Taste the Best Handcrafted Cocktails in Bali

Taste the Best Handcrafted Cocktails in Bali
 

Bali has never struggled to serve you a drink. What it has struggled with, for a long time, is serving you a good one. The island built its reputation on volume and visibility: buckets of something cold, bars that never close, and a crowd that isn't particularly interested in what's in their glass. That version of Bali still exists, of course. But it is no longer the whole story.

If you know where to look, and increasingly people do, you'll find something much more interesting happening. There's a quieter, slower, more considered drinking scene taking shape across the island, particularly in Ubud, where a handful of serious bars have decided that the best handcrafted cocktails in Bali deserve to be treated with the same attention as fine food, rare wine, or art.

One place leads that conversation more confidently than any other.

The Bar That Changed the Standard

Pinstripe Bar sits in Ubud, overlooking rice fields and a jungle valley, inside a colonial-style building that feels like it belongs to another century. That is entirely deliberate. The bar draws its identity from the 1930s, when Prohibition-era cocktail culture flourished underground in the United States, and a handful of artists and intellectuals were simultaneously discovering Bali and falling completely under its spell.

The result is a concept that shouldn't work on paper but is flawless in execution. Glamorous without being self-important, warm without being casual, and serious about drinks without making you feel like you're being lectured. You arrive, and you slow down. That is the point.

The Clairvoyant, a Menu You Can Read Like a Novel 

Most cocktail lists are functional. This one is anthropological.

The Clairvoyant, Pinstripe’s illustrated cocktail anthology, takes its name from Mexican artist Miguel Covarrubias. He was a caricaturist and cultural anthropologist who captured the glamour of 1920s New York and later discovered the artistic soul of 1930s Bali. 

The menu is split into two acts. The Harlem Renaissance section honours the jazz age of New York. The Bali Sojourn section celebrates the expatriate artists who fell in love with the island. 

Each drink is tied to a real person. A story. A moment in time. 

Highlights from the Harlem Renaissance side

 ● Scarface combines Tanqueray No. TEN, Fernet Branca, strawberry balsamic, and torch ginger. It is aged with cacao butter. A nod to Al Capone’s reign.

● The Tramp uses peddlers' salted plums, umeshu, charcoal, kaffir lime leaves, lychees, and jackfruit. Inspired by Charlie Chaplin, who visited Bali in the 1930s. 

● The Sweetheart blends Veritas rum, Aperol, strawberry, jasmine, tarragon, and whey. A tribute to silent film star Mary Pickford. Highlights from the Bali Sojourn side 

● The Dancer features 1615 Pisco, mezcal, Aperol, genepy, raspberry, yuzu, and elderflower with albumin. Inspired by Rosa Rolanda, Covarrubias’ wife and a celebrated dancer. 

● The Composer is a miso caramel creation with Bulleit Bourbon, maraschino, Bigallet China China, and pandan. A tribute to Canadian composer Colin McPhee. 

● The Primitivist uses Tanqueray No. TEN, coconut rum, Campari, pineapple, passion fruit, pandan, and lemongrass, clarified with soy milk. Inspired by German artist Walter Spies.

Two Years in a Barrel, the Solera Aged Negroni
 

If you order only one drink at Pinstripe, make it this one. 

The Solera Aged Negroni is a house signature that has spent two years maturing in-house. It uses Tanqueray No. TEN, Cocchi Storico, Campari, and coconut. The Solera method, typically reserved for sherry and vintage ports, involves fractional blending across barrels. The result is a Negroni that is smoother, rounder, and deeper than anything you have tasted before.

The Martini Flight, Three Ways

For those who believe the martini is the ultimate measure of a cocktail bar, Pinstripe offers a dedicated experience

The Martini Flight takes you on a journey. 

● Pinstripe Martini uses Tanqueray No. TEN, The Lost Explorer Salmiana, Dolin Dry, mango, jalapeño, and elderflower. 

● Apéritif Martini combines Tanqueray No. TEN, Dolin Dry, Cocchi Americano and Luxardo Bitter Bianco. 

● Sandalwood Martini features Tanqueray No. TEN, Cocchi Americano, sandalwood, cananga, and pomelo. 

Each martini is also available individually at 250K.

The Food That Earns Its Place

A bar serious about its drinks should be serious about its food, and Pinstripe is. Chef Nic Vanderbeeken runs a kitchen that complements rather than competes with what's in your glass. A few highlights from the menu:

● Venison Wellington for two: Sweet Potato Puree, Rendang Sauce, Foie Gras, Mushrooms

● Prestige Toast: A5 Kagoshima, Sirloin, 3g Ossetra Caviar. The bar snack that makes a case for itself.

● Lobster Ravioli: Lobster Mousseline, Bisque, Cured Egg Yolk

● Kagoshima Wagyu A5: 100g Grilled Sirloin. The pinnacle of the mains.

The food here has the same DNA as the drinks: precise, ingredient-led, and worth paying attention to.

The Cigar Terrace and the Spirits Collection

Pinstripe's cigar terrace is regarded as the best in Bali, offering direct views of King's Valley and a humidor featuring Cuban classics, boutique Nicaraguan and Honduran labels, and a range of Indonesian cigars. For spirits, the list is serious. A few reference points:

● Whisky: The Macallan 25 Year, The Yamazaki 18 Year, Johnnie Walker Blue Ghost and Rare, Highland Park 18 Year

● Tequila and Mezcal: Clase Azul, Don Julio 1942, Tears of Llorona, The Lost Explorer range

● Cognac: Remy Martin Louis XIII, Hennessy Paradis, Martell Grand Creation Extra
There is an in-house sommelier for the wine list if that's where your evening is heading

Why It Matters in 2026

The best handcrafted cocktails in Bali are not the ones being made fastest or cheapest. They are the ones made by people who have thought carefully about what they are doing and why. Pinstripe operates on that principle with a consistency rare in a market where turnover is high, and the pressure to follow trends is constant.

The bar opens daily at 4:00 PM and runs until late. Food closes at 10:00 PM. The Cocktail Masterclass, which includes a garden tour, a guided session, and Pinstripe canapes, is available for groups and worth booking ahead.

If you have had enough of drinking well by accident, this is the place to do it on purpose. For reservations or more information, visit pinstripebar.com or follow @pinstripebar on Instagram. 

Pinstripe Bar 

Ubud, Bali