Four Pillars Fresh Yuzu Gin Now Available in Malaysia

I know some people would instantly grab any edible and drinkable item with the words "MADE WITH YUZU" on its label, so here's one more to add to your buy list! 

  

The Australian brand, Four Pillars, has been known to feature home-grown products in their gin, and this variant is no different.

Sui Gin Now Available in Malaysia

The House of Suntory recently introduced Sui in Malaysia. Developed to be clean and refreshing tasting, Suntory wants anyone and EVERYone to be able enjoy its new gin at any meal, anytime.

Hybrid KL, Jalan Changkat Ceylon

This new exclusive and semi private lounge bar located on the 4th Floor of Wisma Noble Land is led by industry veteran Ben Ng (of Penang's Mish Mash cocktail bar and Dram & Leaf specialist bottle shop). The lounge primarily caters to lounge members and access to public is via reservations only.  

Singleton 39 year old launch at The Chamber, Starhill Bukit Bintang

We had the honour of not just to be one of the first people to check out The Chamber which was newly opened in Starhill, but also to sample a new Rare and Exceptional expression by Diageo - The Singleton of Glen Ord 39 Year Old, Single Malt Scotch Whisky. 

Bottled at 46.2% abv, this 39-year old is a limited expression curated by the distillery's master distiller, Maureen Robinson, using a 12yr old Gen Ord which then spent another 27 years matured in a combination of European oak casks that had previously held port, red wine, Pedro Ximenez, oloroso sherry, and then finished off in Bordeaux red wine casks. 

Johnny Walker 15 Years Sherry Finish Launched in Malaysia

Think Johnnie Walker and you'll probably be familiar with their colour coded brand range - Red, Black Green, Gold, Platinum, Blue....Yes the Walker family is popularly loved for their blended whiskies, and the newly launched Johnnie Walker Aged 15 Years Sherry Finish is no exception. 

Cardhu, Glen Elgin and Clynelish are some of the single malts that went into the making of the 15YO.

Dram & Leaf - Penang's First Specialist Bottle Shop

A big congratulations to Ben Ng (of Drinks Alliance), and his partners on the opening of Penang's first retail shop offering fine things for sale and experiential sessions.

 
What fine things? Here is rundown of what they have to offer:

Sorgin, The Bewitching Gin

Image: Sorgin

Most gins are distilled from grains. However, Sorgin is made from fine Sauvignon Blanc grapes. Not just any grapes, but grapes from the vineyards of Francoise Lurton, the 4th generation wine producer from one of the biggest Bordeaux wine families, producing wines since 1897.

Sorgin is the first spirit created by him and his wife, Saabin, after he diversified the family's business by relaunching the distilling activity his great-grandfather, Léonce Récapet, had inherited in 1880. Sorgin was designed to be a link between his new venture into spirits and his family''s heritage in wine.

Apart from juniper berries (mandatory for gin!), it also has pink grapefruit, lemon, lime, violet, broom (cinnamon), blackcurrant buds. The finished product of 43% abv  has a fruity, tangy notes while the nose has a hint of wine (thanks to its grape base).

Sorgin means witch in Basque french, an ode to its French South West origin.

Single & Available brings it in. While it is only exclusively available at Mr Chew's for now, I am told that this will eventually be available from year-end onward.

For more: http://sorgin.fr/ or https://www.facebook.com/sorgin.fr/

- Jon

A new beginning: The Port Charlotte 10

Bruichladdich relaunched its classic range of heavily peated single malt whisky Port Charlotte in Malaysia by unveiling Port Charlotte 10 on the 14th March 2019 at APW, Bangsar.

Before Bruichladdich Distillery created the world’s most heavily peated single malt (the Ocotomore), or Islay’s first dry gin (the Botanist), resurrected growing malting barley locally, or dabbled in quadruple distillation, they distilled Port Charlotte Heavily Peated Islay Single Malt. The very first in a long line of experiments, this ‘peat with elegance and finesse’ offered an alternative to the medicinal malts for which Islay is famous.

