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Kitchen Chat and more…
Kitchen Chat and more…
The DFS Whisky Festival is back, this time with their first-ever pop-up bar at Terminal 3. The beautiful pop-up bar features some new DFS whisky releases so that you can drink that travel anxiety away with the ambience of live jazz performances. If you are travelling anytime between 1st May to 10th June, you can visit the bar from 8 am to 12 midnight. The bar is located at T3 in the concourse space near Gucci and Burberry. Alternatively, you could just follow the sound of live jazz~
This pop-up bar is inspired by a whisky’s maturation journey in its cask. The oak used in the decor of the bar were ex-whisky staves to provide the bar with its aesthetics. The jazz is layered and sophisticated just like whisky, creating a comfortable ambience for any whisky drinker.
In the 4th Edition of the Whisky Festival features some very exciting whiskies and some surprisingly good drams! Some new releases include Glenmorangie 14-year-old Single Cask #1399, Chivas 21-year-old The Lost Blend, and Compass Box No Name No. 2! You can read some of my thoughts about the drams and tasting notes here!
The DFS Whisky Festival itself will last till 30th June, and brand ambassadors will be invited down to talk about their products! Travellers can get a complimentary whisky tasting as well!
There will also be festival exclusive promotions at T2’s Whiskey House Duplex, The T3 Raffles Long Bar and The Whiskey House at T4. During the festival, a minimum purchase of S$250 on any whisky from the Departure store will come with a branded Glencairn whisky nosing glass. As for the Arrival stores, from 8th May to 30th June, spend a minimum of S$140 per passport that includes any whisky product(s) to receive a pair of ferry tickets and city tour to Batam (worth S$70).
But the Festival isn’t just happening in Singapore, check out this information released by DFS Singapore:
1st May to 30th June:
1st June to 31st July:
1st July 1 to 31st August:
Travellers planning their vacation in May or June might want to allocate some extra time at the pop-up bar to savour that sweet liquid gold! Special thanks to DFS Singapore for the invite to this event 😀
We have been fortunate to get support from Asiaeuro Singapore and Ian Macleod since we started the blog. We are grateful that the company has always looked after us. Last year, Glengoyne distillery and Jonathan had also gone out of their way to host our writer, Mr Hongfu Teo, when he visited the distillery.
This year, we are once again, grateful, to be invited to the Asiaeuro’s office for an exclusive interview with Jonathan when he popped by Singapore for a really short time. As we had mentioned our love for Islay and peaty whiskies the last time we met, we are invited to cover for their iconic Islay Single Malt whiskies – SMOKEHEAD!
Jonathan Scott grew up at the edge of Speyside, and interestingly, his first memories for whisky is Glen Garioch. We spent some time talking about how to pronounce the distillery’s name, and finally, we agreed that it should be called “Glen Gary”! It helps the unschooled Asian tongue to pronounce the name and also makes it acceptable for the Scottish ears.
Jonathan shared that his childhood in Speyside revolved pretty much around tomatoes. The reason was simple – Scotland does not have the ideal climate to grow tasty tomatoes. Most of their tomatoes come from Spain. Therefore, tomatoes were a large part of his childhood. Nonetheless, tomatoes have had nothing to do with his passion for whisky…
Jonathan works in the whisky industry for the past 15 years. His experiences are varied, and that was what makes things so exciting to him. Considering his many years of experience, we asked him the critical question – What are the differences for Glengoyne, Tamdhu and Smokehead when compared to others?
Sherry. It is always the sherry wood cask that these distilleries use. Both brands have their reputation built around the excellent sherry oak casks that they use for maturation of their whiskies. They use both first-fill and refill sherry oak casks that can cost up to a £1000! Each sherry oak cask comes from Jerez, Spain, and it is not a readily available item due to the shrinking sherry industry and the inflation of prices for the sherry casks.
Besides the exclusive usage of sherry casks, Tamdhu (in Speyside) also sourced its water from underground springs. Unlike many other distilleries around the area, Tamdhu does not use water from the river Spey. This makes Tamdhu unique as I do believe that water plays a part in the production of whisky.
