In the basement of a building on Ann Siang Hill lies a magical place where you can go to escape the stresses of life.

The owner of this place offers his patrons, what the Scots call, "Uisge Beatha" or "The Water of Life" to ease your tensions and pacify your soul.

Meet Mike Soldner, the owner of Malt Vault located on Ann Siang Hill, in the basement of the Screening Room.

Mike has created Singapore's first and only dedicated single malt Scotch whisky bar that brings the finest of Scotland in the form of a unique collection of premium single malt scotch, whisky (that's spelt with no 'e') liqueurs, traditional craft beers, real ales and mineral water bottled at source - the starting point and primary ingredient of all Scotch whisky.

Before we get into the adventure of it all, let me start by saying that I'm not a great fan of whisky.

My late teenage years were spent downing Jack Daniels and Johnnie Walker which left an imprint of terrible hangovers.

I don't experience that sort of hangover with any other alcohol, hence, I've stayed away from whiskies since.

Though, once in a while, in my wiser age now, I'll sip a Chivas or Macallan (18 years, please).

So, when I was offered to go for a whisky tasting, I was willing (I won't say no to alcohol) but a little unnerved too.

However, I can tell you, Malt Vault has certainly changed my taste about whiskies.

And here's why.

Malt Vault is the only establishment in the region representing privately held collections of rare Scotch whisky casks from distilleries past and present.

Mike points out that these collections comprise literally hundreds of exclusive bottlings highly appraised by whisky experts.

Malt Vault's bottlings of fine single malts have been hand selected from the warehouses of all the major, many lesser-known, and even some extinct distilleries across the whisky regions of Scotland, and matured in quality oak casks.

What this means is that while Mike does carry whiskies from distilleries most may recognise (Macallan, Glenlivet, etc.) the expressions of those whiskies are exclusive to Malt Vault and are not available elsewhere else on planet earth.

This is because Mike and his partners own the entire cask, or what remains in it, and therefore every drop of most of the whiskies in the Malt Vault portfolio.

Exclusivity, we like!

Malt Vault's whiskies are also bottled at full cask strength and in their natural form (non-chill filtered and non-coloured), and all bottlings are individually identified with details such as the distillery and region, date distilled and date bottled, cask strength, cask number, and a unique bottle number.

32-year-old Mike, who opened Malt Vault in August 2009, shelves over 100 bottlings of non-commercial single cask, single malt Scotch whiskies from every year between 1952-2000 and are all available by the nip (20ml), dram (40ml) or bottle.

Prices range from $10 to $400.

I got a sample of seven whiskies from the different regions of Scotland.

From the isles to the highlands, every whisky has its own smell, taste and experience.

Add highland spring water and the experience changes.

The Malt Vault Whisky Trail is a fantastic introduction to the smorgasbord of aromas and flavours that is Single Malt Scotch.

Savour nips of six premium single malts, one from each of Scotland’s whisky producing regions, plus one single grain whisky. Perfect for beginners.

They are Single Grain (Invergorden 1972), Lowland (Bladnoch 1990), Highland (Glengarioch 1988), Speyside (Macallan 1990), Island (Isle of Jura 1990), Cambeltown (Springbank 1996) and Islay (Ardbeg 1993).

My favourites were the lighter tasting ones - the Single Grain (Invergorden 1972) and from the Lowland (Bladnoch 1990).

Mind you, they may have tasted lighter than the rest but the alcohol content is still high - it starts at 40% and can go up to 56%.

You start the trail with a few whiffs of the whisky.

Some smell a little smoky, woody or citrusy.

One whiff of the Speyside (Macallan 1990) transported me back to a recent trip I made to Cairo where friends and I were sitting on the ground, Arabian style with carpet and cushions, in the swimming pool area of a a gorgeous villa that had large grounds that contained orange and lemon plantations.

The aroma of that whisky was of an earthy one.

Scotland made me think of Egypt, how uncanny.

Then you taste.

The Single Grain (Invergorden 1972) and Lowland (Bladnoch 1990) were light, sweet (Mike says Bourbon drinkers tend to be fond of them) and palatable.

Highland (Glengarioch 1988), to me, tasted better when the Highland Spring Water was added.

Island (Isle of Jura 1990), Cambeltown (Springbank 1996) and Islay (Ardbeg 1993) were the strongest for me and the most masculine tasting.

Strong aromas, strong flavour, perhaps a better whisky drinker than I would appreciate those.

You can also try the whisky trail, which Mike highly recommends whether you're a whisky beginner or connoisseur, for $90.

That way, you can taste what Scotland has to offer and Mike can then recommend the best whisky for you to have thereafter.

Other than the amazing atmosphere in this seforia-coloured private bar, guests can savour a five format menu created by local celebrity chef Samia Ahad (of Coriander Leaf fame), served direct from the kitchen of The Screening Room.

On Fridays and Saturdays, you can also enjoy strains of purist jazz.

Malt Vault is located at Basement No. 12 Ann Siang Road.

It is opened from 6.30pm to 1am from Monday to Thursday and 6.30pm to 2am on Friday and Saturday.

To find out more about Malt Vault, go to www.maltvault.com.sg.