Two weekends ago, Manila’s nightlife acquired a pulse you could practically hear with a stethoscope, caffeinated, carbonated, and obviously intoxicated. The diagnosis, Philippine Cocktail Week 2026. The most compelling symptom presented itself at Banter and Jive in Poblacion, Makati — my so-called home bar, a dimly lit sanctuary where the tropical walls sweat charm and the music hums just loud enough to encourage poor decisions.

On takeover night, the place behaved less like a bar and more like a high school reunion. Three hours before service, there were already hopefuls orbiting the entrance, forcing management to commence 30 minutes early. A queue lingered outside for most of the evening, the kind of orderly impatience usually reserved for limited-edition sneakers and airport immigration gates. Inside, bodies pressed politely against the bar, elbows negotiating territory. Crowd control, I learned, pairs beautifully with Campari.

This leg of the festival belonged to Kathmandu. Barc Cocktails had taken over, led by founder Abishek Tuladhar and co-founder Adarsha Man Tamrakar. If Philippine Cocktail Week trades in cross-border exchange, these two arrived fluent. Abishek shook with monk-like concentration; Adarsha moved with the mystic authority of someone who understands that thirst does not negotiate. For one night, Poblacion felt gently annexed by Nepal.

The "Ayla Sour" opened proceedings, Monkey Shoulder and Barc’s Spiced Ayla folded through chai and lime, finished with a red wine float that bled into the foam like a well-rehearsed sunset. It was spiced, layered, faintly dramatic. The "Khattu Highball," Hendricks, Barc’s Khattu Mix, Campari, soda, stood tall and bracing, unapologetically bitter in the way grown-up drinks should be. Small talk sharpened around it.

Then came the provocations. "Mosambi Caffine," Glenfiddich 12, sweet lemon, coffee, yuzu, tonic, managed the improbable feat of being both bright and brooding, citrus colliding with caffeine like jet lag cured properly. "Orange Sandeko" fizzed in with sesame, spice, orange, triple sec and CO₂, aromatic and textured, a drink that insisted on a second, more attentive sip. These were not novelty pours drafted in for spectacle. They were structured, deliberate cocktails that knew their own architecture.