Returning to George Town for its third consecutive year, Penang Cocktail Week (PCW) will take place from 1 to 7 September 2025, transforming the city into a hub for bartending talent and cocktail creativity. This year’s theme, ‘A Cocktail of Cultures’, celebrates the rich blend of global influences that inspire Penang’s bar scene and unite the regional bartending community.
Founded in 2023 by LSA100 recipient and Backdoor Bodega founder Koh Yung Shen, PCW has quickly become a highlight of Asia’s cocktail calendar. The 2025 edition will welcome acclaimed bartenders from the UK, Canada, and Los Angeles, alongside emerging stars from India, Taiwan, Vietnam, China, and beyond.
The programme features a diverse mix of cross-cultural bar takeovers, the India Cocktail Week x Penang Cocktail Week collaboration, the PCW Taiwan Takeover spotlighting rising bars from Taipei, Taichung, and Tainan, the Jack Daniel’s Bangkok Block2Block Party, and the PCW Vietnam All-Stars evening. Malaysia’s own talent will be in the limelight with the PCW Malaysian Invasion – Borneo Edition, showcasing both pioneering bartenders from East Malaysia and homegrown talents now making waves overseas.
The festival will conclude with the inaugural Bar Show Malaysia at Ascott Gurney Penang – a 7,000-square-foot cocktail convention centre hosting over 20 spirit and liqueur brand booths, alongside engaging seminars, masterclasses, and hands-on bartending activities. The week will wrap in style with the PCW Closing Party at Glass Bar by the pool, also at Ascott Gurney Penang.
Here’s your guide to the full line-up of events taking place during Penang Cocktail Week 2025.
Penang Cocktail Week 2025: Full schedule and all the bars participating
1 September 2025
PCW2025 Welcome Party featuring Bar Bello (Montreal), Cry Baby Gallery (Toronto), Laowai (Vancouver), and Thunderbolt (Los Angeles) @ Mojo Jojo
Bar Takeover: Islands in the Sun featuring Potato Head (Bali) @ Chez Chez
Bar Takeover: Islands in the Sun featuring El Lequio (Okinawa) @ Nomad
Bar Takeover: Islands in the Sun featuring The Public House (Taipei) @ Backdoor Bodega
Bar Takeover: Islands in the Sun featuring The Elephant Room (Singapore) @ No Bar Here
2 September 2025
Masterclass: The Conscious Pour by Agustin Da Sambiagio of Potato Head (Bali) @ Chez Chez
Food & Drinks: Vietnam All Stars featuring The Hudson Rooms (Hanoi) @ BaoBae
Bar Takeover: Vietnam All Stars featuring Gallery Bespoke (Hanoi) @ The Suckling Pig
Bar Takeover: Vietnam All Stars featuring Hybrid (Saigon) @ The Nest
Food & Drinks: PCW Bartender’s Supper Club featuring Vijay Mudaliar, Morris Chang, Rajiv Mukherjee, and Kelvin Wong @ Kushikobo Asian Bistro
Bar Takeover: Vietnam All Stars featuring Workshop14 (Hanoi) @ No Bar Here
Bar Takeover: Between The Sips (Jakarta) @ Chez Chez
After-Party: Vietnam All Stars featuring The Enigma Mansion (Saigon) @ BISO
3 September 2025
Headline Event: The Tiki Bowl featuring JungleBird (Kuala Lumpur) @ Penang Bowl
Food & Drinks: Izakaya Under The Stars featuring Dear Hearts (Petaling Jaya) @ Nood Nood
Bar Takeover: The Road Less Shaken featuring ZLB23 (Bengaluru) @ The Nest
Bar Takeover: The Road Less Shaken featuring The Continental Bar (Chiangmai) @ Khaosan Tapas Bar
Bar Takeover: The Road Less Shaken featuring Fibona (Da Nang) @ Nomad
Bar Takeover: The Road Less Shaken featuring CMYK (Changsha) @ No Bar Here
Malaysian Invasion: The Best of Borneo featuring Joshua Pang, Jason Julian, Anna Sulan Masing and Joe Ngui @ BISO
Food & Drinks: Live Twice (Singapore) @ BaoBae
Bar Takeover: Native (Singapore) @ Backdoor Bodega
Malaysian Invasion: The Best of Borneo featuring Ash Mariano, Rizal Junior, Osmund Bernard, and Amar Pawaka @ The Cellar
4 September 2025
Food & Drinks: Tequila Thursday featuring Código Coffee Shop Sessions @ Small Places
Food & Drinks: Herradura House Party featuring Raz Ng and DJ Rudy @ Communal Table by Gēn 根
Food & Drinks: Rum & Yum featuring Fifty Tales (Petaling Jaya) @ Rembar
Bar Takeover: Ruki Robatayaki (Wollongong) @ Khaosan Tapas Bar
Bar Takeover: ICW in Penang! featuring Spirit Forward (Bengaluru) @ The Nest
Bar Takeover: ICW in Penang! featuring Hideaway (Goa) @ No Bar Here
Bar Takeover: ICW in Penang! featuring PCO (Delhi) @ BISO
Bar Takeover: Shawn Chong (Kuala Lumpur) @ Round Bar
Headline Event: The #FindTheLockerRoom Experience @ Backdoor Bodega
After-Party: PCW Service Swap featuring Yee Ming Koh, Johnson Wong, Thanesh Joel, and Felix Schumacher @ NEP!