The Port Charlotte expression is not new - this is actually a relaunch of sort for the Port Charlotte range which includes the Islay Barley 2011 and the introduction of the 10 year old.

The PC10 packs quite a punch bottled at 50% abv. Weighing in at a phenol level of 40ppm (the Octomore range weigh in upwards of 133-165 ppm,fyi). While the bite of the peat is rather subtle on the nose, lots of fruits come through on the nose. It is cask strength and thus sip with caution. The strength of the whisky dulls down the peat in the mouth.

A few drops of water opens up more flavours. One of the reasons why this product imparts so many flavours comes from the variety casks it has matured in, predominantly 2 types of American whiskey casks and French wine casks.

But wait. It cannot be called a range with only 2 expressions. There are another 2 expressions introduced that night. The Port Charlotte MC: 01 2009 and MRC:01 2010.

The MC:01 and MRC:01 expression are codes. MC is in reference of a cask used called Marsala cask that makes Italian marsala wine. A similar version would be port.The MRC:01 code means this expression has been mellowing in a special curated cask previously filled with a certain French red wine. If you are a wine connoisseur , you'd recognise that wine to be one of superbly high acclaim value, the ones only crazy rich Asians will buy.....

For more:
https://www.bruichladdich.com/

Official Distributor:
http://singlemalt.com.my/single-and-available
https://www.facebook.com/singleandavailablewhisky/

- Jon

Lower East Side Whisky Officially Launches in Malaysia

Lower East Side Whisky was first introduced to Malaysia during the not so recent Whisky Plus held earlier in July... but the brand was just officially launched at the breathtakingly scenic view of Cielo Kuala Lumpur down at Changkat Bukit Bintang earlier this month. Cielo, if you are not familiar with the establishment, is part of the Werner Group’s latest foray brand under their portfolio of impressive outlets in Changkat Bukit Bintang stretch that includes The Rum Bar, The Whisky Bar, Opium, El Cerdo...

Liquid in glass contained only water for colour comparison...

We found out that Lower East Side Whisky apart from its name, the whisky has nothing to do with the New York reference. Tony Roberts, from the brand new Borders Distillery that owns this whisky, explains that the distillery is located at the ‘lower east side’ of the Scottish border to England about an hours drive to the border. The map on the whisky bottle is the Scotland map but the map grid pattern on the map is the map of New York. Scottish humour, he says (we didn't get it, haha).

Lower East Side Whisky is not a product distilled from its own distillery. Well, not yet, anyway. Barely 1 year in (officially opened early this year), it can't make the whisky yet and still call it scotch (needs to be at least 3 years old). What they have done is source the 6 single malts ( 2 highlands + 4 speysides) from friendly whisky distilleries and marry them instead.

It has light fruits and orange on the nose and twang of orange peel marmalade on the palate. Its a young blend without much of a finish bottled at 40% ABV. Expect to be retailed at around where the other cheeky blended malt whisky brand is priced as well.

The Borders Distillery (because it is near the border la) is already in production with a blended NAS and Gin.

Good Luck Mr Roberts and we will wait patiently to ‘Slainte Math’ with your other products soon!

-Jon

The Macallan Edition No. 4 - Launched in Malaysia

Ever since the scarcity of aged statement whiskies from an Asian upsurge of consumption some years ago, The Edrington Group to which owns the Macallan whisky brand among others went on the offensive to meet the explosion in demand. Which brings us their The Edition series - a yearly limited edition no-age statement series where Macallan plays around with a wide range of wood for the series.

The No. 4 of the Edition Series is their, you guessed it, fourth edition of the series.

The No.4 is aged in a combination of seven different cask types. These include (deep breath guys); European/American Oak refill butts, European/American Oak refill hogsheads, American Oak first fill Vasyma hogsheads, European Oak first fill Diego Martin Rosado butts, European Oak first fill Jose Y Miguel Martin butts, European Oak first fill Tevasa butts/puncheons and European Oak first fill Tevasa hogsheads.

