Gin Jubilee has returned for a fifth year in Singapore. After a whirlwind tour in the region, the gin festival will be here from 27th November to 3rd December. A splendid way to end the month.
A tonic for all ailments
Gin Jubilee celebrates gin, naturally, and gin is linked at the hip with tonic. As the festival is organised by East Imperial, you can be sure that there will be plenty of Gin & Tonics to go around.
While we are quite opinionated on what a proper G&T is, there’s opportunity for those are not quite so set in their ways to find out for themselves. A record 43 local bars will be competing in the “Best Gin & Tonic” competition, and you can vote for your favourite rendition. Simply follow @EastImperial, snap a photo of the drink, and hashtag it with #ginjubilee2017.
The winner of the competition will be announced at the closing party on Saturday 2 December 2017, behind Amoy Street. As before, it will be a street festival with pop-up bars, plenty of gin, and all-around merrymaking. As if you needed more reasons to turn up…
Places to be, cocktails to drink
Of course, gin isn’t just for mixing with tonic. Long considered a good base for any cocktails with botanical ingredients, it is a most versatile spirit. While many bars will be serving their own creations, we’re going to suggest those at two of our favourite bars in Singapore.
Our favourite bar, Nutmeg & Clove, will be serving up The Botanic Effect (pictured right at the top). The Botanist Islay Dry Gin is infused with lavender, then mixed up with homemade rosemary syrup, clarified grape juice, calamansi and East Imperial Burma Tonic. There’s a good combination of herbal, floral, tart and smoky in the drink, and going by the standards of Nutmeg & Clove, it will be a doozy.
Jigger & Pony’s Shigeru Nakamura will be serving up Verde Line ($22++), also made from The Botanist, but with fresh pomelo juice, East Imperial Burma Tonic and pandan bitters. Inspired by The Botanist Gin’s 22 hand-foraged botanicals, it explores Southeast Asia’s own unique flora.
Sister bar Gibson will be serving bartender Silvio Daniele’s Best of Both ($23++). Newly launched Japanese gin Roku will form the base of a sakura-infused umeshu, clarified apple juice and Burma Tonic cocktail. Combining both traditional European and Japanese ingredients, it will certainly be a feast for the eyes. There’s also a little incentive to having a good drink- which you can find here.
We could go on and on, but we think that you’d rather spend the time drinking than reading about cocktails, so go out and have a blast!
If you’d like more information, you can check it out at the official website.
