The Great Ginaissance

Gin is becoming a serious business in Singapore, what with new local labels entering the booze market and the opening of two gin distilleries. Robb Report Singapore talks to local craft gin makers about their obsession with the now-fashionable spirit.

- Charlie Lee

That gin is big in Singapore is hardly news. In the last couple of years, thanks to the burgeoning craft gin movement all over the world, more than half a dozen gin bars have popped up in the city along with a staggering list of fresh, interesting imports (we’re talking more than 1,000) bartenders are using for their cocktail repertoires. But interest in artisanal, botanically diverse gin, once known as Mother’s Ruin, has firmly reached our shores as we welcome two distilleries, as well as a handful of local gin labels this year.

Why is everyone so jazzed about gin today? How did it go from an insignificant G&T and martini base to the toast of the town? “Gin is a good starting spirit for many distilleries as it doesn’t have to be aged,” says Simin Kayhan Ames, of Paper Lantern Distilling, the craft spirits company behind Sichuan Pepper Gin, Singapore’s first gin. “It’s also a versatile base for many great cocktails. (Gin makers) can easily experiment with different ingredients, ie the botanicals.”

Distilled at a facility in Chiang Mai, Thailand, the rice-based Sichuan Pepper Gin, released in 2016 after a successful crowdfunding campaign, has Sichuan pepper at its core, and uses ingredients like ginger, galangal, lemongrass, honey and makhwaen, a Thai spice. “We noticed that the incredible Asian flavours were underrepresented in global premium spirits,” Ames says. “The idea was to create a gin where the gin matters, one that represents the flavours of Southeast Asia and stands out whether tasting it neat or in cocktails.”