Different from the previous three edition which were more focused on the taste and aroma, master distiller Nick Savage developed Edition No. 4 to reveal the 'structure of the whisky', inspired by the construction of their swanky, newly constructed, £140 million distillery, design by the team behind London's Millennium Dome, Rogers Stirk Harbour + Partners.

Image: Macallan

6 years in the making. 36 copper pot stills. This colossal distillery is quite a sight to behold... at least that's the feeling I'm getting from its video - https://www.themacallan.com/en/the-journal/new-distillery/

The tasting notes for the No. 4 is quite a departure from the usual Macallan signature (sherry, sherry baby). This one had bright orange zest with grapefruit, berries, hazelnuts and some spice. The finish is short but what I liked was what felt like a burst of sunshine.

There were plenty of people at the launch which described this as smooth - which is not exactly a flavour per se but hey, who am I to tell someone how to enjoy their whisky?

At the point of writing, it's RM600 a bottle.

More: https://www.themacallan.com/en/whisky/single-malts/limited-releases/the-edition-series/

- Jon

The Majestic Hotel's Tribute to Hollywood's Golden Age: Bogart Spirits

“ Of all the gin joints in all the towns in all the world, she walks into mine”

That's Humphrey Bogart’s famous quote from the movie Casablanca. Before Marlon Brando and later James Dean perfected the art of mumbling while looking suave and sophisticated, it was Bogart that started it all.

The Bogart Spirits is a collection of 4 spirits - rum, gin, whiskey, vodka, by ROK Drinks Company (US) in collaboration with The Humphrey Bogart Estate.

The introduction of its gin, vodka and rum was held at the Majestic Hotel’s Cigar Lounge, a masculine, classy location truly appropriate for someone like Rick Blaine (Bogart’s character).

The gin is juniper forward with floral and fruity notes of lavender, citrus, macadamia cucumber and coriander.  The rum delivers flavours of  almond nuttiness and coconut. The vodka,
distilled 7 times, is clean and dry, with a light fruity body and spicy finish. I wished we could've tried the blended Irish whiskey which sounded like an interesting blend of single malt and grain whiskeys, matured for at least 3 years in ex-bourbon American oak casks.

To commemorate the launch, Johnny, the head bartender of The Majestic made 5 Hollywood cocktails - Ginger Rogers (gin based), Mae West (brandy based), Jean Harlow (rum & vermouth), Coco Chanel (vodka based) and The James Bond (aka Vesper) (a twist of the gin martini). With the exception of the ‘Vesper’ which is actually a classic cocktail, the other 4 named after actual famous icons of the past.

Jean Harlow, Ginger Rogers,  Coco Chanel

The James Bond

Mae West

This collection is exclusively available  at The Majestic's The Smoke House and goes for RM45 a glass and RM600 for a bottle.

For more on Bogart Spirits: http://www.bogartspirits.com/
For more on Majestic's Smoke House & Gentlemen's Club: http://www.majestickl.com/smokehouse.html

- Jon

(Images: The Majestic Kuala Lumpur)

Tiger Beer x WWF-Malaysia Endangered Edition Launch

The Endangered Edition collection by Pestle and Mortar Clothing (PMC) is not just another cool streetwear limited edition collection. It is Tiger Beer’s latest CSR campaign on the awareness and Conservation of Malaysian Tigers in collaboration with PMC and WWF.

This makes part of Tiger Beer's 6-year partnership with WWF in its efforts to support doubling the population of wild tigers globally by 2022.

There are 4 designers’ tiger motif t-shirt designs to choose from by four local artists - Sean Lean, Kenji Chai, Julian Oh, and Hugh Koh. All proceeds of these t-shirt sales will go to the WWF Malaysian Tiger conservancy fund.

Only 260 pieces of these limited edition t-shirts have been made, but this number is still more than the number of Malayan tigers left in the wild (estimated at 250).

These t-shirts that are priced at RM100 each and are available at the PMC flagship Bangsar store while stocks last. Online sales for the exclusive Endangered Edition collection will go live on PMC’s online shopping platform, https://www.pestlemortarclothing.com from 21 st August onwards.

