Anyway, 3 weeks in summary by events, bar visits and booze imbibed begins now :
Events: Yamaguchi Fish Market & Gekkeikan Sake Launch - The Glenlivet Pairing with Vom Fass Edible Oils - Tiger White Wheat Beer Launch - Blue Elephant Turns 1 - Whisky Live Singapore 2015
- Tong Woh took the opportunity to officially launch Gekkeikan Sake in conjunction with the opening of Yamaguchi Fish Market restaurant. Fresh seafood and sake? Makes perfect sense. Try pairing one of their top 10 recommended food items with a Gekkeikan Kin No Shichi Fukujin Meguri Sake for an additional sense of luxury - this honjozo (sake with additional alcohol) has gold flakes!
- The Glenlivet Guardian recent event (no longer a monthly event as they now have about 700 odd members!) paired the whisky with edible oils from Vom Fass. Mingling with fellow like-minded people and sampling delicious food = fun.
- Tiger launched Tiger White - the first locally produced wheat beer. It's supposed to have "hints of clove, coriander, & orange peel", and yes it's Tiger's response to the other 2 "fruity" tasting wheat beer that we're familiar with. I'm interested to know how they've decided to price themselves - stay tuned.
- Blue Elephant celebrated its 1st anniversary with a big boozy bash. I wouldn't call it a cocktail bar with a "speakeasy" concept. With its loud music, tiny service bar and strobe lighting, it seems more to me like a hidden clubbing place.
- Whisky Live Singapore 2015 happened 2 weekends ago. I did the crazy thing by taking a bus on Saturday, then headed straight to the event, then hopped on to the bus home next day. Mad but what a great experience! There were some grouses by veterans who have gone for at least a couple of years - but for this first timer, it was great. I'll get around to putting down my thoughts about it on a post-event report soon. But am looking forward to Whisky Live 2016 already.
Visited: #CocktailTrailKL at P&C Bar, The Bar by Sam, 44 Bar & Dr. Inc - Sinhalese Bar & Snow Beers @ Ipoh - Whisky Fling @ Single & Available - Ojos Bar - Ikki Bar
- Popped by P&C Bar, The Bar by Sam & 44 Bar on the #CocktailTrailKL. FYI - due to popular demand, it's been extended to the end of the year. So it's not too late to get on the trail!
- Paid homage to Sinhalese Bar in Ipoh - it's one of the oldest bars still in operation. Nothing fancy, it feels like any other old kopitiam with its marble tables, cement floors and wooden ceiling, offering your usual beer fares and a handful of spirits. Just that being in this place makes me feel like I've touched a part of history, somehow. Also had the infamous Snow Beer at Kafe Yoon Wah. 2 large Carlsbergs for RM30. It's a novelty not to be missed, especially when paired with roast pork.
- Single & Available Whisky Fling featured Benromach Whisky 10 years, Glenfarclas 15 years, Kilchoman Distillery Loch Gorm - All sherries. Personally like the Glenfarclas most as the other 2 had some smoke going on which isn't my thing.
- Was invited to check out Ojos Bar @ Jaya One. Initial thoughts about this new spot inspired by the Taiwan cocktail scene: a good looking cocktail bar, has interesting signature cocktails, a lot of effort is put into making each cocktail look super pretty (a gimmick which might still be necessary for this young cocktail market). Cons: pricey, most of the bartenders and maitre de speak very little English (coz Taiwanese!).
- Also received a kind invite to check out Ikki Bar @ TREC KL. This 60-80 pax seater place is no tiny little bar. It's a HUGE hidden lounge that happens to have a beautiful looking "Great Gatsby meets East" cocktail bar which is capable of dishing out some really exciting cocktails. A shame that the frequent patrons prefer to open Japanese whisky bottles instead - which the bar has a decent range of. If you're one of them and have chanced upon this entry - let me implore you to try their cocktails for a change! Osmund, the head bartender, isn't one of Malaysia's Diageo Worldclass Finalist for no reason.
Others: Ikea Raskog Bar Cart - Balvenie Madeira Cask 17 years old - Hibiki 21 - Black Velvelt - Grapefruit GnT
- Randomly participated in KampungBoyCityGal's Ikea giveaway contest in conjunction with Ikea's Cheras outlet launch and won myself a Raskog cart yeay! Now I can fulfill my dreams of finally owning a little mobile bar cart at home. :)
- Made 1) Black Velvet - equal parts of champagne and stout. It's a legit cocktail ya, not something I made up! 2) Grapefruit gin & tonic - Just toss in fresh grapefruit slices in place of lime. Bruise it a little so that it infuses with the gin = GnT with add Vitamin C! (please note that this is in no way a form of legit medical advice).
- Drank other generous people's 1) Hibiki 21 Years Old - Sigh. My favourite but not only it's getting more and more difficult to get your hands on them, with prices that have skyrocketed so much that it just doesn't make sense anymore. It's going to be at least another 20 years before the hysteria finally wears off and the liquid is replenished. :( 2) The Balvenie Madeira Cask 17 years old - oh my. I think I like all my whiskies in the Madeira cask. Smells like delicious toffee with a great mouthfeel. Why do I like all these limited edition stuff. :/
Insta Weekly is a weekly summary of boozy updates from my Instagram.com/fireangel80 with the hashtag #angeltini. Feel free to follow me if you enjoy daily updates on booze, food and other random stuff by a girl from Malaysia. Cheers!
