Tap into Singapore’s rich history as a trading city with Tanglin Orchid, the Lion City’s first homegrown gin.
The gin craze has swept across Asia, with many of the region’s leading cities now home to captivating gin bars and craft distilleries. Now it’s Singapore’s turn with Tanglin Orchid Gin, the first gin to be distilled in the Lion City.
A unique spirit – dubbed ‘an old-world modern gin’ – that combines botanicals found in the oldest recipes with new flavours to truly represent the city-state, Tanglin takes its inspiration from the city’s Tanglin neighbourhood and its spice growing heritage by using botanicals which would have passed through Singapore on the spice route to London.
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Like all good ideas, the concept for Tanglin Gin was hatched over cocktails as co-founders Andy Hodgson, Charlie van Eeden, Chris Box and Tim Whitefield teamed up to bring to life their dream of creating a gin.
There was never a question of making another spirit – gin was always the goal for Tanglin’s co-founders. Beyond their passion for the spirit, the team recognized the gin renaissance taking place – and particularly the current gin boom in Singapore. “We wanted to create something that was complex, yet balanced and harmonious,” says founder and brand director Charlie van Eeden. “We’re excited to celebrate Singapore with this unique gin and proud to release the first gin distilled here.”
Building on traditional herbaceous gin botanicals, Tanglin Orchid Gin is distilled with green unripe mango, two forms of orchid, whole vanilla beans and organic oranges. Look out for hints of pine from the juniper, and the herbaceous notes of traditional gin, with plenty of citrus thanks to the Amchoor, a fruity spice powder made from dried unripe green mangoes.
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“I have very fond memories of my first few weeks in Singapore, and drew inspiration from those memories when I set out to create our first gin,” says Tim Whitefield, founder and head distiller. “Very quickly in the experimentation and research, I settled on the orchid, a unique new botanical to use in gin.”
The first gin distillery in Singapore and first new distillery in over forty years, Tanglin is located in a “Food Factory” building in Mandai. While the brand dreams of eventually opening their distillery as a destination, right now the goal is to make the best gin possible.
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