Wynn Macau Hosts Asia's 50 Best Bars 2026 Awards

Macao returns to the center of the regional drinks calendar as Wynn Resorts Macau anchors Asia’s 50 Best Bars 2026 with a resort-wide takeover from July 24 to 29.

For the second consecutive year, Wynn Palace and Wynn Macau will serve as Official Host Partner of the region’s most-watched bar awards, with the live ceremony on July 28 sitting at the center of a six-day program. The 2026 edition also coincides with Wynn’s 20th anniversary in Macao, and the resort is marking the moment with the launch of the “Wing Lei Bar & Friends” Special Edition – a festival-format activation uniting more than 50 bartenders and chefs from Asia, Europe and North America.

A Resort-Wide Festival, Anchored by Wing Lei Bar

The week’s official ceremony moments – the live Awards Ceremony, the Meet the Bartenders media roundtable, the Bartenders’ Feast and the Closing Party – are staged across the two integrated resorts. Around them, Wing Lei Bar, Wynn Palace’s flagship cocktail destination, expands its long-running “Wing Lei Bar & Friends” guest-shift series into its largest format yet.

Director of Bars Mark Lloyd has shaped the program around the idea of movement, framing cocktail culture as a shared global language and aligning the week with Wing Lei Bar’s signature UNITY menu, which approaches the cocktail as an expression of memory and collective identity. The 2025 edition delivered more than 25 events; the 2026 build-out goes considerably further.

UNITY 2.0 and the Wing Lei Bar Showcase

The week opens with a Wing Lei Bar Showcase on July 24 and again on July 28, hosted by Lloyd. The session introduces UNITY 2.0, the second chapter of Wing Lei Bar’s signature menu. Its 12 cocktails each draw on a personal anecdote from Lloyd’s year on the road with the bar, mapping the exchanges and personalities that have shaped its evolving identity.

That opening night also brings Asia Checks In, Let’s Shake Up, a high-volume kickoff with more than 30 guest bars in rotation. ZLB23 (Bangalore), Avoca (Hong Kong), Bar Sathorn (Bangkok) and Stay Gold (Singapore) set the tone at Wing Lei Bar.

The Guest-Shift Lineup

Saturday, July 25 opens with The Road Less Traveled, a Lloyd-curated session spotlighting three bars from beyond the conventional circuit: Nomad Lab (Ulaanbaatar), Barc (Kathmandu) – the 2025 Michter’s Art of Hospitality Award winner – and Kiki Lounge (Douglas), named Bar of the Year 2024 at The Spirits Business Awards.

Later that evening, The Best of British II returns Wing Lei Bar’s UK-focused format with Below Stairs (Leeds), Bar Glue (Liverpool) and Passing Fancies (Birmingham).

Sunday, July 26 carries two of the week’s marquee sessions. Shake & Stir Hall of Fame pairs Asia bar pioneer Antonio Lai of Quinary and The Opposites with Paris-based entrepreneur Nico de Soto of Danico and Kota Pandan Liqueur. That evening, A Bartenders’ Bartenders Takeover brings four past and present Altos Bartenders’ Bartender honorees back to the bar: Jay Khan (2020) of COA and Andrew Ho (2025) of Hope & Sesame open the night, with Keith Motsi (2022) of VIRTÙ and Beckaly Franks (2023) of Call Me AL and ARTIFACT closing it out.

Monday, July 27 ramps up with Drink Thy Neighbors, a Rémy Cointreau-sponsored Hong Kong takeover featuring Bourke’s, Swim Club, Honky Tonks Tavern and The Green Door. From KL With Love follows with Three X Co and Penrose – ranked No.15 and No.10 respectively at Asia’s 50 Best Bars 2025. Singapore’s Manhattan lands at SW Steakhouse for a Michter’s-sponsored evening, and Danil Nevsky – No.5 on Drinks International’s Bar World 100 – closes the night with a late takeover.

Tuesday, July 28 – awards day – opens with Behind Her Bar, an all-female lineup curated by Jen Queen and Nicole Slater of The Pontiac alongside Beckaly Franks, featuring Zana Möhlmann (Manhattan), Evangeline Malley (Below Stairs), Arlene Wong (The Green Door) and Nic Ho (Dead Poets).

Culinary Collaborations Across the Week

The food program runs in parallel with the bar takeovers, anchored by Chef Tam’s Seasons – No.7 on Asia’s 50 Best Restaurants 2026 – where Cantonese master Tam Kwok Fung opens July 24 with a six-course Michter’s Bourbon pairing dinner. On July 27, Tam hosts a four-hands lunch with Japan’s Yoshihiro Narisawa, with a cocktail pairing curated by BEES BAR by NARISAWA.

At Lakeview Palace, Executive Chef Kevin Zhu teams with Henry Zhang of Drunken Fish and Jeff Wu of Shenzhen’s Ensue – No.79 on Asia’s 50 Best Restaurants 2026 – for a six-hand modern Chinese dinner paired with Guizhou Zhenjiu Baijiu on July 24 and 25.

SW Steakhouse, helmed by Helder Sequeira Amaral, hosts a Macallan whisky pairing dinner on July 25, followed on July 26 by a dual-format collaboration with Sri Lanka’s Smoke & Bitters – No.14 on Asia’s 50 Best Bars – where Co-Founder Don Ranasinghe serves a bespoke cocktail menu and Lahiru “Lalla” Perera joins Amaral for a four-hands smokeless barbecue menu. Mizumi, Wynn Palace’s One MICHELIN-starred Japanese counter, welcomes Shanghai’s VICE Bistro-Lounge and Pony Up on July 25 for an off-menu snacks and cocktail evening at the sushi counter.

After the Ceremony

The post-ceremony program closes the week in two registers. The Wing Lei Bar Secret Houseparty sees Lloyd reunite with three former apprentices now running their own Shanghai venues – Bar OJ, Pawoo By and Bar Times – alongside Shanghai staple Bar Mixato.

At Palace Reserve Club, the Wynn Palace After Party runs in collaboration with Campari at the Palace Reserve Club, with Asia’s 50 Best Bars veterans Cat Bite Club (Singapore), The Cocktail Club (Jakarta) and Opium (Bangkok) joined by recent inductees Soka (Bangalore) and Carrots (Jakarta).

Why It Matters

Building on a 2025 edition that drew more than 25 official events and a deep international lineup, the 2026 program reinforces Macao’s growing weight in the regional bar conversation. For a city whose drinks credentials have historically been overshadowed by Hong Kong, Tokyo and Singapore, hosting Asia’s 50 Best Bars two years running – and pairing it with a 50-strong international guest roster – is a signal of how quickly the center of gravity is shifting.

External link: full program details are available via Wynn Resorts Macau.