Bartender / bar director
Kim Shin
- Discipline
- Bartender / bar director
Portrait of Kim Shin
i. Biography
Bartending and bar direction at Platform put Kim Shin in the working center of the room, where pace, placement, and sequencing shape how a service holds together. In that role, the craft is not only what reaches the guest, but how the bar carries the night: measured movement, clean execution, and the ability to set a tone without forcing it. His path suggests the progression built through repetition, calibration, and attention to how a drink lands in the glass and in the room.
Today
At Platform, the bar work runs on layers: visible polish, invisible timing, and the small decisions that steer a guest toward something familiar or something less expected. As bartender and Bar Director, Kim Shin balances precision with hospitality, keeping the bar readable and composed while allowing service to stay warm. Technique does the structural work here; the rest is control of pace, detail, and consistency.
Career - Bartender / Bar Director, Platform, Singapore
Signature
Signature cocktails like Remember the Maine and Sage 43 show range within a defined bar sensibility. Remember the Maine carries a classic structure and a revived profile, the drink that asks for a steady hand and respect for cocktail lineage. Sage 43 points in a more herbal direction, with an aromatic register that suggests freshness and restraint. Taken together, they show a bartender working between preservation and update, with drinks that stay grounded while still reading as current.
In Their Words “Remember the Maine is a cross between Manhattan & Sazerac. This is my favourite Cherry Heering cocktail so I would like to share and bring back this delicious forgotten classic cocktail.” “Remember the Maine is the classic cocktail which appeared in Charles H. Baker’s 1939 book The Gentleman's Companion.” Those notes place Remember the Maine in two registers at once: as a drink built from recognizable cocktail family lines, and as one Kim Shin wants to keep in circulation. The language is practical rather than nostalgic. It points to a classic that still has utility on a modern bar, and to the role of the bartender as someone who maintains useful recipes rather than letting them drift out of service.
Recognition
Bacardi Legacy Singapore, Top 5 (2016) and Diageo World Class Singapore, Top 5 (2015) place Kim Shin inside competitive bartending at a high level. Those results reflect work tested under pressure, where clarity, originality, and control have to hold up in public. The placements add context to a profile built around disciplined service and drinks that are meant to be both composed and repeatable.
FAQ What is Kim Shin's current role? Kim Shin is Bartender/Bar Director of Platform. What recognition has Kim Shin received? Bacardi Legacy Singapore, Top 5 (2016). What is Kim Shin known for? Cherry Heering cocktails.
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