Spice, rice, and anything vice – The Warehouse Lobby Bar at The Warehouse Hotel weaves its tale of the hedonistic Singapore of old through its imaginative cocktail creations.
What can a cocktail tell you about Singapore history? Plenty, apparently.
What looks like a simple hotel lobby bar ensconced within The Warehouse Hotel hides possibly one of the more fun ways to learn a little bit about the history of Singapore and the hotel’s environs. Enter The Warehouse Lobby Bar.
First opened in 2017, The Warehouse Hotel on the banks of the Singapore River – as its name suggests – was originally a godown first constructed in 1895 to store goods. Singapore was in those days, as it still is, a bustling centre for entrepôt trade in the region. Saddled between China, India, as well as the spice-producing islands of Indonesia, the then-emergent port at Singapore sat along the lucrative regional spice route and represented a convenient stopover for traders carrying all manner of goods and exotic spices. Those prized goods would find their way up the river, and stored in these godowns awaiting buyers from other parts of the world.
Today restored as a glittering design-forward boutique hotel owned and operated by The Lo & Behold Group, the Warehouse Hotel boasts 37 beautifully-appointed rooms and suites that overlook the waterway that is Singapore’s heartbeat.
Then there is The Warehouse Lobby Bar, a depository of that slice of old Singapore in cocktail form. Here food and beverage director Joseph Haywood and assistant bar manager Jaemin Shin have curated 16 new signature cocktails across four different categories, each alluding to a piece of Singapore trivia over the years.
You have the Happy Bastard, for example, a twist of the classic Suffering Bastard that’s purported originated as a hangover cure for British officers. This hat tip to Singapore’s colonial past as a British outpost combines gin and whiskey with ginger, galangal and lime for a citrusy, spicy philtre. Alternatively the Tiki Katong is a variation of Mai Tai that draws cues from Singapore laksa and amped up with laksa leaf and peanut.
Then there’s Banana Money, inspired by the fruit that was once a cash crop in this region but also a link to Malay folklore where spirits were said to inhibit in banana trees. Rich, sweet and fruity, this delicious banana take on the Old Fashioned is also named after the useless currency that was in circulation at the time of the Japanese occupation of Singapore during World War Two.
Or how about Asam Whisky? This is a Penicillin cocktail that swops out lime, and in its place, leans instead on tamarind for acidity. Widely grown in Southeast Asia and India, tamarind is prized for its medicinal qualities – it is particularly rich in thiamine and folate and is commonly used to treat diarrhoea, constipation, fever, and malaria – and here the tart sweetness of tamarind combines with ginger, cardamom and honey for the perfect placebo cocktail.
And for those who love their spirit-forward drinks, the Warehouse Martini is a must. Bracingly strong, this Martini employs The Warehouse Hotel’s own Chiu Long gin, named for nearby Havelock Road which used to be a hotbed of illicit distilling. The additional touch of Chinese shaoxing wine imparts aromatic notes, while popping sea grapes add a bit of brine without turning it dirty.
In fact this area during the time of The Warehouse Hotel’s previous incarnation used to be rather unsavoury, lined with opium and gambling dens, pleasure houses, and other such nefarious activities.
“The Warehouse Lobby Bar celebrates the lesser-known aspects of Singapore’s underbelly. With the new cocktail menu we want to share the story of the hotel and its history, like how our gin harkens back to those days of illegal distilling that took place in this area, or how the spices that used to be stored here influence our flavours,” Haywood explains.
“Each cocktail is a tribute to moments in time in Singapore’s history.”
What better way to learn more about Singapore’s history than to drink it?
[Photo credits: The Warehouse Hotel]
The Warehouse Lobby Bar
Address 320 Havelock Rd, The Warehouse Hotel, Singapore 169628 (Google Maps link)
Opening Hours 11am to 12am Sundays to Thursdays; 11am to 1am Fridays and Saturdays
Tel (65) 6828 0000
Web www.thewarehousehotel.com/eat-drink
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