurrent guide
Among Singapore’s bars worth knowing
Independent recognition in a practical guide used by people deciding where to drink in Singapore.
Read the featureThe next chapter is one drink long
Give the cabinet something to answer.
Visit the current River Valley room, tell the bartender what you enjoy, and see what has found its way onto the shelf tonight.