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Singapore – the Asian city-state with some of the best whisky bars in the world

Singapore skyline

The whisky bars of Singapore rival any on the planet for their range, vintages and dedication to service. Here are four of our favourites.

Singapore is a city of superlatives: it’s number five on the Global Peace Index, number six on the safest place to live, it’s said to have the 11th largest GDP per capita in the world and was once ranked by HSBC as the world’s best destination for expats. With a superb public transport network most residents don’t need a car and it regularly ranks among Asia’s top three destinations for nightlife. 

Green building - Park Royal hotel Singapore

Some 20% of the population (around 5.5 million) is made up of ex-pats, who report a lavish and relaxed lifestyle on this hot and humid island nation. Indeed, the constant humidity is the only complaint that expats seem to make, but given its location at the southern tip of Malaysia, it’s hardly surprising. 

Importantly, whisky and cocktail bars are everywhere, with ever-demanding standards to reach. The most famous, of course, is the Long Bar at Raffles Hotel at 1 Beach Road in Singapore. Operating since 1887, it’s recognised today as a National Monument, and it’s where the Singapore Sling, one of the world’s best-known cocktails, was invented.

Raffles Singapore

But Raffles is just the starting point of a luxury bar experience in Singapore. Next time we visit the island nation, you’ll find us seated at one of these supremely well-stocked whisky bars:

The Swan Song

41A Boat Quay, Singapore 049830
swan song singapore

Scotland counts for Arun Prashant, one of the founders of this remarkable bar on the second floor of a quayside shopping street. Since it opened (in a previous location), The Swan Song has held a prime position in the city’s whisky bar rankings. 

It’s a dark and welcoming space designed to take whisky fans on a journey through a world of rare and hard-to-find whiskies. Scotch is the dominant variant on a beautiful menu curated by the bar’s owners in partnership with other bars and whisky makers.   

Known for its friendly staff and easy-going expert attention to detail, this is the place to relax when you need a bar that feels like coming home. 

4pm-10:30pm, closed Sunday.

The Quaich

Three dedicated whisky bars: Quaich Collector, Avant-Garde & Wanderlust
Quaich Wanderlast Singapore

Service is everything in Singapore, and the Quaich, helmed by husband-and-wife team Khoon Hui and Joyce Ng, ensured its staff were of the standard to drive the Quaich ever forward. From its humble beginnings as a simple retail kiosk in 2005, it has grown into three outstanding whisky bars with international appeal. 

The original bar, now known as Quaich Collector, opened in 2005 and was initially called the Whisky Store, rebranding to The Quaich in 2007. Its second premises, Quaich Avant-Garde, launched at South Beach in 2016, and its latest venue, Quaich Wanderlust (pictured), opened at the five-star Intercontinental Hotel in 2022. 

This trio of whisky bars almost guarantees excellence in a world of whiskies that fans run to travel sites to review favourably. Any one of Quaich’s outlets is a definite stop on a whisky tour of Singapore. 

Times vary, Monday to Sunday.

The Writing Club

390 Orchard Road, Singapore 238871
The Writing Club Singapore

Leather seating, wooden floors, low light and a superb whisky menu – what’s not to like about one of Singapore’s newest whisky ventures? With more than 600 hand-picked bottles from all over the world, this is a place to pause and reflect on life. 

With a maximum capacity of 36 seated, this old-school gentlemen’s club-style atmosphere is quickly gaining ground among Singapore’s ex-Pat community and locals alike.

The Writing Club also offers a bottle-keeping service and wonderfully curated special-release bottles to buy and keep there for you to drink at your leisure.   

12-midnight, Monday to Sunday.

The Auld Alliance

9 Bras Basah Rd, Rendezvous Hotel

With over 1,500 bottles and rare vintages that reportedly reach back to the late 1800s, the Auld Alliance is one of the world’s most prestigious whisky bars. Opened in 2010, it has a whisky menu of more than 70 pages that will delight any whisky fan who gets to select their next drink from it. 

With a private collection of single casks under its own label, the Auld Alliance has a reputation and influence that stretches far beyond its marble-topped bar. Nonetheless, a few hours spent reminiscing over a dram in this stunning bar, where customers are surrounded by glass cases of the world’s best whisky, is time well spent. 

Armagnac, Cognac, and rum also feature heavily in this international drinks haven, which has an online store that currently only ships within Singapore. 

4pm to 10:30pm, Monday to Sunday

To read more about our favourite bars around the world visit our whisky writing page

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