5 September 2025
Masterclass: The Art of Storytelling by Mr Lyan Studio (London) @ Lucky Hole
Headline Event: Studio Lates by Mr Lyan Studio (London) @ Lucky Hole
Bar Takeover: Ruki Robatayaki (Wollongong) @ Khaosan Tapas Bar
Bar Takeover: Kravat Bar (Phnom Penh) @ Nomad
Bar Takeover: Aki Nakata (Singapore) @ BaoBae
Bar Takeover: The Curator (Manila) @ The Suckling Pig
Headline Event: Jao Tim To Go featuring Mambo Jumbo Live (Kuala Lumpur) @ The Cellar
After-Party: Midnight Mayhem with Bae’s (Singapore) and Up & Away (Kuala Lumpur) @ SORA
6 September 2025
Headline Event: Sips On The Beach featuring Humboldt (Kuala Lumpur) @ Ferringhi Bay
Headline Event: PCW Party Bus
Food & Drinks: PCW Taiwan Takeover featuring MUSOU (Taichung) @ BaoBae
Bar Takeover: PCW Taiwan Takeover featuring Ron Xinyi (Taipei) @ Round Bar
Bar Takeover: PCW Taiwan Takeover featuring Voyage (Taichung) @ Khaosan Tapas Bar
Bar Takeover: Bangkok Block2Block Party featuring Dry Wave Cocktail Studio @ Good Friends Club
Bar Takeover: Rhu Bar (Langkawi) @ The Cellar
Bar Takeover: PCW Taiwan Takeover featuring Chikan Pharmacy (Tainan) @ Nomad
Bar Takeover: PCW Taiwan Takeover featuring Ao (Taichung) @ The Nest
Bar Takeover: Bangkok Block2Block Party featuring Tax Bar @ The Suckling Pig
Bar Takeover: Bangkok Block2Block Party featuring BKK Social Club @ Chez Chez
Bar Takeover: PCW Taiwan Takeover featuring Dimension (Taichung) @ The Mandarin
Bar Takeover: Bangkok Block2Block Party featuring Dicky & Ryan @ No Bar Here
Bar Takeover: Bangkok Block2Block Party featuring Vesper @ Good Friends Club
After-Party: Daniyel Jones (Trinidad & Tobago) @ BISO
Bar Takeover: Bangkok Block2Block Party featuring Thaipioka @ Backdoor Bodega
7 September 2025
Headline Event: Bar Show Malaysia 2025 @ Ascott Gurney Penang
Young, Hungry, & Female featuring Apoorva Kohli (Bengaluru), Demitria Paramita (Jakarta), and Ellen Xu (Hangzhou) @ Ascott Gurney Penang
Bar Takeover: STG (Wuhan) @ The Mandarin
Bar Takeover: Book Ing Bar (Taipei) and Wing Lei Bar (Macau) @ Backdoor Bodega
Headline Event: PCW2025 Closing Party featuring Boilermaker (Goa) & Cosmo Pony (Jakarta) @ Magazine 63
(All images used courtesy of Penang Cocktail Week)
