A first for Singapore – Joint bottling by The Writing Club, Quaich Bar, The Swan Song, New Ubin Seafood
If you are browsing these pages and are familiar with the local Whisky scene, you would know Khoon Hui, whisky godfather and proprietor of Quaich Bar, the very first Whisky bar in Singapore. Khoon Hui had an idea for a joint bottling between some new Singapore whisky bars, and after some discussion and what must be several rounds, this 28 yo Linkwood was selected. On the back label you will find their names: The Writing Club (Soo San, at Palais Renaissnace, Quaich Bar, The Swan Song (Arun and Kelvin, at Prinsep Street), and of course New Ubin Seafood (not a bar per se, but hey they outdrink us all).
At this point, a disclaimer – I am a backer of The Swan Song; Yes you will find me there now and then helping out; No I avoid advertisements on this blog; Yes the reviews on this blog are written with the utmost objectivity with no economic interests in mind.
This is a significant step as it represents a first collaboration between local whisky bars. Simply put, this has not been done before, and it’s my genuine hope that it becomes a thing despite them occupying various niches. It speaks to a like-mindedness and collegiate goodwill, the warmth of whisky connoisseurs, and a brotherhood of bartenders. Ask at these bars and you will find they are perfectly happy to point you onwards to other great bars, then will you know they are firstly connoisseurs and bar owners second. Only a few bars in Singapore are run from the heart in this way, and when things are done from the heart, expect great service and open arms.
We had a small dinner at New Ubin Seafood to celebrate (I hear smoky pork curry is an off-menu special), and Matthew took us through the evening and the flight of Cadenhead whisky he had chosen – great selection Matthew, I see you have made it out of Glenfiddich without suffering too badly. I won’t talk about the Littlemill, Clynelish, or Bowmore as I have reviewed them highly here and there, suffice to say they were superb representations of their distillery styles and vintages.
The Linkwood however I have not, but I plan to do so in the near future. Matthew and Arun have already done so, and I completely agree with their views, just know that it is absolutely dripping in sherry being drawn from a first fill butt, and I think with some air it really takes off despite the massive sherry and wood influence. And so it is congratulations and thanks that I offer to Khoon Hui, Quiach, Writing Club, Swan Song and New Ubin. PS we should do this more often…
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- Rosebank 14 yo 1966 / 1980 Cadenhead 46% vs Rosebank 26 yo 1967 / 1994 Scotch Single Malt Circle (Japan) #4398 51.7%
- Springbank 23 yo bottled Dec 1991 James MacArthur’s 53.7% vs Ardbeg 17 yo 1976 / 1993 Cadenhead 54.6%
- Glenfarclas over 12 years old F.W Hempel Metallurgical GmbH 45% vs Glenfarclas 25 yo 43%
- Craigellachie 12 yo 2007 / 2019 SMWS 44.113 59.9% vs Talisker 15 yo Special Release 2019 57.3%
- Glen Grant 23 yo 1992 / 2016 Cadenhead 53.1% vs Glentauchers-Glenlivet 26 yo 1990 / 2017 Cadenhead 52.6% vs Fettercairn 28 yo 1988 / 2017 Cadenhead 55.4%
- Old Pulteney 13yo 1990 /2003 Cadenhead 61.1% vs Old Pulteney 18 yo 1974 The Whisky Connoisseur #1132 57.8%
- Glen Moray 24 yo 1992 /2017 Cadenhead 50.9% vs Linkwood 24 yo 1992 / 2017 Cadenhead 50.9%
- Glen Garioch 21 yo 1992 / 2014 Liquid Library 51.6% vs Glen Garioch 21 yo 1991 / 2012 Liquid Library 52.5%
- Teaninich 11 yo 2006 / 2018 Cadenhead 55.2% vs Teaninich 10 yo 2009 / 2019 Cadenhead 55.1%
- Springbank 34 1964 / 1998 Cadenhead 52.2% vs Springbank 30 1972 / 2002 Chieftain’s #410 57.8%
