Whisky Monkeys Visit Brass Lion Distillery In Singapore: Their First Single Malt

What do you do when you're a whisky enthusiast and you're going on a trip? You go in search of whisky from that country naturally. We were in Singapore and discovered the only distillery that has made whisky from Singapore: Brass Lion Distillery.

Although you can find a fair amount of whisky at Singapore airport, it's not really a whisky country. The climate in the country is far too warm and humid to enjoy strong drinks, although a dram does taste fine when the air conditioning is on.

Luckily, this is the case in many places in Singapore. But nobody in Singapore had made whisky or strong spirits until Jamie Koh, founder of Brass Lion Distillery, decided to start doing so.

The microdistillery is located in a small, white building guarded by a copper-coloured lion. Upon entry, we're welcomed by… in a hall with various photos and a world map.

Upon arrival, we're welcomed by Aileen. Today, she will tell us more about the history of Brass Lion Distillery and its founder Jamie Koh. In front of us are several glasses already filled. Not with whisky, but with another drink that the Singaporean distillery produces: gin.

The story of Brass Lion Distillery actually begins with gin, explains Aileen. Koh was travelling in 2010. At that time, she already owned her own bar called Chupitos.

She suddenly realises that many countries have their own spirits made with local ingredients. This was not the case in Singapore at that time, so Koh decides to accept the mission.

There's only one problem: she knows a lot about drinks and local Singaporean ingredients, but she doesn't possess the art of distillation. Koh decides to learn how to make spirits and wants to find somewhere to learn, but that's not so easy.

The Singaporean sends countless letters that never get answered, except for a few rejections. Eventually, she succeeds in finding a place to learn in Germany.

That's where Zum Wilde Affen makes the Monkey 47 gin. Aileen tells us that Koh decides to pluck up her courage and travels to the Black Forest, with a bag full of local ingredients which she sneakily smuggles through customs.

Eventually, in Germany the recipe is born for the first drink that Koh will make: Brass Lion Gin. But she's not there yet, because she still needs a licence and a still.

The next problem arises because Koh is the first person in Singapore to distil alcohol. This means that no permits or forms have been conceived to give permission for this.

Our guide tells us that Koh fills in the forms, but doesn't want to wait. A still is immediately ordered from Germany.

The still gets a suitable name: Nala. Brass Lion Distillery is a distillery founded by a woman, so the name of the lioness from The Lion King is an ideal name for the copper still.

Nala and the licence arrive almost simultaneously and from that moment on production begins. Small batches of gin have been made since 2017, explains our guide.

With those words, it's time for a tasting. We may try each gin in three variants: neat, with ice and as a cocktail. It quickly becomes clear that Brass Lion Distillery has produced a good set of gins that suit the warm climate.

Each gin is fresh and soft on the palate, so that enthusiasts can even enjoy it in Singapore's warm climate. The gins are not currently for sale in the Netherlands, but this should change in the future. It looks like for now we will have to make do with the gin, which, by the way, we really like.

The first Singaporean whisky, which is what we came for, is completely sold out. The single malt whisky was released in 2023 in two versions, a 48 percent alcohol by volume version and a Cask Strength variant with 65 percent ABV. Both versions flew off the shelves.

Aileen also has a surprise for us. She reaches behind the counter and pulls out a bottle of Brass Lion whisky. We're then allowed to taste a glass from it.

The whisky has a classic character you'd expect from a bourbon cask. In the nose, you can detect sweet notes of vanilla and caramel. On the palate, there's a hint of spicy nutmeg.

After tasting this whisky we're very curious about the cask strength version, which is also sold out. Suddenly the guide decides to do something special. She runs upstairs and returns shortly after with another bottle. It's from the personal supply of a colleague who's generously sharing a taste of his whisky.

The cask strength version is stronger on every level. The sweet taste is more pronounced, and the spiciness is also more dominant. They're very good whiskies to start with.

After the whisky, we go upstairs where the distillery has a tasting bar and a gin school. At the latter, people can learn to distil spirits themselves with small stills.

Upon viewing the bar and school, we receive a bit of bad news: it's unclear when a new batch of Brass Lion whisky will come. There are no barrels on the way for new whisky and the previously used bourbon barrels are now containing gin.

The next project for Brass Lion is gin, but who knows? In a few years, we could be enjoying a new batch of Singaporean whisky. We bid farewell in the hope that this news reaches us, and that we may be able to buy a bottle for ourselves.