On 31 January, BOP (Bartenders of Pony) opens at 76 Tras Street in Tanjong Pagar, in Singapore. Created by Uno Jang, recipient of the Altos Bartenders’ Bartender Award, and developed within the Jigger & Pony Group, the Korean cocktail dining bar marks his first fully personal concept inside the group.
From Eleni Nikoloulia
This opening matters. Not simply because of Uno’s profile, or because Singapore gains another serious cocktail address but mainly because BOP represents something rarer in hospitality: Trust.
When a bar group of this scale gives one of its leading creatives the space to build an entire concept around his story, culture, and perspective, it signals belief. And in my humble opinion, when you own a bar or a group of bars as Jigger & Pony does, the most powerful investment you can make is in your people. Creating a full concept shaped around Uno is not just smart leadership but it is the most meaningful way to say thank you for his contribution.
BOP reimagines modern Korean drinking culture as it is actually lived. Cocktails lead, food follows, and the experience is anchored in three Korean values: Kki (craft), Jeong (warmth), and Heung (joyful energy). Designed by Gabriel Tan of Studio Antimatter, the conserved shophouse unfolds across four zones inspired by Korean textiles and colour theory.
For howtobar, we spoke with Uno, and with group founder Indra Kantono, about why BOP is more than another opening.
From car mechanic dreams to world’s bartender. What’s the moment that made you fall in love with cocktails for real?
When I was young, I loved fixing things with my hands, especially machines! If something was messy or wasn’t working, I wanted to understand why, what was wrong, how to make it work again, and how to make it better. That’s why I chose to study car mechanics in high school.
But I didn’t fall in love with cocktails first, I fell in love with hospitality and people. I started a part-time job at a restaurant and café, and I realised I enjoyed meeting guests, reading the atmosphere, and making someone’s day better in small ways. That experience is what pushed me to study hospitality in university.
When I moved to Singapore in search of a job, that is when I stepped properly into the cocktail industry. It was then that I realised that for me, cocktails were a bridge. They became a way to connect with people.
Yet in many ways, creating cocktails is similar to mechanics. I try to understand the structure, know what each component does, and improve the original to create something even better. And instead of fixing an engine, I’m now shaping someone’s experience at the bar.
Your cocktails blend classic technique with modern expression — how do you know when you’ve gone too far versus just far enough?
To be honest, the line between classic and modern isn’t always clear. For me, classic technique is the hardware – the structure shouldn’t change unless there’s a reason to. And the balance between strength, sugar (Brix), acidity, dilution, temperature – those fundamentals have to be correct.
And modern expression is like software. I can change the format, adjust flavour direction, texture, and even break the rules. For example, I created a four-layer, five-texture Champagne Ramos Gin Fizz that’s still on the menu at Jigger & Pony today.
But I know I’ve gone too far when the guest can’t understand the drink, or when it becomes difficult to enjoy without a long explanation. I do believe that cocktails can have a story, but it should still be easy to serve, easy to understand and easy to enjoy, even when the guests are not interested in the full story.
As Creative Director, you help shape the drinks and concepts across the entire Jigger & Pony Group. With that creative freedom already in place, what personal perspective or story did you feel BOP was the right moment to share?
I’m Korean, but I’ve lived in Singapore for a long time. Over the years, I realised I’ve always carried the Korean drinking culture with me – especially the rituals of sharing, mixing, teasing friends, eating while drinking, and the energy of the table. It’s social, warm, and fun.
BOP felt like the right moment to share that! I wanted to create a place that feels like a house party, where people laugh, engage, and stay longer than planned.
In a way, BOP is like a K-pop artist: high-energy, polished, but approachable, and everyone can enjoy and be a part of it. I want guests to feel like they can become “Bartenders of Pony” for a night too, experiencing the Korean ethos that shape everything we do, which are Kki (craftsmanship), Jeong (warmth), and Heung (youthful joy and energy).
And with BOP, I can tell my story in a different format – I’m not just telling my story through one cocktail, but through the entire space and experience that you get in BOP.
The name B.O.P. — Bartenders of Pony feels like an inside reference, was that intentional? Who is the name really for: bartenders, regulars, or the culture you’re trying to build?
Internally, “Bartenders of Pony” is a reminder of who we are. We come from Jigger & Pony Group where we call ourselves ponies, and our team all put in a lot of training and practice to grow and develop their craftsmanship. BOP also has that acronym rhythm you see in K-pop group names – punchy, energetic, easy to chant. And in some ways, we’re like K-pop artists too! We rehearse, prepare, and step on stage and perform every night.