For more information on the Endangered Edition collection, visit www.facebook.com/tigerbeermy.

- Jon

Images from Heineken Malaysia.

Carlsberg Malaysia Launches the Somersby Elderflower Lime

Somersby launched its latest flavour to their line up - the Elderflower Lime.

Weighing in at at a respectable 4.5% abv, the alcohol content for Somersby is not for lightweights. As a comparison, Carlsberg’s Smooth Draught, while tasting light and smooth, tips only a little higher at 4.8%.

But what the heck is an Elderflower and how does it taste? It's a white-coloured flower of the Elderberry tree (found in the US and Europe) that imparts a flowery herbally taste - some have describe it as having a lychee-ish taste.

Managing Director Lars Lehmann & the management team of Carlsberg Malaysia
for the launch of Somersby Elderflower Lime at Morganfield’s Da Men Mall USJ.

I personally find the Elderflower Lime served in a tall glass packed with ice very  refreshing and thirst quenching with a slight bubbly tingle on the tongue.

Instead of a dessert wine like a Moscato that may bleed your pocket, the Somersby Elderflower Lime and even the rest of its sister products (Apple cider, Pear cider, Blackberry cider,  Sparkling rose) would be an awesome alternative.

It's available in both bottle (330ml) and can (320ml) at major hypermarkets and supermarkets nationwide.



Carlsberg Malaysia's running a few promos in conjunction with the launch of this new variant, check them out:
- the Somersby Kombi mobile bars will be roving around in September to local tourist spots, night markets, supermarkets and hypermarkets around Peninsular Malaysia offering consumers a chance to sample Somersby Apple, Blackberry, Sparkling Rosé and the new Elderflower Lime.
- Get a can of Somersby Elderflower Lime FREE with every purchase of a 4-can or 4-bottle pack at participating hypermarkets, supermarkets and convenient stores from 27 August to 30 September. This deal is also available for the 6-can pack Carlsberg or Carlsberg Smooth Draught.
- Special food promotion at 100 participating F&B outlets from 1 September to 31 October where the Somersby Elderflower Lime will be offered at a discount.
- Also check out Morganfield’s for the mouth-watering Baby Back Ribs promotion perfectly
paired with the Somersby Elderflower Lime.
- Visit www.winetalk.com.my to get the Somersby Mystery Box set worth RM50 comprising all 4 flavours at only RM35!

For details, follow Somersby Malaysia on Facebook at www.facebook.com/SomersbyMY.

- Jon

(Images: Carlsberg Malaysia)

New: PJ’s Bar & Grill at New World Petaling Jaya

Name me a place in PJ you can go enjoy view the city sights?

Mont Kiara jogging hill doesnt count - that's technically in KL. Gasing Hill? Perhaps, but the view ain’t that spectacular. Also, it's not the safest to be in the day time, let alone at night.

I'll let you in on a soon-to-be-not-a-secret-place: PJ’s Bar & Grill located at the 30th floor of the newly minted New World Hotel that's just behind Paradigm Mall.

With a viewing deck and the hotel’s infinity pool, PJ’s Bar & Grill is the largest and highest rooftop bar in Petaling Jaya that offers a 360° view of the city.

The bar has Guinness and Tiger on tap, a choice of wines and spirits as well as a few signature cocktails. The food menu covers an extensive array of  tapas-style bites, mains, and the open grill serving up the city’s freshest ‘Catch of the Day, alongside its Western and Eastern grilled selections. The kitchen is led by Executive Chef - Alexander Chong, with over 20 years of culinary experience, specialising in Western and Chinese cuisine.

There's even a private Cigar Lounge in the restaurant to puff upon their choice of cigars sourced from Cuba and the Dominican Republic or savour a night cap from PJ’s Bar & Grill’s wine and liquor list.

PJ’s Bar & Grill is opened daily from 11.30am to 12.00 am. For dining enquiries or reservations at PJ’s Bar & Grill, call (603) 7682 0000, e-mail marketing.petalingjaya@newworldhotels.com
or visit petalingjaya.newworldhotels.com.

