The space is as curated as its spirits, and here one can experience exclusive themed workshops or learn about customising and barrel-ageing spirits from scratch. “Anthology is where we welcome everyone to understand our journey and be part of it,” says Simon Zhao, master distiller and co-founder of Compendium Spirits. “We chose the name Anthology as this is where we showcase our various compendiums of spirits. Since our journey started in 2015, our philosophy has always been to balance old-world knowledge and new-age thinking with experimental boldness.”

Start with this.

Maybe I’m getting ahead of myself here. You have heard of Compendium Spirits, right?

The company started in 2015 as Rachelle The Rabbit Meadery to create exceptional, flavourful meads, an uncommon beverage choice in Southeast Asia. Since then, the Compendium team has applied their knowledge to traditional methods of creating the world’s favourite spirits, resulting in recipes that boasts a smooth mouthfeel while retaining the full flavours of ingredients used, from the well-loved Chendol Gin (above) and this:

Teh-groni ($21) is based on the well-loved negroni, using the Compendium Spirits Teh-O Liqueur, Campari, earl grey tincture, and finished off with a spray of lavender citrus. 

Anthology is a natural progression of their world-conquering plans. The shophouse has three levels for punters to appreciate spirits in different ways.

Cocktails galore. This best represents what they’re trying to do with familiar South-East Asian flavours and ingredients.

Level 1 is a wonderland for understanding the evolution of ingredients through their Vertical Tasting Flights, such as the Rice flight ($42), which offers a tasting of rice as a wine, as a new-make spirit, and finally as an aged whiskey in two forms. Other flights include Honey ($22), Coconut ($23) and Sugarcane($38).

Love this. It’s a simple technique with the barest minimum of ingredients.

Level 2 & Level 3 are the Chartered Private Lounge and Barrel Cellar, respectively.

The intimate lounge is dedicated to Chartered members to imbibe their bespoke barrel-aged spirit. Here, guests can pick their preferred base spirit at an introductory workshop and tasting session with the team. The final spirit will be barrel-aged at the temperature and humidity-controlled Chartered Cellar on Level 3 to the guests’ preferences.

The team of mixologists at the Private Lounge can withdraw some of the spirit from the barrel and create customised cocktails according to individual preferences.

And this is what the interior looks like.

Classic with a local twist.

There’s food as well, which draws inspiration from Southeast Asian flavours. There is Braised Duck Rillettes with croutons made in-house, seasoned with Asian spices and topped with chopped chives, and the sweet and aromatic Crab Salad with Ginger Crisps ($24). The highlight is the vegetarian Coconut Fried “Chicken” ($28) topped with deep-fried coconut and rice cooked with aromatics that will convert some carnivores — it’s our favourite of the night.

The Horizontal Tasting Flights, with themes such as Fermentation ($15), Distillation (pure spirits, $35), Distillation (infused spirits, $32) and Aged (pure spirits, $40), offer the perfect tasting experiences for understanding the production process.

Anthology is also a space dedicated to celebrating the spirit of craft, and they’re looking to collaborate with like-minded craftspeople like florists, tea artisans or print-makers. Guest shifts by mixologists, cocktail workshops and spirit tastings will also be a regular feature. 

Anthology, 10 Circular Road, Singapore 049366

Opening Hours: 4 pm-12 mn

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