Singaporeans are likely having a stay-home affair this National Day, what with the country undergoing its third round of pandemic-induced dine-in bans. Even the spectacular annual parade has been postponed. But that doesn’t mean it needs to be a boring one though, far from it.
If you’re planning to enjoy the long weekend from the comforts of home, these following cocktail offerings have arrived just in time. Specially put together in honour of Singapore’s 56th birthday, indulge in these to support your local bars and distilleries while waving the red and white flag high this August 9.
Because all of us could use a little more resilience (and levity) during this turbulent time, the guys from Atlas Handcrafted have created two bottled cocktails – the Resilience Sling and The Third Dose – that make for the ideal elixirs to tide us through. The former is a twist on Singapore’s national cocktail using their own gin and local bitters, while the latter is a concoction packed with vitamin C (for citrus), best imbibed a few days after you got your second vaccine jab.
You wouldn’t think it, but this chain of restaurants perhaps best known for their indulgent lobster rolls, serve up decent cocktails too. This month of August, they’ve released the bandung-inspired Gin-pura National Day Cocktail, a pink and thick mix of Singapore Distillery’s Stolen Roses Gin, condensed milk, cream and egg. Get your seafood and meat fixes sorted here while you’re at it.
Get a taste of uniquely Singaporean flavours in a spirited bottle with their limited edition Singapura Spirits Collection gift set put together just in time for this patriotic month. In each box find four bottles of spirits and liqueurs – Rojak Gin, Chendol Gin, Kopi-O Liqueur and Teh-O Liqueur – that will remind you of dishes and drinks we often find at our hawker stalls. It comes with respective recipe cards too, so you can feel free to concoct your own cocktail party at home.
Four national icons (hawker culture, the Merlion, Phua Chu Kang, and Marina Bay Sands) get featured in this lineup of bottled cocktails with colloquial names like Shiok Sia, Swee Boh and Steady Lah. Our favourite is the Lepak Ah, an homage to chill vibes by the waterfront where the Merlion majestically sits. The stiff, whisky-based drink whiffs of dark fruits and deep cherries, and is just the kind of drink we need to slowly sip on while lepak-ing at home.
You can count on MO Bar for something classy and elegantly local to indulge in this National Day. They’ve released three special drinks, each making good use of ingredients we know and love. The Oriental, made using pandan whiskey, mango and coconut is bound to be a favourite, while The Roaring City, a sparkling fermented pineapple blend with vermouth, will likely be the most layered and complex. But we’re most excited to try the Thunder, a creative ode to thunder tea rice that’s made using peanut-infused gin and glutinous rice foam.
[Read more: Support local with these 23 online alcohol delivery options in Singapore]
About the Author
Dannon Har is the Managing Editor of Spill. Discovering his innate gift for drinking only at a ripe age, he spares no time trying to find more delicious drops to imbibe during his time on Earth. When he’s not minding every detail at Spill, he spends his time concocting luscious libations and sharing them with folks that visit his home bar.