In another move that showcases the collaborative spirit of the local community, whisky bars The Swan Song and The Single Cask, along with Singapore craft beer brands Daryl’s Urban Ales and That Singapore Beer Project, got together to put out a brew inspired by an old favourite (whisky) and an old-school style label once used by Scotland’s oldest independent bottler.
When Javin Chia was putting together his attempt at Singapore’s first locally-made whisky, he took inspiration from a certain distillery from Skye, and apparently, he’s not alone in his infatuation – so are these guys – the owners of whisky bars The Swan Song and The Single Cask, as well as local craft beer brands Daryl’s Urban Ales and That Singapore Beer Project.
When all parties got together to come up with this brew, called Pure Malt & Spiced Ale, the idea was to create a simple ale that’s easy to drink and that evolved into a recipe evoking flavour characteristics reminiscent of whiskies from that particular distillery – which they didn’t want to name, but we all know is probably Talisker – with notes of guava and pepper.
And they didn’t do too bad after all. This whisky-inspired beer is easy on the palate, with light hints of smoke and spice to go with the fruit and malt, making it a great ‘can I have one more’ drink.
Part of this is thanks to the Kampot black pepper. While they experimented with various amounts of pepper, the final recipe leaned towards a more conservative approach to make it an easy drink, so the effect is rather subtle – perhaps next time there’ll be something more adventurous to look forward to?
This whisky-inspired beer is a limited brew that’s currently available at The Swan Song and The Single Cask (by the bottle), and select craft beer bars (on draft) – but drop by soon, it’s pretty limited.
*Group picture courtesy of Casey Choo
