Bascule Bar: Whisky, Music and Scenic Cape Sunsets

Visit Cape Town's V&A Waterfront and savour the water of life at Cape Grace Hotel's stylish Bascule Bar

Bascule Bar at Cape Grace* was conceived with a dream to be the largest whisky bar in the world. The Bar of the Cape Grace opened its doors in December 2000 with 210 whiskies.

Today Bascule Bar is the proud owner of over 460 whiskies (single malts and blends) and the largest whisky bar in the Southern Hemisphere. It is also the only whisky bar of its kind in South Africa and Soma Dennis (the bar's whisky sommelier) is the country's first and only whisky sommelier.

A whisky tasting at Bascule Bar is definitely one of Cape Town's finer activities. Find out more about the history of this ancient drink. Learn about the art of distilling, maturing and blending whisky.

Prepare to get peppered with interesting facts and anecdotes about "the water of life". Discover that it is recommended to add a splash of water to your whisky to bring out its taste. The Irish call this act the "opening the rose" and the Scottish refer to it as "unleashing the dragon".

But there's more to whisky than after-dinner drinks with the boys in the drawing room. The bar aspires to do away with the preconception that whisky is merely an after-dinner nightcap.

Bascule encourages their guests to bring whisky to their dinner tables, and savour it with good food. That's why Soma's whisky tasting sessions are performed with the aid of various appetizers. Tasty nibbles like blue cheese, salmon, chocolate truffles and cigars are all paired with the whisky that will best compliment it.

If you're a whisky connoisseur, you can always become a member of the Bascule's prestigious whisky club. Members receive their own private whisky cabinets (complete with engraved name plaque) and get invited to exclusive events.

But there's more to Bascule Bar than whisky: Lounge on a comfy couch and snack on a scrumptious pastry and a cup of coffee during the day. Or take a seat outside and relax with your friends on the cobbled pavement at the water's edge. Watch as the last rays of the summer sun bids the day adieu, while sipping a Martini (shaken, not stirred).

Hobnob with the rich and famous while seducing your ears with a dose of easy live jazz on a Wednesday evening. Or knock back a few sun-downers with Cape Town's jet-set on Fridays in summer.

Judging by the crowds on a Friday night in summer, Bascule Bar is definitely still one of the popular places to go in Cape Town for the 30+ jet set. Grab a Johnnie Walker Blue, relax and raise your glass to South Africa's favourite whisky bar.

*'Bascule' is French for 'see-saw' - the bar's name is a reference to the V&A Waterfront's iconic swing bridge to the Clock Tower.


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