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Kitchen Chat and more…
Kitchen Chat and more…
Singapore has a large number of whisky bars for its relatively small surface area, and each whisky bar offers its patrons a different atmosphere, excellent whiskies and fantastic customer service. Even restaurants are also jumping onto the bandwagon! Before I unofficially join the industry as a blogger, I often thought that the competition is too stiff. How can the bars survive when they are serving the same, small group of whisky lovers in Singapore?
Well, to the uninitiated, that appears to be a tough question to answer. The bars in Singapore are come up with the perfect solution though – instead of “fighting one another”, they choose to work together (hence my blog post title). All these collaborations have come to one remarkable result for four of our bars and restaurants – a joint bottling.
Friends and media gathered at New Ubin Seafood Restaurant at Chijmes on 22 October to witness and taste the joint bottling by Quaich Bar, The Swan Song, The Writing Club and New Ubin Seafood. It is a Cadenhead Linkwood-Glenlivet 28 Years Old. The evening, however, was not just a tasting. It was a gathering of friends, and for all of us, it was the friendship that got all of us together in the first place.
We understood that there was never an intention for a bottling that boasts either old age or a popular distillery. The focus of the four bars and restaurant was the taste of the whisky. However, from all the cask samples that the group tried, a Linkwood stood out. It was the obvious choice, for the 28 years old Linkwood-Glenlivet from a sherry butt performs better in every single way.
Now, before I delve into the tasting, I wanted to make a statement about the food that New Ubin Seafood served to us on that beautiful evening. I think that warranted more than a mention because it was just amazing.
I missed out an excellent dish in the pictures (because all of us delve into the food before we remember that we forget to feed our phones…). That excellent dish was SMOKED PORK CURRY. Possibly the best curry I have ever eaten. The other dish worth mentioning was the cup you see on the right. Inside contained half-boiled eggs and Foie Gras. No, it is not wrong, and yes, it is the best way of eating foie gras – Singapore style.
I believe that many of my media friends have already made their reviews about the Linkwood-Glenlivet 28 Years Old, and I do not wish to add on to more formal reports. What I want to do instead, is to encourage everyone to go to one of these four places – Quaich Bar, The Swan Song, The Writing Club and New Ubin Seafood – and TRY THE WHISKY. It is worth your time, efforts and the usage of your liver. If you have not tried it, you must try it. To all my overseas readers, if you travel to Singapore, go to these bars, and try it!
To give everyone an idea of the whisky, let me say this – it is a sherry bomb that gives you a nose that is full of plums, dark raisins, chocolate and hints of espresso. The palate is sweet and creamy, with slightly roasted notes of coffee. Plums and raisins are prominent with some dryness towards the end, reminding me of tannins. The finish is long, sweet and slightly tannic.
Ok, that is all I will say about the whisky – you must try the whisky so that you are not missing out on the good stuff, and since you are going to try the whisky, why not try the food at New Ubin Seafood too?
Right, it is not the best picture I have, but this is candid, and therefore, nice. The handsome chap that you see in this picture is familiar to everyone, of course! He is none other than Matthew Fergusson-Stewart, the Chief Marketing Officier at The Whisky Store. While you may know Matthew from his previous life as the brand ambassador for Glenfiddich single malt, he has since moved on to this new role with The Whisky Store.
WhiskyGeeks did a short interview with Matthew before the tasting, and we asked him some rather personal questions, like why did he move on from being an ambassador when he was doing the job so well. Matthew’s answer was heartwarming. He shared his reasons candidly, saying that he would like to spend more time at home with his wife and children and that being an ambassador means lots of travelling and lesser time at home. He also passed the remark that it can be tiring as a brand ambassador.
As the Chief Marketing Officier, Matthew also gets to work with more brands as he is in charge of all the brands under The Whisky Store. With a much bigger portfolio, Matthew can grow in his journey as a whisky man. The role is also attractive because Matthew still gets to host tasting events (such as the one we went to) and yet get to do a job that is more or less flexible to let him spend more time at home.
