Wine and spirit brands raced to capitalise on Singapore’s Formula 1 weekend, with local labels taking centre stage. Nimmi Malhotra reports.
Formula 1 returned to Singapore on 3-5 October for its iconic night race at the Marina Bay Street Circuit, and the city-state was abuzz with race fever.
The race is one of the city’s flagship international events. According to Singapore Grand Prix, the 62-lap night race drew 300,641 fans, up 11.7% from last year’s 269,072. Hotel and restaurant bookings experienced a significant uptick. Building on that momentum, the race week featured a series of brand activations, with both international and local alcohol brands tapping into the surge in tourism and nightlife activity.
Local brands join the grid
While many Formula 1 brand deals are struck at a global level, a growing number of homegrown Singapore labels are leveraging the momentum of the 10-day Grand Prix Season Singapore (GPSS) programme, backed by the Singapore Tourism Board.
Leading the charge was Tanglin Gin – a Singapore craft brand, which launched a new Limited Edition Tropical Gin to celebrate the occasion. Built around a localised botanical profile of creamy coconut, sharp grapefruit and Java pepper spice, the release is capped at 1,000 bottles and available at Lotte Changi Duty-Free stores at Changi Airport.
The teams behind some of Singapore’s top breweries collaborated for the event
Singapore’s independent craft breweries were also on board. Eight local independent craft breweries – led by Brewerkz and developed in collaboration with LeVel 33, Lion Brewery Co, Little Island Brewing Co, Red Dot Brewhouse, Ren Min, Seven Daze Brewery, and the 1925 Brewing Co – came together to brew a single beer, ‘Beyond the Circuit’, as part of GPSS. This is a limited-edition bottling, a jasmine-rice tropical lager brewed with jasmine rice for smooth drinkability and layered with tropical hops for an aromatic lift.
Inside the hospitality suites, known as The Paddock Club, it was Hong Kong’s Bar Leone pouring cocktails for the VIP guests.
Moet & Chandon takes flight
As the official Champagne partner of Formula 1, Moët & Chandon launched a premium pop-up experience at Marina Bay Sands. Throughout the weekend, the Elevation Lounge served four Champagnes: Moët Chandon Imperial Brut, Moët Chandon Imperial Brut Rosé, Grand Vintage 2016, and Grand Vintage Rosé 2016.
The centrepiece of the activation – and a Singapore first – was a Moet & Chandon branded hot-air balloon, shaped like a champagne cork. On race nights, the balloon took to the skies, affording an aerial view of Singapore’s skyline to select customers chosen through a lucky draw.
Glenfiddich x Aston Martin
On the team partnership front, Glenfiddich and Aston Martin showcased their partnership at Singapore Changi Airport with a pop-up outlet at Terminal 3. At the heart of the pop-up was a full-scale Aston Martin Formula One and Glenfiddich 19-Year-Old Limited Edition, a travel retail exclusive whisky.
At other outlets, two additional bottles celebrating the Singapore F1 collaboration were made available: Glenfiddich 16 YO and the latest and limited release, the Glenfiddich 1976.
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