over the long National Day weekend, i had the pleasure of joining a couple of likeminded friends to visit 'The Swan Cask', a collaborative pop-up by two local bars The Single Cask and The Swan Song and which was held at Element on Tras that weekend.
in celebration of the nation's 55th birthday, 'The Swan Cask' offered a special whisky flight experience for that long weekend. the flight was cleverly crafted to span 55 years of whisky, and was also very affordably priced at S$55.
i'll pause to be entirely candid here that i'm a mere whisky novice though i do love a good sniff. while i do enjoy and appreciate scents, i have a very limited knowledge of and experience with whisky, and wouldn't hold myself out to be a whisky reviewer per se. so this post is not intended to be a whisky review from a knowledgeable nose in that area, but more of a different take on scent impressions from someone who is also passionate about the olfactory world.
anyway, back to the bottles!
the flight experience started out with a 19-year-old Macduff 1997 (53.5% alcohol by volume) bottled independently by The Single Cask. this one was a beautiful light yellow almost like liquid sunshine, and if the fill level in the bottle was any measure to go by, it was likely a popular choice among their patrons. i found the Macduff to be pleasantly light and sweet - on the nose, the main stars of the initial sniffs were toasted marshmallows with ripe strawberries, and both were supported against a soft backdrop of gourmand and floral. the whisky was easy to drink, not too spicy or sharp, and the taste brought out a golden honey note in there as well.
next up was a 22-year-old single malt Arran 1996 Càrn Mòr (celebration of the cask) (55.4% alcohol by volume) from The Swan Song. like the Macduff, it was also a pale golden colour in the bottle and was also overall quite a light and sweet whisky, though with a bit more complexity and body. the first sniffs from the glass yielded a smorgasbord of fruit (of which i could only definitively pinpoint the apple and maybe some lemon). there was a gentle dusting of spice that became more apparent over the course of the tasting, which gave the whisky more depth as it brought out more nuances of the apple and its supporting fruits. this one was also an easy one to drink. it was quite difficult to choose between this or the Macduff, but after numerous sniffs and sips, i had to grudgingly conclude that if i could only pick one, the Arran would have won by a whisky, er i mean, whisker.
third up was a lovely 7-year-old Ledaig 2010 collective (57.1% alcohol by volume) from The Swan Song. this was a deeper and more burnished yellow in the bottle, and looked amazing under the lights. the Ledaig was also a relatively sweet whisky, though with a greater nuance and complexity that made it something really beautiful to sip and enjoy. right off the bat, i got a gentle and unassuming peated smoke with an undercurrent of the ocean, and layered right between those two was a beautiful blend of florals and fruits, each note comfortable in contributing to the whole without standing out from the rest, not unlike the individual instruments blending in an orchestra. this one had a lot more body than the other two that preceded it; the flight experience up to this point felt as if the Macduff and Arran were the young sweet flower girls first to walk down the aisle, to prepare the way for the Ledaig in all her wedding finery. the Ledaig completely stole my heart from the very first sniff, and it was a good long while before i was ready to move on from it to the last tasting of the evening.
the whole flight experience was rounded off perfectly by a 7-year-old Fettercairn 2011, also bottled independently by The Single Cask (65% alcohol by volume). this one was the darkest of all, almost a wine-red in the glass. when i took the first sniffs, i was immediately sucker-punched by a coffee / cocoa beans note, with some darker fruits and a hint of smoke. turns out the darker fruits in there that kept eluding my description were revealed to be raisins and figs (what a lovely combination!) and the tasting also brought out a very interesting aroma of nuts that was reminiscent of cashew. this was the strongest whisky of the set, though not unbearably so for me, which was a disappointment to my friends who loved it so much that they were teasing, "you know, if it's too strong for you, we're more than happy to take it off your hands and share it half each," as i kept stealing glances back to my half-finished Ledaig.
the Fettercairn had a lot of pressure on it being the last one of the flight, but it really exceeded expectations and brought the entire tasting to a close on a strong note. for me, the Ledaig really won my heart, with the Fettercairn a close runner-up followed by the Arran then Macduff, and the thought put into curating this flight really shone through in the entire experience.
bartenders Yi Xian (The Single Cask) and Kelvin (The Swan Song) were also amazingly attentive and made the entire flight experience a personal and special one, as they stopped by from time to time to check that everything was to our liking, and to share more about the history of the casks, the impressions of the notes and their own thoughts on the whisky. their knowledge really elevated the entire flight experience and the great service made the evening feel less like "going out for drinks poured by a bartender" and more like having an enjoyable few hours with (new) good friends.
i had an awesome time and am really looking forward to finding 'The Swan Cask' at their next pop-up once the next weekend comes around.
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this was an undercover reviewer experience - the bartenders were not aware that i was a reviewer when i visited, and hopefully it stays that way for a while ;)
this review is of a product that i had purchased at regular price with my own money. i wasn’t asked to review this as a condition of purchase and didn’t receive any incentives for writing this. i’m not affiliated with The Swan Song or The Single Cask and as always, all opinions remain my own.
all information correct at time of publishing.
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