Juniper. Angelica. And twenty more local herbs. These were the ingredients chosen to create Singapore’s true-blue Brass Lion Gin. The journey was not easy – after six years of experimentation, Jamie Koh finally found a recipe that could truly encapsulate the heart of Singapore.
On 6 December 2019, YWLC organised a gin distillery tour, followed by an intimate question-and-answer session with Jamie, the founder of Brass Lion Distillery, Singapore’s first micro-distillery that brews a distinctly Singaporean dry gin.
The session started with an educational tour by the very knowledgeable Satish, one of the partners of the distillery. He gave us a crash course on the basics of gin distillery: from the boiling, infusion, reflux to the condensation of the alcohol, we learnt that dry gin is painstakingly crafted under a very specific distillation process. Dry gin is also not infused with any sweetening agents, and should not be confused with the regular gin.
After getting our gin foundation covered, we were treated to a three-course Brass Lion gin taster session of the regular, blue pea and the ‘pahit’ (‘bitter’ in Malay) flavors respectively. It was certainly fascinating when the blue pea gin transformed into a pink liquid upon being diluted with tonic water
Shortly after, Jamie inspired us with her story of overcoming the odds. Starting out as a twenty-four-year-old female in the food and beverage industry, Jamie had to earn her respect from industry veterans who did not take her seriously. Writing to a multitude of distillers around the world, Jamie tried to convince them to take her in as an unpaid intern. While most of the distillers turned her down, her efforts paid off when a German distillery decided to take a chance in her. She doubly hard to learn gin distillery from scratch, and the rest was history.
Special thanks to the amazingly kickass Jamie and Brass Lion Distillery for their kind support and organising team members Elaine, Kim Yee, Hui Min, Jamie and Halynne for bringing this meaningful event to fruition. Thank you too to those who attended the event. Keep a look out for future Kickass Ladies events!