Matthew also shared that his first passion is marketing. He studied marketing as a student and loved every bit of what he did. While he chose to become an ambassador for quite some years, he decided to return to his roots in marketing with this new role that he takes up with The Whisky Store. Building marketing and brand plans come a little harder now, but it is coming altogether pretty quickly for Matthew! From now till the end of the year, Matthew shares that his focus is on his brand plans so that things get going in 2019. It was a lot of work when he started work, but now as things settled down, Matthew began to formulate what he wants to do next year as the CMO of The Whisky Store too.
I understand that his first and foremost target is to understand all his brands and get them in order. Once done, he will begin to develop each brand further. Matthew promises more tasting sessions, and also a better distribution plan for all the 27 brands that he looks after. There is also the bar side of things, which Matthew is looking into creating more synergies with. All in all, it seems like a hectic year ahead!
I am looking forward to Matthew’s work and believe that he would bring each brand to greater heights.
Frankly, we do not know if the bars and restaurant gathered for this joint bottling will do yet another project, but it is with the hope that they may consider doing it yet again to benefit the rest of us whisky lovers! It was a lovely evening spent with friends who matter. Coupled that with amazing drams, and nothing else can be better than that!
Quaich Bar is the oldest whisky bar in Singapore, and we pretty much owe our whisky growth in Singapore to Khoon Hui, Joyce and their team at the bar. With Matthew joining the team at The Whisky Store, we can be sure that exciting times lie ahead of us as we move into 2019!
Have you heard of The Vagabond Club? With a tagline that invites you to get into trouble at their premises, you can expect nothing but fun when you visit. Housed in a 1950s heritage Art Deco building, The Vagabond Club is a luxurious boutique hotel in the heart of Singapore. Situated near to Little India and Kampung Glam, it is near to tourist locations such as the Singapore River and the Marina Bay enclave. For business travellers, it is also convenient since it is not far away from the Central Business District (CBD).
If you are wondering why I put up a picture that states “The Whiskey Library” and babble on about a heritage hotel, it is because The Whiskey Library is located right inside The Vagabond Club! Yes, this is not a simple hotel lounge; it is a full-fledged whisky bar!
The Whiskey Library is spelt with the ‘e’ as an attempt to differentiate itself from the other “Whisky Library”. Housed in The Vagabond Club, it serves as the hotel bar, lobby lounge and a whisky bar all at the same time. The bar counter has numerous official bottlings from various distilleries such as Penderyn, Bruichladdich and Macallan. It also serves the usual Johnnie Walker and Chivas. Cocktails are also available at the bar.
The Whiskey Library also stocks many different bottles from independent bottlers. At the back of the bar, you can see a grand glass shelf stock full of independent bottles. The labels there are astounding. When I visited, I saw bottles from Douglas Laing, Hunter Laing, Gordon & Macphail, Carn Mor, and Signatory Vintage. These are the typical independent bottlers we know. The shelves also contain hard to get bottles from The Boutiquey Whisky Company and Berry Bros and Rudd. Importantly, as The Whiskey Library, it also holds stocks of boutique independent bottlers such as The Single Cask and The Drunken Master!
The artworks in the various pictures so far portray a flamboyant and lively atmosphere, and it reminds one of the Indian arts. The artist responsible for the interior design of the bar is Jacques Garcia, a man fascinated by the Indian arts. His idea stems from the proximity of The Vagabond Club to Little India, where the Indian heritage is showcased in abundance. Hence, his designs incorporated Indian artworks and its heritage beautifully in every detail of the hotel and bar. From the elephant at the entrance to the various golden Banyan Trees at the bar, Garcia works with the landscape to create art within the boundaries of an old Art Deco House.
Some of the artworks in the hotel belong to the owner of the Vagabond Club. His passion for the art has given him a compassion towards local artists and he houses various artists under his “Artist-in-Residence Program”. You can find out more about it from here.
You can also find unique art pieces within The Whiskey Library, such as the two below.
The artworks are different, for the first one is a video art (it moves!) and the second one a sculpture. Each artwork inspires in its little way and patrons to the bar can enjoy all the artwork within the lovely space. Do note that the names of each art piece are my own interpretation of the art pieces. They are not in anyway, representing the actual artwork.
There is a membership which is offered to anyone who wishes to explore The Whiskey Library. Here are some details that I gathered:
Membership includes
Each membership cost $3000/year. Sounds rather steep, but that 10 nights at the hotel should be able to cover the cost.
