Above image: Junior The Pocket Bar
It’s set to be a cosy and intimate time this Lunar New Year. As we gather with family and friends for our reunions and meals, all we ask for are CNY-appropriate bottles of booze and we’ll be happy as can be.
Showing us all exactly how a 2022 Chinese New Year alcohol release should be like are these following brands. So get in the groove guys, and have a roaring good time this coming Year of the Tiger.
When Jigger & Pony Group’s bottled cocktail arm PONY releases a new product, we take notice. Not only are their bottled cocktails some of the best in town, but we dare say actually surpasses the quality of freshly crafted drinks offered at some bars.
Their latest creation, the Momo 75 (S$78/500ml), is a peachy take on the classic French 75, and comes in appropriately golden hues for your CNY libations. It’s made using savoury and citrusy Roku Gin as its base, with additions of bright and fruity flavours of peach and clarified granny smith apples, plus (smartly) a Champagne reduction to give it a dry, bready finish. Consider us sold.
Ever since the launch of their Ondeh Ondeh and Bandung sojus (the first of its kind in Singapore) back in 2020, folks have been asking Compendium to come up with even more interesting local soju flavours. Now, just in time for the Lunar New Year festivities, they’ve launched the crowd-pleasing Pineapple Tart Soju.
Like other sojus in the dessert shop series, it’s made from a fermented gula melaka base, before being distilled in copper pot stills with pandan leaves and pineapple jam. Find lush, tropical flavours effusing with each sip, giving way to a lingering creamy finish that has you coming back for more.
With a name like that, you know you just gotta have one, if just to hear the bartender say words of blessings when serving you the drink. The cocktail, available at Burger & Lobster Raffles Hotel, is an intriguing mix of absinthe, Campari, citrus, sugar, Perrier sparkling water, and the star ingredient, the Chivas 13 Sherry Cask whisky. The result is a sweet-sour-bitter tipple that’s at once refreshing yet potent.
Want more? Get double the fortunes with their other CNY season drink, the Prosperity $our. Made using the Chivas 13 American Rye Cask, the fluffy whisky sour reveals addictive, aromatic hints of spice as you imbibe.
There’s nothing quite like gifting a whole bottle of gin to show folks what a generous giver you are. This special–edition gift set by Peddlers Gin, China’s first craft gin, is made just for that. Inspired by the eclectic Shanghai underground, Peddlers is a unique gin that blends the best of tradition and modernity, and is perfect for the intrepid drinker.
Each CNY gift set comes with a full 750ml bottle of Peddlers Gin packaged in a beautiful box adorned with this year’s zodiac, the tiger, plus a vividly designed gin mug you can’t get your claws on anywhere else. Get hold of a set while you can.
The Glenrothes Whisky Maker’s Cut Lunar New Year 2022 Limited Release
For a gift that is sure to impress, look no further than this special edition whisky by The Glenrothes. It is a unique creation that has been matured only in first fill sherry seasoned oak casks and bottled at natural colour at a strength selected by Glenrothes’ Master Whisky Maker, resulting in delicious notes of creamy vanilla, orange peel, and nutmeg.
The Speyside whisky also comes in an exclusively designed outer box that’s inspired by the topography of the Glenrothes distillery estate. A homage to the production process, the packaging features a fresh spring water design at the front and the Glenrothes distillery with their sherry-seasoned casks at the back. The auspicious red hues are just icing on the cake.
Junior The Pocket Bar always throws the best CNY-themed bar pop-ups, and this year is no different. Partnering once again with Rémy Martin, this year’s event sees the newly launched Rémy Martin 1738 Accord Royal take centerstage, with Junior’s bartenders whipping up a number of cocktails made using the rich and decadent cognac.
Of them all, The Troublemaker is the must-have, especially for those who love their drinks spirit-forward. Made using Rémy Martin 1738 Accord Royal, prunes, sweet vermouth, and chocolate bitters, it’s a tipple that will easily get you there without you knowing. Pair it with some equally festive bites like their Duck Wrappers and Longevity Noodles, and you’re golden.
It’s the literal Year of the Tiger, and Singapore’s own Tiger Beer is going all out to celebrate its spirit animal by giving away a ton of prizes at roadshows and lucky draws happening all around the island. And all you have to do to participate is purchase their beers.
Lucky winners can possibly get anything from direct cash prizes and hotel stays, to Tiger branded mahjong sets, hampers, and more. Check out their website for details on how to win, as well as to pin down their roadshow locations and timings. May the odds be ever in your favour.
BONUS: Italian Blood Orange Soda
It’s not booze, but if you’re in need of a darn good mixer that’s on-point in flavour and on-theme for CNY, look no further than Fever-Tree’s new Italian Blood Orange Soda. Bright orange in hue, sparkling, and low in calorie, it’s a fitting mixer for whipping up festive cocktails in a flash.
Make an easy spritz out of it by simply mixing the soda with your choice of vodka, or feel free to use it like a less sweet tonic water and combine it with gin for a refreshing cooler. For a non-alcoholic option, feel free to enjoy the soda on its own or by mixing it with alcohol-free spirit brand Lyre’s’ Italian Orange.
[Read more: Check out these Singapore bars now offering brand new cocktail menus]
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.