Yet another locally-inspired gin distillery joins the likes of Tanglin Distillery, Compendium and Brass Lion Distillery – the simply-named Singapore Distillery. After all, a vibrant selection of botanicals lends itself well to gin production, and nowhere can you get a more vibrant array of herbs and spices than right here in Singapore, long known as a cultural melting pot with influences from around the region.
Three years in the making, Singapore Distillery’s craft gin’s begin – and end – their time in a custom-made old-fashioned copper still, which allows head distiller Ashwin Sekaran and team to create the distinctly smooth and balanced finish of their gin.
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Despite his (and his brand’s) relative youth, the 26-year-old – who has apprenticed at Tasmanian Master Gin and Whiskey Distiller as well as Brewlab Sunderland – is entering Singapore’s craft distillery with aplomb. Singapore Distillery is launching with six unique gins with influences from throughout Asia.
To start them off, their Singa gin is a take on classic London dry gin that features a blend of 13 herbs and spices including juniper, mandarin orange and Sarawak pepper, all of which serve to give the spirit a bold and distinctly balanced flavour that reminds one of home.
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The Singapore Sling gin is another locally-influenced spirit that’s distilled with ingredients typically found in the iconic cocktail – think oranges, cherries and pineapple for a bright, floral bouquet that’s infused into the gin, and perfect for use in its namesake.
We’d also like to draw attention to the Stolen Roses – so-called for a blend of roses and the usual gin botanicals that give a markedly, well, rose-like aroma to the spirit. Reminiscent, in fact, of bandung, which is what’s behind the concept for the spirit. Driving home the point, the finished product is rested with roses, reinforcing the aroma of roses while tingeing it luscious red.
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The gins work well enough on their own, with more than sufficient aroma to be kicked back with tonic water or other ingredients you’d find in a cocktail. If you aren’t sure about getting a whole bottle just yet, they come in 50-ml samples. The gin will also be stocked in bars and restaurants around the island, including Open Farm Community and Flying Monkey.
They’ve also got a gin variant and two different vodkas in the pipeline – along with the fact that their copper still’s bulbous head is a setup more commonly seen in whiskey distillation, which theoretically means that it’s a spirit that could see production in the future.
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