A Boy Walks Into A Bar

The punchline to the above joke goes, “The cocktails are shockingly priced above $25” and the wise solution would be to build one’s own home bar.

- Bryan Goh

CHIVAS REGAL MIZUNARA

The Name: Mizunara means “water oak” in Japanese and is a reference to the wood that Mizunara barrels are made of — one that has to come from a tree that is at least 200 years old which in turn, makes it incredibly rare.

The Nose: Light, subtly nutty and sweet — the latter comes through with honeyed white peach, toffee-coated pears and vanilla-rich cream.

The Palate: Oak notes, grain and toasted cereal notes provide depth in warmth while a fruity touch of pears, bananas and apricots temper the heat.

The Finish: Despite being packed with a fruity flavour, pepper, clove and ginger notes gives it a dry spicy touch.

It is very hot outside (at the time of reporting, the forecasted weather for the month was forecasted to be at a searing 33 degrees celsius) and one might feel like retreating to a cool bar and paying for a cocktail. In this unstable economy, it would be akin to ripping his limbs off. While it might be near impossible to replicate one’s favourite bar ambience in his home (plush barstools, elevated bar food, attractive people). Here, some spirits to lift one’s own at home — with the air conditioning turned to full blast.

MONKEY SHOULDER

The Name: The “Batch 27” on the bottle is a reference to Monkey Shoulder’s original experimental batching of 27 casks — each bottle is now made 27 casts at a time.

The Nose: Lightly sweet and round with a touch of citrusy lemon.

The Palate: Notes of lemon peel and caramel with a short taste of nought at the end. If one adds a small amount of water, it takes on a lemon salt-water taffy flavour.