Whisky Business: Bangkok’s Best Whisky Bars

The Whisky Room at The Park Hyatt Bangkok

Now that all the food and beverage outlets at the Park Hyatt Bangkok have opened, it’s clear the design team was going to great lengths to deliver extraordinary experiences.

Find your way to the back of The Penthouse and you should stumble into the unmarked Whisky Room. From the décor to the music, the design tells the story of a fictional adventurer who travels the world collecting tasteful exotica.

Surrounded by a baby grand piano and Balinese masks hung up on glossy black walls, the bar serves rare single malts from behind its closed doors. Among the highlights are Balvenie 30 Years, Suntory Hibiki 21 Years Art Label Fuji 2015, and Glenfarclas 25. There are also some bottles of bourbon and cognac, including super-premium Remy Martin Luis VIII.

Alfresco 64 — A Chivas Bar

Lebua already had the world’s highest champagne bar and the world’s highest New Year’s Eve ball drop, among other “world’s highest” honours. With Alfresco 64 – A Chivas Bar, the global hospitality brand now boasts the world’s highest whisky bar, too.

Located at the Tower Club, Alfresco 64 offers more than just views. The bar serves its very own Chivas Regal Exclusive “lebua Blend” whisky.

The whisky was created by Chivas Regal’s Director of Blending Sandy Hyslop. The blending team combined select whiskies distilled in 1985 or earlier, and then matured the blend in a selection of casks, including American Oak. After that, the best of the best were aged in first-fill sherry casks, giving the whisky a richer, smoother sherry character and an intense flavour.

The blend is limited to only 96 bottles, and it’s only available at Alfresco 64.

The Johnnie Walker Blue Label Room at Decanter

The St. Regis Bangkok houses the city’s first and only Johnnie Walker Blue Label Room at Decanter. As you might expect, the lounge focuses on Blue Label, the brand’s super-premium blend of old-aged malt and grain whiskies.

Blue Label might be the world’s most sought-after blended whisky. It bursts with smoky notes on the nose and finishes with long flavour rich with oak and spices.

Members enjoy exclusive privileges beyond being able to enjoy this luxurious Scotch whisky in the company of fellow connoisseurs. Membership packages give access to private cabinets, entry passes to the Johnnie Walker House in Shanghai or Beijing, and invitations to Decanter’s House of Walker party.

The Balvenie Lounge at Cohiba Atmosphere

At The Balvenie Lounge, whisky is the star, as it should be.

The lounge stocks a hand-picked selection of single malts from around the world, mostly Scotland, but not all of them from Balvenie. This means bottles from independent Scotch specialist Douglas Laing, such as Rock Oyster and Big Peat, and some extremely rare, one-off whiskies, such as Balvenie Tun 1858.

The music is kept low and the seating is soft leather, allowing you to really enjoy what’s in front of you without any distractions.

Better yet, the staff is not only knowledgeable about whisky, but dedicated to helping you find your favourite single malt and explore new expressions as well – from smoky and peaty releases to bottles with brighter, fruitier flavours.

Located at Cohiba Atmosphere, it follows that the Balvenie Lounge is also one of the best places to go for cigars.

Duke

Doubling as a contemporary art gallery and a whisky and cigar lounge, Duke at Gaysorn Village offers a curated list of premium whiskies, served either in the privacy of VIP rooms or in a lounge clad in contemporary Thai art. Duke boasts its own whisky sommelier, too, which is a real perk for members.

The highlights here are the single malts and cognacs. Balvenie 30 Year Old, Glenfiddich 12, Michel Couvreur Clearach Single Malt, J. Dupont Grande Champagne Vsop Art Nouveau – some are even exclusive to Duke. Don’t miss the Armagnac, either. A distinctive brandy aged in oak barrels, with more fragrance and a deeper, more complex flavour than its sister spirit, Armagnac is a rare find in Bangkok.

Cigar aficionados will love the extensive selection of imports from Cuba, the Dominican Republic, and Nicaragua.

Black Amber Social Club

The interior design of this stylish hideaway bar in Thong Lo calls to mind the speakeasies of the American Prohibition Era. But the whisky list proves this bar is all modern-day.

Every month, Black Amber features a different line-up of unique whiskies on the shelf, such as single malts from Scottish distilleries Knockando and Bunnahabhain; bottles from standout Japanese distilleries Nikka and Hibiki; and single malts from emerging “whiskymakers” Compass Box, including Delilah’s, a small-batch blend bottled in honour of the legendary Chicago band and bar of the same name.

Filled out with vintage photographs and posters, Chesterfield chairs, and dark wood décor, Black Amber has become a go-to place for live jazz, as well as whisky and cigars. And men’s grooming, too, but that’s another story.

Yoichi Nikka

Brought to Bangkok by way of Hokkaido, Yoichi Nikka emphasises whisky from Japan’s northernmost island. That means single malts from distilleries such as Yoichi and Miyagikyo, as well as pure malts from the likes of Taketsuru.

But the bar doesn’t just stock Japanese labels. There’s a good range of expressions to explore, from fruity, sherry-heavy Glenfarclas 12 to triple-distilled Woodford Reserve Bourbon to Kavalan, the flagship single malt from the emerging Taiwanese distillery of the same name.

The bar is fairly no-frills, keeping the focus on its whiskies as well as its exquisitely crafted Japanese drinking food: fresh oysters, roast beef, smoked octopus and more, all from Hokkaido.

Hanakaruta Sathorn

A sister venue to a much smaller bar of the same name in Phrom Phong, Hanakaruta occupies a neatly redesigned shophouse on Sathorn 10.

It may not be as exclusive as some of the other whisky lounges mentioned in this story, but Hanakurta does have one of the most impressive shelves in town, rising two stories from behind the bar.

Here, the staff stores a range of spirits, with a focus on Japanese whiskies. You can order glasses or bottles of pure malts, single malts and single casks from Nikka, Hanyu Ichiro and Suntory, among others.