The Vagabond Club and The Whiskey Library held its official launch party on 26 October 2018 and it was a tad disappointing when I discovered that the only whiskies available are three expressions from the Old Malt Cask – a Tobermory 21 Years, a Glenallchie 16 Years and a Bowmore 21 Years. The bar had free flow beer, wines and champagne instead. It appears to have a very different crowd from our usual whisky bars in Singapore as well.
With the party officially over and done with, serious business resumed. We wish The Whiskey Library success and may their whiskies grow! Check them out at 39 Syed Alwi Road, Singapore 207630 or click here to go to their website.
The time of the year has come again for numerous whisky events to happen together, one after another. Previously, we wrote about Whisky Live Singapore 2018, and now, allow us to remind you about Whisky Fair Takao 2018.
For those of you who had followed us since last year, you would know that Whisky Fair Takao started the previous year in Kaohsiung, Taiwan. We had an enjoyable 2-days event last year, and we are heading back there again this year.
Whisky Fair Takao 2018 is taking place on 1st and 2nd December 2018. The venue remains the same at 85 Sky Tower, but this year, the organiser has expanded on the fairgrounds. The fair will shift upwards to level 75 (it was held at level 74 last year), and a concurrent bartender fair will take over level 74 to showcase cocktails made by talented bartenders.
The show this year is going to be bigger than ever. You can expect to see independent bottlers, whisky/spirits importers, retailers, private collectors and of course, the local distilleries, Nantou Winery and Kalavan Distillery. As for the whisky, you are going to have a tough time deciding what to drink as there will be a wide selection from official bottlings to independent bottlings of your favourite distilleries. There are also rare vintage bottles for you to try, such as Karuizawa, Port Ellen, Littlemill and more.
Similar to last year’s offering, Whisky Fair Takao 2018 is offering a range of masterclasses to every participant. One of the most notable masterclasses is the one hosted by Tsuyoshi Kitakaji-san of Shinanoya, Japan. It will showcase six different lost distilleries whiskies, of which one is a Hanyu. The whiskies are all high-aged and rare. The other two masterclasses that we are interested in are The Mash Tun Tokyo Anniversary Bottling hosted by Toru Suzuki-san and The Shizuoka Distillery hosted by Taiko Nakamura-san.
Tickets go on sale on 15 October 2018 at noon, Taiwan time (aka Singapore time), and do note that you will need to first purchase tickets to the Whisky Fair before you can buy tickets for the masterclasses. You can find more information on the other masterclasses here.
If you followed our blog, you probably would have seen our spoils from last year’s Whisky Fair Takao – a Littlemill 1988 bottle that only has 60 bottles worldwide. Bottled for Whisky Fair Takao, it was the creme of the crop for us. Similarly, there will be annual bottlings for 2018.
After the success last year, the organiser has decided to expand on the range of annual bottlings on offer. You can expect the following limited release bottles to be grabbed from the fair over the two days.
It appears that the Speyside 1976 is worth taking a look, but we must admit that all five bottles are exciting. For us, we would be looking at the Speyside 1976 (of course!) and the 2 Highland Park in Octave casks. Interestingly, they also happened to be the highest and lowest in prices.
For the uninitiated, the fair is not a free flow event. You pay a small amount to get into the show (NTD $450). In return, you can a branded whisky glass, a lanyard, dining vouchers for the hotel, and a miniature whisky sample. You will need to purchase “coupons” in exchange for the drams that you want to try.
The coupons will be in points form. Each point is worth NTD$50, and they come in both 1 point and 5 points. The drams will be priced in the points system, and you work out the maths on your own before paying for the drams.
They also allow you to bring your sample bottles to “tabao”, as there is no way to drink 30 drams in two days unless you are trying too hard. Therefore, go slow, enjoy and pack the most expensive whiskies that you want to savour back home!
If you have enough vacation days to spare, or you think you can fly in and out of Taiwan over the weekend, why not head over to take a look? More than a couple of us are going to Whisky Fair Takao 2018, so there will be a tiny “WhiskyGeeks contingent”. Given the amazing things that we had last year, it would be worth your time to go if you have a chance!
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