KUALA LUMPUR, Sept 11 — Pandan, lemongrass and Bentong ginger are staples of the Malaysian kitchen — not usually the gin glass.
That changed for one evening at 443 Bar Lounge in The Westin Kuala Lumpur, where an intimate masterclass traced how these familiar home flavours ended up in a bottle of craft gin.
Hosted by Gin Malaya co-founder Eu Jin Foong and brand ambassador Callan Green, the session walked guests through the spirit’s origins in 2022, when a shared love of food led its founders to ask what a gin inspired by Malaysia might actually taste like.
Two years of experimentation followed, translating ingredients deeply embedded in local cooking into a spirit that remains recognisably gin, yet distinctly its own.
“When we first started developing Gin Malaya, we kept coming back to flavours we knew — pandan, lemongrass, ginger — and asking how they can translate into a gin,” said Eu Jin in a statement.
“There is something quite special about watching someone recognise those flavours in the glass. They are familiar, but presented in a way they may never have experienced before.”
The gin itself brings together hand-foraged Highland juniper with lemongrass, pandan and Bentong ginger — a pairing of Scottish distilling tradition with a Malaysian botanical profile.
Guests at the masterclass also worked through a line-up of signature cocktails built around those flavours: the Malaya Rock, a light, refreshing mix of pandan and coconut water served over ice; The Torch, combining muddled bunga kantan with Campari and lemon for a bittersweet sour; the Pandan Malaya, shaken with pandan and smoked ginger and tinted violet with butterfly pea; and the Kantan Fizz, a straightforward build of gin, lemon and soda.
The cocktail collection is now available at The Westin Kuala Lumpur, with drinks priced at RM45 nett.
Founded in 2022 and launched in Malaysia in 2024, Gin Malaya has since picked up international recognition, including a one-star Great Taste Award in 2025 — judged through blind tasting — and a Bronze Medal at the London Spirits Competition.
The brand is now sold in both Malaysia and the United Kingdom.