The range of Smokehead is the most interesting to me. Despite the various expressions available in the global market for about 16 years, Smokehead remains mysterious in its ways. Ian Macleod works with multiple distilleries on Islay to buy their casks for the Smokehead range. Smokehead started with one expression – the classic Smokehead, and then move on to release other expressions, including the 18 years old and the Sherry Bomb. While there may not be a name put to each Smokehead expression, we probably could tell from the palate when we enjoy the whiskies.
Jonathan shared an often overlooked characteristic of Ian Macleod’s current portfolio. They have a distillery in the three major regions of Scotland. Tamdhu in Speyside region, Glengoyne in the Highlands, Rosebank in the Lowlands and of course, Smokehead (as a brand) on Islay. Perhaps the next step for Ian Macleod after restoring Rosebank is to build a new distillery on Islay!
They also have two gin distilleries – The Edinburgh Gin Distillery based in the city and a larger distillery in Leith.
Diageo mothballed Rosebank Distillery in 1993, and the robbery took place over the Christmas of 2008/2009. The thieves stole all the original Rosebank copper stills, but they left the whisky alone! If we looked at the context of that period, we would realise that copper was probably more expensive then whisky! In some ways, that was lucky! Otherwise, we would not have any remaining Rosebank whisky now.
The restoration of the distillery is underway now. As all the stills were never recovered, Ian Macleod has to rebuild all the stills in its original form. That is taking up much of their time, but patience will pay off eventually. While Jonathan does not have an exact timeline for us right now, we can be assured that Rosebank distillery will rise from the ashes again soon!
Exciting new releases from the three brands are coming to Singapore in June and July. First up, we have the brand new Smokehead expression – the Sherry Bomb. Strong peat, creamy vanilla, and some fruits came through on the nose. Oily, black smoke, peat and burnt banana filled the palate. The long finish has hints of sweet sherry and a tinge of saltiness to remind you of the origins of the whisky.
Besides the Sherry Bomb, you can still find the classic Smokehead, the 18 Years Old, and the High Voltage expressions in Singapore too.
Tamdhu launches the 12 and 15 Years Old whisky recently, and Singapore will be getting them soon. If you are a sherried whisky fan, these are to die for. Try them for yourself and let us know what you think.
The Legacy is one of the newest NAS bottles from Glengoyne, and we understood that the expression would only come to Singapore sometime in July. Even though it is not yet in Singapore, we are positive that this bottle will be again an extraordinary expression. We have received a sampling portion and will soon be posting a review of the whisky. Stay tuned for it!
Some of our bars in Singapore are carrying the brands from Ian Macleod. One bar of special notice is The Wall at Tanjong Pagar. They have the most number of bottles from Ian Macleod, from Tamdhu to Glengoyne to Smokehead. In fact, the bar is stocking up with some of the new releases such as the Smokehead Sherry Bomb, Tamdhu 15 Years Old and Glengoyne Legacy. Smokehead Sherry Bomb is available now, while Tamdhu 15 and Glengoyne Legacy will arrive in July.
Besides our friends at The Wall, you can also find Tamdhu 10 and 12 Years Old at The Connoisseur Divan! There will be more places in future, so do keep an eye out for them! In the meanwhile, head over to the two bars to try these delectable whiskies!
Mention Wala Wala, and most of the locals will go, “Oh yeah…” The iconic building that sits near the end of Lorong Mambong at Holland Village is drawing its crowds every night since 1993 due to a mixture of nostalgia, fun and lively atmosphere. It is one of those watering holes where most of us pub crawlers will visit at least once in our rebellious youth days. It used to be a place where you go to get your beers, basic bar grub and heavenly live music, but Wala Wala has evolved into an all-out venue for live music. The offers in the menu grown from one to two, so you can imagine just how much bigger and grander, it is now as compared to the 90s.
