Heads up, City Hall. The swanky South Beach Quarter is the latest go-to for thirsty office workers in the area.
Heads up, City Hall. The swanky South Beach Quarter is the latest go-to for thirsty office workers in the area.
SPIRIT OF SHARING
Quaich Bar at Grand Copthorne Waterfront might retain all the charm of a gentlemen’s club with its smoke-kissed leather chairs, but its second outlet at South Beach Quarter ups the ante as a spiffier version of the nine-year-old whisky bar. Here, it’s all Spanish ash wood tables and designer lamps shaped like a pot-still.
Sleek glass shelves proudly display the bar’s extensive collection of over 500 whiskies. The focus is on the experience, which means rare whiskies like a fruity Springbank 16 Year Old Local Barley are sold by the dram, instead of bottle, so more get to partake of the spirit. “We have always believed whisky is a drink everyone can enjoy.
That’s why we launched the By The Dram programme,” says cofounder Chua Khoon Hui. And if you’re partial to a certain single malt, Quaich Bar offers a service where you can buy your own cask from the distillery – the smallest cask is 60 litres, which yields around 80 bottles.
#01-16, 30 Beach Road. Tel: 6732-3452.
TWO TO TRY
01 FANCY PINTS Touted as the first and only in Asia to feature infused beer towers, Alchemist Beer Lab, which is opened by popular local microbrewery Little Island Brewing Co, offers house pale ale that has been flavoured with ingredients such as marshmallow, rosemary and anise. If funky flavours are not for you, kick back with a regular pint of old draft favourites like Singapore Pale Ale and That Old Black Magic.
#B1-16, 26 Beach Road, Tel: 6386-4365.
02 COCKTAILS, ALL GROWN UP Trust the people behind nightlife hot spots Suite 26 and Bang Bang to make an old-fashioned drink like bourbon coke cool again. At The Armoury gastrobar, the sickeningly sweet swill gets a classy update with craft bourbon (the bar currently uses Buffalo Trace), Coca-Cola reduction and ginger ale. The vibe here is relaxed without crossing into rowdy territory. That means it’s a good place to linger over delicious cocktails and dig into comfort food like short rib grilled cheese sandwiches.
#01-02 South Beach Quarter, 36 Beach Road, Tel: 6385-3173.