But ultimately it’s not only about the bartenders. Guests are not just audiences, but they are also part of the performance. They bring the energy, they encourage us, and they give us more confidence in what we do.
So BOP really belongs to both sides: the team and the guests. Sometimes I joke that our guests are our BIPs (VIPs), our “Bery Important Person,” in Korean pronunciation – because without them, there’s no atmosphere, no energy, and no BOP.
B.O.P. reframes Korean drinking culture. What specific Korean ritual or tradition every drink at B.O.P. is designed to evoke?
At its core, BOP is shaped by Korean values. Not everyone on our team is Korean, and that’s exactly why it feels special and powerful. We’re sharing Korean rituals and vibes in a way that anyone can enjoy.
It is why BOP is built around three distinct Korean ethos – Kki (끼), the craft and relentless pursuit of mastery and detail; Jeong (정), the heart, expressed through deep hospitality and emotional connection that makes strangers stay; and Heung (흥), the energy, joyful vitality and spontaneity that keep the night alive. Those three are the core values supporting every drink. Of course, we express that through flavours too: Korean spirits and wines like makgeolli (rice wine), ingredients like jocheong (rice honey syrup), perilla leaves, and hallabong (Korean citrus), but equally important are the rituals as well.
Korean drinking is very interactive, and many drinks are designed to recreate the way Koreans actually drink together: mixing, sharing, and playing with texture. For example, our reinterpretation of Somaek (soju + beer) uses snow-like soju ice flakes, almost like Singapore’s traditional shaved ice dessert, ice kachang. And there are also other small details, like using Korean metal chopsticks to mix and “pop” our Bokbunja POP cocktail, bringing cultural habits into the cocktail experience.
If you could ban one bar trend because it’s overdone, what would it be, and what should replace it?
I’ve never really thought about bar trends as something to ban. Trends are natural – in F&B, music, fashion. They create variety, keep things moving, and keep the industry fresh.
If anything, I hope what replaces “trend-chasing” is more authenticity. Creativity is important, but the drink should still be comfortable, delicious, and easy for guests to enjoy.
Who was your toughest mentor, and what tough lesson did they force you to learn?
The toughest mentor for me is Indra. He constantly pushes me out of my comfort zone. I was comfortable as a bartender, but he challenged me to become a bar manager at Jigger & Pony, and now I’m being challenged to think as a group director – to guide the team and build a training culture, beyond just making cocktails.
The toughest lesson he forced me to learn was what it really means to open a bar. While working on BOP, I had to learn that it’s not only about cocktails or creativity. I had to balance everything all at the same time: forming and training the team, setting team culture and standards, fine tuning operations, aligning timing, and working under pressure.
What’s one misbelief bartenders have about success in this industry?
Many bartenders think success means fame, awards, or guest shifts. Those things can be nice and push you to do more and go further, and I respect anyone who achieves them. But I think one misbelief is forgetting their real role as a bartender.
Real success doesn’t only come when you’re in the spotlight, but in the day-to-day reality: running a solid operation, staying consistent behind the bar, taking care of guests, and building trust with your team and your community. That’s the part I love the most, and for me, that’s real success.
If Jigger & Pony was a cocktail, what would it be — and what about BOP.?
If Jigger & Pony were a cocktail, it would be a perfectly built Espresso Martini – timeless and modern. It is all about balance, elegance, detail, and confidence. You can return to it again and again, and it always feels right every time.
On the other hand, BOP is like a Somaek. It’s fun, social and approachable, but still precise. It’s the kind of drink that makes you smile on the first sip, and then you realise there’s real craft behind the simplicity.
BONUS: Indra Kantono on Empowering Individual Voices
B.O.P. represents Uno Jang’s first fully independent creative expression — how do you balance brand consistency across the group while empowering individual voices to innovate?
I wouldn’t describe BOP as independent – it’s deeply personal, but it sits fully within the Jigger & Pony Group. Uno is a partner in the group, and BOP is part of our collective journey.
Across the group, we think less about brand uniformity and more about shared ethos. The consistency comes from our hospitality values, our standards, and our long-term intent – not from everyone sounding the same.
We’ve never believed in cloning concepts. We believe in growing people. So the consistency across the group doesn’t come from aesthetics or menu formats – it comes from shared values around hospitality, generosity, and long-term thinking.