Jameson unveils limited edition Dickies collection in Malaysia

Jameson has come together with workwear brand, Dickies, to introduce ‘Crafted Together’ – a limited edition workwear collaboration consisting of apparel, accessories, and a limited-edition Jameson bottle.

Taste Almost 50 types of Whisky And Spirits at Whisky PLUS!

Whiskyphiles, block 28 July 2018 on your calendars for the upcoming WhiskyPLUS 2018.

What is it:
A whisky and spirits tasting event, organised by the TEG Media Group. Whispers tell me that this could be Malaysia's answer to Whisky Live Singapore!

What can you expect:
About 50 brands of whiskies and spirits to try including: the Arran, Balblair, Bruichladdich, Benromach, Bunnahabhain, Bushmills, Chivas, Deanston, Glenfarclas, Glenfiddich, Hazelburn, Kilchoman, Ledaig, Longrow, Maison Du Whisky, Mars, Monkey Shoulder, Nikka, Octomore, Paul John, Port Charlotte, the Glenlivet, SMWS, Ancnoc... and these are just the whisky brands. Check out the full list here: http://www.whiskyplus.my./#brands

Format:
There are 2 sessions to choose from (12pm - 4pm & 5pm - 10pm) and number of tickets for each session is limited for crowd control so hurry!

Pricing:
Ther are 2 ticket types are available -  Gold (Standard) or Black (VIP).

1) Gold passes vary from RM135 - RM188, depending if you're bulk buying (cheaper) and if it's the 1st vs 2nd (the longer and therefore pricier) session.

The Gold ticket gets you:
- access to the main tasting floor, with unlimited sampling of whiskies and other spirits
- light bites provided by the hotel
- a Glencairn-style whisky tasting glass to bring home
- complimentary F&B vouchers for Hilton KL restaurants
- a free cocktail by guest bartenders

2) Black passes go for RM268 and RM298 (in additional to the gold ticket access, you get other exclusives like the cigar lounge access, VIP premier tasting room, and an upgraded goodie bag) (sold out!)

BONUS! If you are a Dram Full - Malaysia member (why aren't you already?? tsk tsk), you get discounts ranging from RM10 to RM40, depending on the session and the type of pass chosen. CLICK HERE.

More: 
- Purchase-by-the-dram whiskies at the Collector’s Corner to sample private collectors’ rare and expensive bottles.
- Discounted promo codes for MULA e-hailing rides home

- Selected bottles for sale at discounted prices.

For more details on #WhiskyPlusKL2018 and ticket purchase, visit www.whiskyplus.my.

Don't say I bojio!

P/s: I am running a Facebook giveaway contest for a pair of tickets worth RM270!

How to participate?

1. Share this post on your Facebook.
2. Include this in your post "l want to go for #WhiskyPlusKL2018 with (tag your friend) because...."
3. Comment below so I know you're participating. Make sure your FB profile is public otherwise I can't keep track. If I can't see your profile, you're automatically disqualified okay! :)
4. Get the highest number of likes on your post.
5. Win 2 tickets!

Contest ends this friday, 5pm. good luck!

Go go go: https://www.facebook.com/ang3ltini

A Majestic Rat Packed Christmas

The Majestic Hotel Kuala Lumpur is celebrating this upcoming festive season with a dedication to Hollywood’s most famous entertainers; Frank Sinatra, Sammy Davis Jr, Joey Bishop and Peter Lawford or collectively better known as the Rat Pack.

The Colonial Cafe's house band, The Solianos, will play tribute to the music of that era made famous by The Rat Pack alongside popular Christmas tunes.

Served as an accompaniment to the band is a separate Christmas eve 9-course dinner priced at RM280 per person or RM380 with wine pairing and a Christmas day 9-course dinner menu priced at RM220 or RM320 with wine pairing. Here is a small visual teaser of the menu’s offering.

Image: Majestic Hotel

If you’d like to check out the full menu, clink on this link to take your to Majestic Hotel's website.

But wait, there is more...

As the legend goes, Frank Sinatra was a long time fan of JD... which inspired the Jack Daniel's Sinatra Select. What makes this so special is that the whiskey is matured in "Sinatra Barrels" where the barrels are grooved to allow even more contact between the whiskey and wood and bottled at 45% ABV. I have not had an opportunity to sip this dram yet, but here is a bit of the background story behind it and the tasting profile on Master of Malt.

This is exclusively only available at the Majestic Hotel's Smoke House. I’d recommend that with some Cubans and the “Rat Pack Gentleman's” Afternoon Tea (canape-style bites, tea & coffee) at RM80 nett per person that's accompanied with a tankard of beer throughout December.

- Jon

Post-event Report: 44 Bar & Taps Beer Bar Presents Beer Bourbon Bacon!

10 August 2015 was the Beer Bourbon Bacon event jointly brought to us by 44 Bar and Taps Beer Bar, held at Tap's Mont Kiara branch.

First up - HOW FREAKING COOL IS IT THAT TWO AWESOME BARS GOT TOGETHER TO HOST AN EVENT?

Sorry about the caps, but this kind of collaboration hardly ever happens in this market, if ever. If you can name me 3 - you win liao loh! But as far as I can remember, ZILCH.  But I digress, as usual.