Make sure FA jio you when she steals away for a pint after work.

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A post shared by Fireangel (@fireangel80) on Jul 26, 2018 at 6:33am PDT

- Jon

Lone Wolf Gin Comes to Malaysia!

A few of us had a sneak preview of this lovely gin, which has recently pounced its way into the Malaysian gin market - making us their first market in Asia to enter. Yeay!

MyBeer (of Taps Beer Bar fame), who is likely one of the largest importers of craft beer in Malaysia brings this in. Why is a craft beer importer bringing this in? Because: they bring in BrewDog and BrewDog makes this gin.

With so many gins in the market, what sets this new product apart is with the brewers at BrewDog’s distilling their grain spirit from scratch (50% wheat, 50% barley) - unlike some gin brands that outsources their grain spirits.

The botanicals include juniper, Thai lemongrass, Kaffir lime leaf, coriander, pink peppercorn, almond, fresh lemon peel, mace, fresh red grapefruit peel, and Scottish pine needles.

Bottled at 44% ABV, the higher than industry standard 40% ABV packs just a right punch to allow its botanical to shine especially when gin is married with it and even upon dilution with melting ice.

Creamy with citrus on the nose and spiciness in the end, this gin is delicious.

Lone Wolf will be made available on retail .... soon. We're keeping an eye out for the Lone Wolf tonic as well, which is formulated to pair with their gin like ketchup on fries. There's even a canned G&T at 8.8% ABV - which FA approves:

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A post shared by Fireangel (@fireangel80) on May 26, 2018 at 4:15am PDT

There are other planned canned booziness too but we'll have sit tight and watch out for it.

- Jon

Carlsberg's Probably The Best Football Beer Contest for World Cup 2018

If you're a Carlsberg and World Cup 2018 fan, you stand to win a tonne of prizes. Let me count the ways:

Managing Director of Carlsberg Malaysia, Lars Lehmann, wants you to win lots of stuff from Carlsberg!

1)  At coffeeshops, foodcourts and F&B outlets
Collect the Carlsberg green bottle caps or the Smooth Draught POP Big bottle caps (remember to insist on them at the outlet!) and you might just win yourself limited edition jerseys, football umbrellas, and more beer

2)  At home
Receive the limited edition can or bottle cooler sleeve when you purchase your football-themed Carlsberg or Carlsberg Smooth Draught from super/hypermarkets and convenience stores.

Play their online game and win an all-expense paid trip to watch a Liverpool FC match LIVE in the UK with a friend at Anfield Stadium!

3) Online at www.probablythebest.com.my/football

Play “Probably The Best Football Beer Game" and use your football knowledge to predict the scores to win an all-expense paid trip to watch a Liverpool FC match LIVE in the UK with a friend.

Win all the World Cup 2018 merchandise (girls not included)! 

4) At any of the 3000 viewing parties nationwide

Participate in any of their games at the viewing party (like the “Probably The Best Foot Pong”, nd Football Trivia Challenge) and you could win an exclusive “Probably The Best Football Kit” consisting of jersey, umbrella, limited-edition Carlsberg and Smooth Draught with bottle and can cooler sleeves. There’ll be Bonus Codes giveaways to earn extra points for the online game and successful participants can also stand a chance to walk home with either a Hisense 39” LED TV or a Vivo V71 Smartphone.

Play and win lots of stuff at viewing parties!

5) "Buy and Win" & “Swipe and Win” at hypermarkets
Buy a carton of Carlsberg or Carlsberg Smooth Draught, deliver your best kick and walk away with football merchandise and score exclusive party passes.

If you're a hoarder, you could also collect the limited-edition cans and bottles featuring flags of Brazil, Germany, Spain, England, France and Portugal. 

Don't say I bojio!

