Belvedere Vodka inducts bartenders from three local bars – Manhattan, Jigger & Pony, and The Old Man Singapore – into its new Belvedere Collective Singapore chapter.
LVMH-owned premium Polish vodka brand Belvedere Vodka has officially launched the Singapore chapter of Belvedere Collective by adding three of Singapore’s leading bartenders into its global collective. Belvedere Collective is the vodka brand’s initiative to create a like-minded community of bartenders around the world – an informal collection of brand ambassadors, if you will – to generate a dialogue around the provenance of its rye-based vodkas.
The move sees Gabriel Martin Carlos from Manhattan, Jerrold Khoo from Jigger & Pony, and Kaustubh Singh Negi from The Old Man Singapore join the likes of Ryan Chetiyawardana aka Mr Lyan of London’s White Lyan, Joseph Schofield of Manchester’s Schofield’s Bar (and previously head bartender of Tippling Club in Singapore), Tomek Malek of The Roots Bar in Warsaw, Sam Egerton of Sydney’s Merivale, and Mia Johansson of London’s Swift, all of whom are highly acclaimed and accomplished in the global bartending scene.
The three Singapore-based bartenders worked closely with Belvedere Collective founding member Ryan Chetiyawardana to each develop a number of Singapore-inspired cocktails drinks using the terroir-driven Lake Bartężek and Smogóry Forest from the Single Estate Rye Series.
For example, Manhattan’s Gabriel Martin Carlos has created savoury Negroni-like tipple in the Singa ($26++) with the Belvedere Lake Bartężek, as well as the barrel-aged The Collective ($25++), created by Gabriel and Ryan to mark the launch of the Belvedere Collective using the Belvedere Smogóry Forest mixed with rooibos tea, sherry and maple.
Jigger & Pony’s Jerrold Khoo used the Belvedere Lake Bartężek for both of his cocktails; the Highballer ($23++) combines white tea, bay leaf, white pepper and longan honey, while Lakeside ($23++) incorporates pandan, ginger oil and clear tomato juice with the single estate rye vodka.
On the other hand, Kaustubh Singh Negi from The Old Man Singapore is showcasing the #wakenlake ($25++), which combines tamarind juice with gula melaka, saline solution and egg white for a richly flavoured cocktail. His other cocktail is Smogy OF ($25++), a vodka take on the classic Old Fashioned using gula melaka and angostura bitters.
The special Belvedere Collective Singapore cocktails will be available at their respective bars from February 2020 to February 2021.
“The Belvedere Collective is about inspiration and collaboration; about creating something beautiful,” shares Matt Pomeroy, Belvedere Vodka’s Director of Education and Advocacy who was recently in Singapore to kickstart the Belvedere Collective Singapore chapter. “What really stands out about this exciting program is how well this group of people from all over the world have come together to build and share ideas and trends, from sustainability, low sugar and low alcohol, to opening a bar.”
“They’ve genuinely connected as mentors, colleagues and friends. That is what is rewarding about our industry – it’s vast and wide-ranging yet intimate and inspiring,” Pomeroy adds. He also shares that he hopes to include some 50 countries into the collective, and will look to engage the bartending scene “in a year-long program of connection, community growth and activation, sharing the experience of this esteemed group of powerful voices in the community”.
Ryan Chetiyawardana, acclaimed owner of bar/restaurants Cub and Lyaness in London, agrees. “There is such a lovely synergy between the collective. With so many new ideas, we can hopefully kick off a whole new dialogue about this exciting spirit.”
The Belvedere Collective Singapore chapter will also look to grow its membership from the original three this year.
