10 great things on the drinks scene

1. On Tap, Please
It used to be the usual Tiger or Carlsberg beers that hogged the ‘on tap’ category. But the repertoire has expanded over the year, starting with craft beer (remember how beer purists rejoiced the day Delirium was available on tap?). Then we started getting exotic, one-of-a-kind barrel options at the Great Beer Experiment at PasarBella. When the choice expanded to gin and tonic (spotted at gastrobar Oxwell & Co.), we knew that the possibilities on tap are endless. What’s next on our wish list for bars in Singapore: sake and wine kegs. These are already making inroads in America, with producers churning out kegs to meet the demand.

2. White Wine, Finally
Grape varietals can sometimes be like pop songs—they ascend and fall off the popularity charts. The French Paradox story on 60 Minutes made Merlot a hero grape more than 20 years ago. A decade later, the movie Sideways catapulted Pinot Noir to fame.  But what has been on the rise, observed the wine distributors epicure spoke to, is the sale of white wines. It makes sense, as white wines are the perfect pairing to Asian cuisine and our tropical weather. What’s different this time is the gamut of new white grape varietals appearing on wine lists from Verdelho crafted in Portugal, refreshing Albariños from Spain to Gruner Veltliner from Austria. Of them all, there is one grape we are rooting for: Riesling has garnered more attention than ever, but the trocken Riesling (the dry style Riesling) is one of the best pairings with Asian food.

Excerpt from the January 2014 issue of epicure.