From emerging hospitality students to celebrated mixologists, the Distilled Spirits Council of the United States (DISCUS) is building an American Spirits education programme in Singapore – nurturing the next generation while establishing the city as a regional model for growing knowledge and appreciation of American spirits.
Singapore has little left to prove when it comes to cocktails.
Its bars and bartenders are recognised internationally, while consumers are knowledgeable and curious about what goes into their glasses. The city has also become an influential hub for the wider hospitality industry. Most recently, Singapore’s standing was reinforced when FURA was named World’s Best Bar at the 2026 Spirited Awards in New Orleans[1].
For DISCUS, those credentials make Singapore more than simply another market for American spirits. With established leaders and a strong pool of emerging hospitality talent, Singapore is a natural starting point for its regional education programme and model for building greater appreciation of American across Southeast Asia.
The starting point is American Spirits 101 and 202, connecting two distinct parts of Singapore’s hospitality community.
American Spirits 101 will kick off with hospitality and F&B students at At-Sunrice, exploring the history, provenance, production and flavours behind the category, as DISCUS looks to extend the programme to other tertiary institutions. American Spirits 202 then moves behind the bar, building on the existing knowledge of established bartenders and mixologists. Iconic and newly revamped Lulu’s Lounge and its team of mixologists are among those participating.
Approximately 40 students and 35 working bartenders are expected to take part in the first year. The sessions are planned as an annual programme, bringing in new cohorts alongside continued education, tastings and industry engagement.
Four centuries of stories to pour
American whiskey has a history stretching back centuries, shaped by agriculture, geography, regulation and generations of distillers. By the late 18th century, it was already embedded in American life – George Washington himself operated a commercial distillery after leaving the presidency.
From those beginnings emerged a diverse family of American whiskeys. Bourbon became its most internationally recognised expression, while rye and Tennessee whiskey developed their own traditions. The category continues to evolve: in January 2025, American Single Malt Whisky became a formally defined US category.
That combination of heritage, diversity and evolution sits at the heart of what the Singapore programme will explore.
Joel Matticks, DISCUS’ Manager of Export Promotion, said, “American spirits have generations of history behind them, but this is also a category that continues to evolve. Singapore’s hospitality community has tremendous knowledge and influence, so our aim is to give its bartenders and future hospitality professionals deeper access to the people, places, production traditions and diversity behind these. What we learn together in Singapore can also help inform how we engage hospitality communities elsewhere in the region.”
What makes a Bourbon a Bourbon?
Participants will go from grain to barrel, exploring legal definitions, production, provenance and flavour profiles, as well as the people and places behind American whiskey.
That includes why bourbon must be produced in the United States from a mash containing at least 51 per cent corn and aged in new charred oak barrels, alongside distinctions including straight whiskey, bottled-in-bond, Tennessee whiskey and American-single malt. Cocktail applications will bring that knowledge back to where it becomes particularly relevant in Singapore: behind the bar.
Leading the programme is Matthew Fergusson-Stewart, an award-winning spirits educator and whisky ambassador with more than two decades of experience. A Keeper of the Quaich, his background combines spirits education, chemistry and extensive experience working with bartenders.
Fergusson-Stewart said, “Singapore has an exceptional depth of hospitality talent, from students entering the industry to some of the region’s most accomplished bartenders. The opportunity is to give both a deeper understanding of American whiskey – why different grains matter, what happens inside the barrel, where the definitions come from and the stories behind different American whiskey traditions. Then the really interesting part is seeing how they interpret that knowledge in their own drinks.”
From the classroom to the cocktail menu
That interpretation matters.
Rather than teaching Singapore’s bartenders how to make drinks, the programme recognises them as tastemakers – professionals who can take a deeper understanding of American spirits and interpret the category for their customers.
For students at At-Sunrice, that connection begins during their hospitality education. For working mixologists, including the team at Lulu’s Lounge, it offers an opportunity to delve further into a category they may already work with behind the bar.
The longer-term objective is practical: greater knowledge and confidence among bartenders, broader and more diverse representation of American spirits on Singapore menus beyond the most familiar expressions and, through bartenders as tastemakers, greater consumer understanding and appreciation of the category.
Singapore at the heart of a wider ambition
DISCUS sees Singapore as a hub for Southeast Asia and views its commitment as a sustained, investment in the region.
Singapore will serve as a model for DISCUS’s hospitality education programme, with the experience and learnings here shaping how it builds knowledge and appreciation of American spirits across Southeast Asia.
That places the first 75 participants at the beginning of something bigger – from students exploring the breadth of American spirits at At-Sunrice to established mixologists at Lulu’s Lounge putting that knowledge into practice.
And in a city accustomed to influencing what the region drinks next, Singapore is the place to begin.
About DISCUS
The Distilled Spirits Council of the United States (DISCUS) represents the leading producers and marketers of distilled spirits and is the leading voice and advocate for distilled spirits in the United States. DISCUS advocates on legislative, regulatory and public affairs issues impacting the distilled spirits sector at the local, state, federal and international levels; promotes the distilled spirits sector, raising awareness and opening markets in the United States and around the globe; and encourages responsible and moderate consumption of distilled spirits as part of an enjoyable adult lifestyle based on evidence-based research and policy. The U.S. distilled spirits industry is committed to social responsibility. The campaign is supported by the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Regional Agricultural Promotion Program (RAPP), which aims to educate the hospitality industry, adult consumers, and media in key spirits export markets on the taste, heritage, and style of American Distilled Spirits.
For those adults who choose to drink, they should do always so in moderation and responsibly. The Distilled Spirits Council of the United States, Inc., prohibits discrimination in its programs on the basis of race, religion, national origin, age, gender, disability, or other protected status. For more information, please visit: Homepage Empowering Responsible Alcohol Choices.
[1] https://www.forbes.com/sites/ginapace/2026/07/24/singapores-fura-named-worlds-best-bar-at-2026-spirited-awards/
