Singapore Distillery unveils new range of Asian-inspired gins

Inspired by Southeast Asian herbs and spices, Singapore Distillery has created a new range of six different gins.

Founded in 2017, Singapore Distillery’s aim from the beginning has been to make Asian-inspired gins and the local team has spent the last three years building their Ang Mo Kio-based distillery and developing the gin recipes.

At the moment, the company’s portfolio is made up of six signature gins, each of them is made with botanicals, from herbs, spices and flowers, specific to the region.

‘Singa Gin’ is the distillery’s classic London Dry Gin and features a botanical blend of 13 herbs and spices including juniper, cloves, mandarin orange, Ceylon cinnamon, Cassia cinnamon grains of paradise, angelica root, key lime, coriander, orris, cardamom, liquorice, and Sarawak pepper. Distilled using a mixture of vapour-infusion and maceration, the resulting gin boasts layers of flavours.

Coconut Pandan Gin is distilled and vapour-infused with fresh coconut hearts, freshly grated coconut and pandan leaves. Distilling these three ingredients together with the standard gin botanicals gives the gin a fragrant, creamy character that makes it the perfect tropical spirit.

The citrusy Lime Garden Gin is distilled with a trio of Southeast Asian limes, namely calamansi, key lime and kaffir lime.

Singapore Sling Gin is distilled with each of the ingredients found in the iconic cocktail. The blend of oranges, cherries, angelica, pineapple and limes is vapour-distilled to infuse bright flavours and a herbal, floral bouquet into the spirit.

Stolen Roses Gin distils a blend of roses with traditional gin botanicals to impart a floral aroma. The gin is then rested with roses to pick up another layer of flavour as well as its lovely red colour. The finished product is lightly sweetened with natural cane sugar to round off the finish and create a smooth, satisfying gin.

Kyuri Gin is distilled with fresh Japanese cucumbers and sakura flowers, creating a refreshingly profile. Fresh Japanese cucumbers are rested in the base spirit for 24 hours before being distilled, with additional cucumber vapour-infused along with Sakura flowers to preserve their fresh, bright flavours.

Each of the six gins is bottled at 42.5% ABV, as the brand believes this is the strength to bring out the best flavour of the botanicals. The gins are each smooth enough to be enjoyed neat, with flavours strong enough to stand up to tonic water or other ingredients in a cocktail.

Singapore Distillery’s gins are available for purchase at singaporedistillery.com, with each variant available in a 50 ml sample (S$6.90) or full-sized 750 ml bottle (S$69.90). A sample pack is also available with a 50-ml bottle of each of the six gins (S$35.90).

The distillery uses an old-fashioned 500-litre copper still was custom designed for the brand. Unlike other gin distilleries, its still goes with a whisky head. By making the spirit in a whisky way, this allows more reflux in the process and hence results in a smoother, balanced finish in the gin. In the works, there are another new gin variant and two different vodkas.