The Fine Art Of Alcohol Appreciation

Tippling Club’s A Guide To Modern Drinking pays homage to the past, with a brand new cocktail menu inspired by legendary French chef Auguste Escoffier’s most famous recipes re-imagined as creative libations.

The Melba Toast immediately brought to mind a very adult version of breakfast cereal, with the luscious creaminess of toasted sourdough milk and barley sweetened with syrupy amaro and the mellow afterbite of rum.

I loved the actual piece of crisp Melba Toast topped with a dollop of caviar that paired brilliantly with the drink.

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Taste: 3.5/5

A mellifluous blend of painstakingly soundwave-aged Shiraz, Lillet, vodka, and Tippling botanicals has resulted in a complex creation worthy of royalty and a rightful place in Tippling Club’s Guide To Modern Drinking menu.
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Taste: 3.5/5

One half of the name is a misnomer, fortunately the other hearkens to the potent vibrancy of a classic Sazerac, with the bold flavour of bourbon mellowed by the sweetness of maple and aromatic complexity of bitters.

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Taste: 3.5/5

Named after the La Belle Helene operetta, this liquid interpretation of another classic Escoffier dessert fairly sings with the dulcet tones of pear, almond and chocolate. A beautiful cocktail that’s certainly worthy of an encore.

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Taste: 3.5/5

To be honest, truffle has its place and it’s definitely not in this drink as it overwhelmed my senses on first sip. The combination of
orange blossom, popcorn, sherry and champagne felt like it needed a little more calibration in terms of balance as well.

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Taste: 3/5

Origin Bar’s cocktail game has always been on point, and now they’ve just stepped up said game with a brilliant rum programme, with a mind-boggling 353 types of rums, 13 of which are infused in-house.

The Very Old Fashion sees Plantation Xaymaca aged inside a chocolate sphere, imparting a velvety richness to the Jamaican-style rum’s inherent fruitiness for a bold yet sophisticated beverage further enlivened by bitters and smoked chocolate syrup.

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Taste: 4/5

Utterly refreshing, the Coconut Daquiri evokes beachside vibes with a sweet and citrusy mix of young coconut aged Chalong Bay, coconut water syrup and lime juice. A great sesh cocktail I could see myself quaffing several of easily.

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Taste: 4/5

Saigon's Heart Of Darkness brewery has opened its first outpost outside of Vietnam in sunny Singapore, and may probably be my current favourite South-east Asian craft beer producers. Almost their entire line of more than 20 crafts beers are on tap at their Tras Street gastrobar, which serves surprisingly decent American bar food and a sick non-mainstream rock and metal playlist that's totally up my musical alley.

Must tries are the hoppy and potent Kurtz’s Insane IPA as well as the refreshing(in name as well as taste) Futile Purpose Cucumber Pilsner.

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I like to think of this as a local version of an espresso martini, with coffee infused scotch, maple syrup, cardamom bitters and stout reduction foam cleverly approximating the buttery sugary bitterness of kopi, all served in an old skool cup and saucer lined endearingly with iced gem biscuits.

Thanks @burpple for the invite and @jekyllandhyde.sg for hosting!

Taste: 3/5

Let the stallions of pleasure bray, for this devilish elixir of mezcal and grapefruit punt e mes vermouth is a spirit-forward yet sophisticated drink I'd gladly quaff in a heartbeat again.

Thanks @burpple for the invite and @jekyllandhyde.sg for hosting!

Taste: 3.5/5

I have to commend @ronaldkamiyama ‘s stellar wine program at Bar Cicheti. Besides keeping us well-hydrated with libation between courses, he was a warm and effusive host as well, patiently explaining each well-thought out wine and food pairing to us. The coup de grace was the surprise bottle of “a hum” from the Yamamashi region of Japan – a really unique medium-bodied orange wine that spoke of its terroir, with lovely hints of citrus and the subtlest whiff of oak. Marvelous.

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Taste: 4/5

Stellar wine program by head wine dude Phil over at Drunken Farmer - Spa Esprit's natural wine pop-up bar that's taken residency on the grounds of Open Farm Community. We started the evening with an absolutely refreshing Les Agudes, a French blend of Chardonnay and Sauvignon Blanc grape varietals. Fruity and floral on the nose, with hints of pear and crisp green apple notes in the mouth. Salut!

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Taste: 4/5