Wala Wala is helmed by Stanley Yeo and his wife, Lilis Yeo. The duo is often spotted at the bar, entertaining their regular customers with chit chat and drinks while enjoying the live music on stage. For those who have never stepped into Wala, you may wonder why the bar emits an almost magnetic pull for all its regulars. The reason is simple. Wala is like a second home, one where you can relax and chill with friends. Its simple but lively atmosphere makes for an exciting night out for the weekend and a chill, relaxing evening on weekdays.
The iconic bar offers up live music every night, with a different style of music and bands every day. You could even declare the bar is THE place where Singapore’s live music scene reigns! The music ranges from acoustic to pop, rock, soul and even heavy metal! With different styles every day, you can choose to visit the bar on nights where your kind of music is playing. Here is the list of live bands:
From 7 pm to 9 pm (2 sets):
Thursday: Adia and Mark
Friday: Randolf Arriola
From 9 pm (3 sets):
Sunday: Jack and Rai
Monday: The Passerby
Tuesday: Tabula
Wednesday: The Lost Box
From 9.40pm (3 sets):
Thursday: Shagies
Friday: Reverie
Saturday: Peep Show
Opened from 4 pm on weekdays and 3 pm on weekends and public holidays, Wala Wala puts in a lot of efforts to keep its customers happy.
Wala Wala also offers up a wide variety of western food and bar grubs. The beauty of the food is not just the quality of good, tasty food; it is also the fact that Wala Wala often updates its menu to bring new dishes to its customers. While the bestseller on the food menu will always be its chicken wings, Wala Wala does some impressive upgrades to its menu just recently. One of the newest dishes is the Deep Fried Chicken coated with Salted Egg Yolk Sauce. The chicken is crispy on the outside and tender on the inside. The salted egg yolk sauce is light and flavourful.
There are also numerous choices if you are a fan of sausages. New to their Grilled Sauage Platter is the Smoked Chicken Cheese, Smoked Chorizo Pork and Nürnberger Pork Bratwurst. There is also an exotic choice – Grilled Moroccan Merquez Sausage – which is a mix of lamb and beef.
Now, this is the reason why WhiskyGeeks is doing a shoutout on Wala Wala. We are a whisky blog after all! The famous watering hole offers more than just beers and cocktails now – it serves premium whisky, rums, gins, vodka, tequila, cognac, sake and shochu too. With a wide range of brands to choose, you will be spoilt for choice. Some of the more popular whiskies include Balvenie, Macallan, Bowmore and Lagavulin. You will be pleased to know that it also serves Penderyn, the newly-imported whisky from Wales. The menu is a collection of brands that will wow and impress you all at the same time.
Besides the spirits on offer, Wala Wala also creates its signature cocktails using different spirits from their selection of brands. Most of their signature cocktails are designed in-house by their talented bartenders. A total of six cocktails sit proudly on page two of Wala Wala’s menu and with names such as Maiden’s Blush, November Rain and Sailor on Deck, you would want to try them all!
If you recall from one of our previous posts, Wala Wala collaborated with Spirits Castle on the creation of a new cocktail named Welshman. Made with Penderyn Sherrywood, Elderflower Syrup and Cranberry Bitters, it is extra barrel aged in the bar before getting served with a slice of dehydrated orange. We understood from Wala Wala that they would be showcasing this cocktail during the upcoming World Gourmet Summit! WhiskyGeeks had tasted it previously (of course), and we love it! The sweetness of the whisky blends well with the floral notes from the elderflower syrup and the dash of cranberry bitters added an extra dimension to the cocktail.
If you did not attend the World Gourmet Summit and missed out on the cocktail, fret not! Wala Wala Café Bar will be serving Welshman from 16 April 2019 for a limited time period! So, do go down and grab one before it is all gone.
Well, if you do not know where it is, here are the details.
Address: 31 Lorong Mambong, Holland Village, Singapore 277689
Phone: (65) 6462 4288
Opening Hours: Monday to Thursday – 4 pm to 1 am
Friday – 4 pm to 2 am
Saturday and PH Eves – 3 pm to 2 am
Sunday – 3 pm t0 1 am
11311 Harry Hines Blvd
Dallas, TX, United States
(555) 389 976
dallas@enfold-restaurant.com