Whisky Live Singapore 2017 Roundup

Singaporeans ended November with a bang, by hosting and attending what is probably the most highly anticipated weekend of whisky in Singapore. Whisky Live Singapore was at its 4th year, and this time the venue was so much closer to its home. With it being held in the scenic Singapore Tyler Print Institute, in the Clarke Quay area, it is only a walking distance away to their host’s shop/bar, La Maison du Whisky.

The event was a semi outdoor affair, with most of the indoor events and exhibitions taking place inside the artsy STPI building. The event had a nice relaxing vibe, and really captured the essence of the Clarke Quay area. The exhibitors were nestled downstairs inside the STPI building. Many familiar faces such as The Glenlivet, Nikka Whisky, Highland Park, The Macallan, Monkey Shoulder, Glenfiddich, Glendronach, Benriach, Balvenie, AnCnoc, Old Pulteneu, Teeling Whiskey, Redbreast and Buffalo Trace, along with some of the newer avant-garde whisky makers, Kavalan, Amrut, Paul John, Kilchoman, Bruichladdich and Compass Box. While the highlight areas were divided into three main areas, Pair, Share and Rare.

The VIP section; designated to be the “Share” area, was located upstairs, and was quickly packed with VIP ticket holders wanting to try the stars of the show. The Artist Collective series made their debut featuring 6 delicious single batch malt whiskies selected by LMDW, and many of Velier’s selected single casks also made their appearance, as Velier celebrated their 70th anniversary. The VIP room also featured an abundance of delicious single rums from Velier and Caroni, which was an exciting addition as it gave whisky drinkers a chance to experience many of the pot-still, heavy styled rums, which I thought was a perfect progression for the drinkers who wanted to switch gears for a while. The “Share” area also featured a lovely quartet of LMDW selected single barrel Blanton’s Kentucky bourbon whiskies.

The “Pair” area is the outdoor area which was accessible to the public, even those without Whisky Live tickets. This area showcased the pop-up bars that supported LMDW, each bar showcasing a set of cocktails comprising of a single type of spirit. For instance, Humpback featured the Nikka Coffey Vodka, and served a lovely lobster bloody mary, while Employees Only! featured the Del Maguey VIDA Mezcal and served a couple of their signature drinks. This area also featured a great selection of food stalls.

The “Rare” area, also known as the Collector’s Room, held some of the rarest whiskies in the event. With many vintage bottles of whisky, like the incredibly sought after White Horse Lagavulin whiskies, vintage Glenlivet, Springbank, Caol Ila, and Laphroaig from the 1970s and 1980s, along with whiskies from defunct distilleries such as Rosebank. This area also held many of their Maison du Whisky’s single cask bottlings such as their infamous single cask Chichibu and “Elephant” private cask Yamazaki, along with many privately owned barrels of bourbons such as Pappy van Winkle.

Feel free to relive the event through the pictures, or if you didn’t attend, have a look through the pictures to get a nice idea of what next year’s Whisky Live might be!