- Jon

(All images provided by Carlsberg)

The Chivas Regal Mizunara Comes to Malaysia

The Chivas Regal Mizunara is said to be the "the world’s first Scotch whisky" that is finished in  Japanese Mizunara oak casks. First unveiled exclusively in Japan in 2013, it was afterwards made available in France and Thailand - now it's come to Malaysia.

What goes in there? Selected Chivas Regal whiskies that get finished in  Mizunara oak casks.

If you're a Japanese whisky fan, the mere mention of Mizunara may get your mouth watering.

Mizunara is an oak tree which are indigenous to Japan. It is known to be extremely scarce (evidently, the tree needs to be at least 200 years old before it can be made into a cask) and has a distinctive porous nature.

While the latter makes the wood more difficult to work with, it also allows for imparting "more flavours" of the wood into the whisky at a shorter time - lending a whisky that's aged in it a distinct flavour profile of subtle vanilla, fruity and flower scents with a spicy finish - which you'll also find in the Chivas Regal Mizunara.

Official tasting notes of the Chivas Regal Mizunara:
Nose:    Rich and fruity, with pear and orange notes
Palate:  Smooth and rich with a honey sweetness and a trace of hazelnut
Finish:   Long, with a touch of Mizunara spice
Colour:  Warm amber

Image: PRM

You can experience the Chivas Regal Mizunara which will be available in limited quantities in selected F&B outlets, bars and supermarkets across Malaysia from March 2018. Prices start from the high side of RM3XX onward, from what we've observed.

Pernod Ricard Malaysia Brand Manager Benedict Yong and Sebastien Mouquet, Managing Director of Pernod Ricard Malaysia among the rest of the PRM crew, launching the new bottling at Pernod Ricard Malaysia's HQ bar - Bar des Embiez (Image: PRM)

FA and I enjoyed this so if you manage to get your hands on one, don't forget to jio!

- Jon

Saro Lounge @ Pavilion Elite

There's a new hideaway lounge nestled on the 8th floor of Pavilion Elite - it's actually quite tricky to locate even if I've already told you the mall and floor.

Saro, which is Italian for “I will”, is more than just a name, it's also their commitment to provide guests with a memorable experiences and quality service.

From food to cocktail drinks and beers within a lounge setting, it could transform into a dance club if it wants too. Saro Lounge’s interior highlights is its state-of-the-art light feature that has been cleverly integrated into the ceiling – the first of its kind in Malaysia. The light feature boasts an impressive multitude of configurations to suit any mood, adding to the overall ambience of the main lounge area.

Saro Sour

The bar offers a range of cocktails inspired by Asian flavours. Saro’s signature cocktails bring their own unique twist on the classics, with drinks such as the Saro Sour and the Rum Negroni. A refreshing number is the Signature Monkey 47, which combines fresh and floral flavours into a simple yet flavourful cocktail.

Signature Monkey 47

From the kitchen, Head Chef Nopporn Nutto from Thailand along with Chef Faizal have conceptualised a menu showcasing a contemporary variety of small plates and main course dishes.

Saro Lounge can host private parties and events too. It is equipped with a quality sound system and LCD screens, with the capacity to accommodate events for about 130 – 150 pax. There is also a ‘Saro’s Private Room’, with karaoke facilities and its very own restroom which is only available for private bookings.

For more information on Saro Lounge go to sarolounge.com or its Facebook page.
For reservations, call +603 2110 4080.

- Jon

Images: Saro Lounge

Carlsberg's Probably The Most Victorious Year

Image: Carlsberg Malaysia

Once again us alcoholics kick off our yearly CNY celebrations with the annual Carlsberg Chinese New Year party. This year’s big bash was held in One Utama, High Street ground centre court accompanied by everything that makes it an awesome CNY celebration - an acrobatic lion dance, giant drum performances and lots of not-halal Chinese food.

Carlsberg Malaysia MD, Lars Lehmann all smiles while "drumming" off the Carlsberg CNY promotion.
Image: Carlsberg Malaysia

This year also marks their half a BILLION ringgit fund-building milestone for their Top Ten initiative, an effort with China Press and Nanyang Siang Pau, that funds the development of Chinese education and schools in Malaysia. Keep up the good work, guys!

