The annual Penang Cocktail Week (PCW) is set to return for its third edition from 1 to 7 September 2025, bringing together bartenders, brands, and cocktail enthusiasts from across the region under the theme “A Cocktail of Cultures.”
This year’s programme reflects Penang’s unique blend of influences, with a lineup of renowned bartenders from the UK, Canada, and Los Angeles, alongside emerging talents from India, Taiwan, Vietnam, China, and beyond. The aim, organizers note, is not only to make PCW 2025 bigger but also to deepen cross-cultural exchanges within the bartending community.
Highlights of the week include:
Cross-culture bar takeovers across George Town
India Cocktail Week x Penang Cocktail Week collaboration
The second PCW Taiwan Takeover, spotlighting rising bars from Taipei, Taichung, and Tainan
The Jack Daniel’s Bangkok Block2Block Party
A PCW Vietnam All-Stars evening
The annual PCW Malaysian Invasion, this year featuring a Borneo Edition with pioneering bartenders from East Malaysia and young talent working abroad
The festival will conclude with the inaugural Bar Show Malaysia at Ascott Gurney Penang. The showcase will feature a 7,000-square-foot Cocktail Convention Centre with over 20 spirit and liqueur brand booths, alongside seminars, masterclasses, and bartending activities. The event will close with a PCW Closing Party at Glass Bar by the pool, celebrating a week of cultural exchange and creativity in cocktails.
With its diverse programme and international participation, Penang Cocktail Week 2025 positions the island as one of Southeast Asia’s emerging centers for cocktail culture.
1 September (Monday)
- Welcome Party at Mojo Jojo, Lyf George Town Penang – featuring bars from North America: Bar Bello (Montreal), Cry Baby Gallery (Toronto), Laowai (Vancouver), and Thunderbolt (Los Angeles)
- Bar Takeover: Islands in the Sun – Potato Head (Bali) at Chez Chez
- Bar Takeover: Islands in the Sun – El Lequio (Okinawa) at Nomad
- Bar Takeover: Islands in the Sun – The Public House (Taipei) at Backdoor Bodega
- Bar Takeover: Islands in the Sun – The Elephant Room (Singapore) at No Bar Here
2 September (Tuesday)
- Bar Takeover: Vietnam All Stars – The Hudson’s Room (Hanoi) at BaoBae
- Bar Takeover: Vietnam All Stars – Gallery Bespoke (Hanoi) at The Suckling Pig
- Bar Takeover: Vietnam All Stars – Hybrid (Saigon) at The Nest
- Bar Takeover: Vietnam All Stars – Workshop14 (Hanoi) at No Bar Here
- Bar Takeover: Vietnam All Stars – The Hudson’s Room (Hanoi) at BaoBae
- Bar Takeover: Between The Sips (Jakarta) at Chez Chez
- After Party: Vietnam All Stars – The Enigma Mansion (Saigon) at BISO
3 September (Wednesday)
- PCW Tiki Bowl at Penang Bowl – presented by Bumbu Rum with JungleBird (KL)
- Izakaya Under The Stars: Dear Hearts (Petaling Jaya) at Nood Nood
- Bar Takeover: The Road Less Shaken – ZLB23 (Bengaluru) at The Nest
- Bar Takeover: The Road Less Shaken – The Continental Bar (Chiangmai) at Khaosan Tapas Bar
- Bar Takeover: The Road Less Shaken – Fibona (Danang) at Nomad
- Bar Takeover: The Road Less Shaken – CMYK (Changsha) at No Bar Here
- Malaysian Invasion: The Best of Borneo ft. Joshua Pang, Jason Julian, Anna Sulan Masing and Joe Ngui at Biso
- Food & Drinks: Live Twice (Singapore) at BaoBae
- Bar Takeover: Native (Singapore) at Backdoor Bodega
- Malaysian Invasion: The Best of Borneo ft. Ash Mariano, Rizal Junior, Osmund Bernard, and Amar Pawaka at The Cellar (Macalister Mansion)
4 September (Thursday)
- Food & Drinks: Tequila Thursday – Código Coffee Shop Sessions at Small Places
- Food & Drinks: Herradura House Party ft. Raz Ng & DJ Rudya t Communal Table by Gēn 根
- Food & Drinks: Rum & Yum – Fifty Tales (Petaling Jaya) at REMBAR
- Bar Takeover: Ruki Robatayaki (Wollongong) at Khaosan Tapas Bar
- Bar Takeover: ICW in Penang! – Spirit Forward (Bengaluru) at The Nest
- Bar Takeover: ICW in Penang! – Hideaway (Goa) at No Bar Here
- Bar Takeover: ICW in Penang! – PCO (Delhi) at Biso
- Bar Takeover: Shawn Chong (Kuala Lumpur) at ROUND
- The #FindTheLockerRoom Experience at Backdoor Bodega
- After Party: PCW Service Swap ft. Yee Ming Koh, Johnson Wong, Thanesh Joel, & Felix Schumacher at NEP
5 September (Friday)
- Studio Lates by Mr Lyan Studio (London) @ Lucky Hole
- Bar Takeover: Ruki Robatayaki (Wollongong) at Khaosan Tapas Bar
- Bar Takeover: Kravat Bar (Phnom Penh) at Nomad
- Bar Takeover: Aki Nakata (Singapore) at BaoBae
- Bar Takeover: The Curator (Manila) at The Suckling Pig
- Jao Tim to Go ft. Mambo Jambo Live (Kuala Lumpur) at The Cellar
- After Party: Midnight Mayhem with Bae’s (Singapore) x Up & Away (Kuala Lumpur) at SORA
6 September (Saturday)
- Sips On The Beach – Humboldt (Kuala Lumpur) at Ferringhi Bay
- PCW Party Bus
- Food & Drinks: PCW Taiwan Takeover – Musou (Taichung) at BaoBae
- Bar Takeover: PCW Taiwan Takeover – Ron Xinyi (Taipei) at ROUND
- Bar Takeover: PCW Taiwan Takeover – Voyage (Taichung) at Khaosan Tapas Bar
- Bar Takeover: PCW Taiwan Takeover – Chikan Pharmacy (Tainan) at Nomad
- Bar Takeover: PCW Taiwan Takeover – Ao (Taichung) at The Nest
- Bar Takeover: PCW Taiwan Takeover – Dimension (Taichung) at The Mandarin
- Bar Takeover: Bangkok Block2Block – Dry Wave Cocktail Studio at Good Friends Club
- Bar Takeover: Bangkok Block2Block – Tax Bar at The Suckling Pig
- Bar Takeover: Bangkok Block2Block – BKK Social Club at Chez Chez
- Bar Takeover: Bangkok Block2Block – Dicky & Ryan at No Bar Here
- Bar Takeover: Bangkok Block2Block – Vesper at Good Friends Club
- Bar Takeover: Bangkok Block2Block – Thaipioka at Backdoor Bodega
- Bar Takeover: Rhu Bar (Langkawi) at The Cellar
- After Party: Daniyel Jones (Trinidad & Tobago) at BISO
7 September (Sunday)
- Bar Show Malaysia 2025 at Ascott Gurney Penang
- Young, Hungry, & Female ft. Apoorva Kohli (Bengaluru), Demitria Paramita (Jakarta) & Ellen Xu (Hangzhou)
- Bar Takeover: STG (Wuhan) at The Mandarin
- Bar Takeover: Book Ing (Taipei) & Wing Lei Bar (Macau) at Backdoor Bodega
- PCW2025 Closing Party ft. Boilermaker (Goa) & Cosmo Pony (Jakarta)