Carlsberg Malaysia's CNY theme for 2018 is inspired by the Chinese saying Qí Kāi Dé Shèng (齊開得勝) which means “flagging off to successful ventures” or “together, we succeed”. Well, 2017 was a humdrum on the economy, so 2018 being ‘ye leng yat fatt’ it can only be better, right?

 Image: Carlsberg Malaysia

In conjunction with Carlsberg's Probably The Most Victorious Year promotion this year,  there's a whopping RM6 million worth of prizes up for grabs from Jan 1 to Feb 28 across so many campaigns that basically, everyone that drinks or buys Carlsberg can be a winner!

For more: https://www.probablythebest.com.my/cny2018 or www.facebook.com/CarlsbergMY

So go forth, drink a Carlsberg and HUAT AH!

- Jon

P/s: And here's a whole bunch of hashtags:

#carlsberg #Carlsbergmy #probablythebest # probablythebestcnybeer #probablyhemostvictoriousyear #probablythebestbeerintheworld #victoriouswithcarlsberg #smoothdraught #drinkresponsibly #probablythebeerbrandwiththemosthashtags #probablygettingsorethumstyping

Okay, the last 2, I made it up.

Welcome to Malaysia, Scotch Malt Whisky Society!

We recently saw the official launch of The Scotch Malt Whisky Society (SMWS) in Malaysia for Christmas. Heads up - this is actually an open secret society.. but it's nothing sinister like a triad or a cult, of course. :)

However, one might just mistake it for a cult when members get together, imbibing on spiritual liquids and then with their eyes closed, enter into trance-like state while spewing random words like - heady phenols. robust palate. second fill. virgin cask. pencil shavings.  complex yet mellow. oily coating. short finish. etc etc etc. Well, do not be intimidated by that. Those are just hardcore whisky geeks at work.

A post shared by Fireangel (@fireangel80) on Dec 13, 2017 at 4:28am PST

But I digress. The point of this post is to share with you the 5 things you need to know about SMWS, because here in angeltini.com, we're all about the sharing!

1. What's with the brand name? 
Founded in 1983, the SMWS is exactly what it is, a subscriber-based club, created by whisky lovers, for whisky lovers.

2. So they make their own whisky?
No, they are independent bottlers. This means that they buy the whole cask from various distilleries across the globe, further kept to mature then and bottle it themselves at cask strength, before selling them directly to its members.

The bottling is approved only through consultation of independent panel of whisky geeks, so there is a fair amount of QC involved.

3. What's with the numbers on the labels? How would I know what I'm drinking?
The numbers on the label are their (open) secret codes. The first numbers before the decimal is the code of a certain distillery. For example 1, is Glenfarclas. The numbers after the decimal is the number of cask acquired from distillery. Thus 2.8 is the eighth cask bought from Glenlivet, which is also my birthdate, ahem!

But don't sweat it. Here are the cheat codes to decipher them. You're welcome!

4. What’s with the weird names on the bottle?
The names are based on the key characteristics of the whisky. The Tasting Panel that decides on which cask is good enough to be the chosen bottled one also provides a whimsical set of tasting notes which provide an indication of what flavours and textures the drinker can expect. So expect names such as 'Kissed up by sweet promises' or 'Intense menu of seduction' or even "Wasabi on a california roll".

The reason they don’t put the name on the bottles is that the SMWS would prefer you to focus only on the flavour of the whisky rather than the age or region it is from.

5. Can I buy a bottle?
Ah, good question. As the whisky bottle suggests, these are produced by a society and only membership has its privileges. In Malaysia, the spirit geeks at Wholly Spirits Sdn Bhd are the official distributor of these bottlings. You may visit this site to obtain more information on SMWS Malaysia and its membership.

But just a little hint… I’ve seen these being sold in airport duty free (*cough* Singapore DFS *cough)..

So next time you get your hands on own of these babies, feel free to give me a jio!

Sláinte mhaith!

- Jon