Anyway, using extensive research methods (Googling), I deduced that this event is inspired by annual festivals of the same name held all over America. Imagine a giant pesta with loads of craft beers, bourbons and all kinds of food with pork.

If you were thinking - Ya right, no way an event where you need to pay RM88 would draw any crowd, it's sooooo expensive. Well, I hate to say this but you're wrong from the sheer fact that Taps Mont Kiara was maximum packed (which is unusual for a Sunday afternoon) with locals and mat sallehs alike. Even the floor upstairs was opened and the seats were filled up!

So what went down that day? Read on!

Insta Weekly: Maruhi Sakaba - The Great Beer Bar - #MyTigerBites - 44 Bar Promos - Neroteca Brunch - DIY Old Fashioned

Last weekend, a good friend proposed that I should consider migrating from blogspot to wordpress, because it's more flexible and the layout allows me to come up with a very sleek, magazine-like feel.

He showed me a test site, which I really like. But I'm not sure if I have the time/energy/intelligence to toggle around with the coding. Wordpress, while is infinitely more moudable than Blogger, requires quite a bit of HTML knowledge to mess around with. I find myself not having enough time to even update this blog more than once a week (which I should because I have quite a few feature posts in the back burner argh!).

But I know that with Wordpress, readers would enjoy my blog more simply because it will look better, plus there are even more awesome, cooler usable widgets that comes with it. Oh man. How do I account for the opportunity cost of time vs traffic?

Let me mull over it for a bit more. I'm a really slow thinker. Meanwhile, here, the weekly update which I make myself to commit to (at least!):

1. Maruhi Sakaba - an Iazakaya that doesn't break the bank. 

Insta Weekly: Ice cubes - Homemade Cocktails - National Tequila & Daiquir Day - Whisky! Whee!

So I "predicted" before that events would be slow during the fasting and Raya months ... and I've been right so far. :)

Not complaining  though - it gives me more time at night to practice making drinks and experimenting with stuff like below:

1. Made: Cheapskate giant ice cubes

I keep wishing my ice didn't melt so fast, diluting my shaken cocktails too quickly while not chilling it fast enough. Large ice blocks would fix that. I've been pinning for those expensive silicon extra large ice cube molds available on Amazon for years. But it was very difficult for me to be enthusiastic about forking out RM20 bucks + RM40 insane delivery charges just for some rubber-substitute ice trays.

Insta Weekly: Green Spot Irish Whiskey - Jura Whisky Fling - Torres Vina Sol - Hip Flask

So, the holy month of Ramadhan is upon us. This means that a lot of the brands are taking a break from their marketing and events leading up to Raya. On top of that, beverage outlets would also traditionally face a drop in sales for the month. Not sure why that happens though, go figure!

The good thing about this though, is less late night outs, and more nights in to catch up on some sleep and home mixing & tasting. :) See what I got up to last week:


1. Green Spot Irish Whiskey

Found this gem at my last Labuan trip. It's a very easy everyday dram. Irish whiskey has this common nose - usually perfumey and /or fruity and very agreeable in the mouth, without the usual burn or oakiness so prevalent in Scotch. Green Spot is aged between 7-10 years,  matured in bourbon and sherry casks. I love it. I wish I got MORE of it.

Insta Weekly - Canadian Club Old Fashioned, Cheap Singha Beer, Singha Soda Water, Nikka in the Fridge, Auchentoshan 16 Years, Glenffidich #ValleyOfTheDeer, Whistling Duck Wine

Oh my goodness. I'm still not used to the idea of 2015 yet and June is coming (tiny GoT reference, anyone?). What on earth? Does time go by faster with each year with age? Or is it because of those dratted technological advances that makes us forget to slow down and enjoy the time we have on earth? 

I find myself spending too much being "connected". It is a terrible habit really, how the internet and technology has taken over our lives. At first I thought it was just a younger generation thing but no - the older folks (ie my parents) have now picked up the habit of constantly having their noses buried into their phones. For me, it's gotten so bad that now, I can't sleep if I don't spend at least an hour surfing on the net for pointless mindless entertainment to unwind. Sometimes I wonder if Wall-E wasn't a bit of a prophecy - human kind being too dependent on technology to the point we even forget how to WALK. Scary thought for me.

Which is why, since last year, I've been making resolutions to get disconnected more. I've taken myself out of chat groups, muted a lot of apps, and really trying very hard to be in the NOW. I have to admit, it takes a lot of effort to do this. More often than not, I find myself being drawn to the damn phone. I must make this habit stop. How bad is your tech habit? Do you even have one?

Slightly ironic that I'm talking about my bad tech habit on my blog, haha. Well, on to my favourite habit - talking about booze:

The Bee's Heart of the Run Whisky Festival Post-Event Report

One of The Bee's event posters which I thought was cute and deserved a repost. :D

The Bee held (what was probably) the first (and biggest) whisky fair in Malaysia just last Sunday, 8 March 2015 at their Solaris Publika outlet.

If you had any interest in whisky at all and weren't there (without a good reason), kindly proceed to give yourself a nice good kick in the behind. And then read on while I explain to you WHY you deserved that nice good kick.

Shots!

Sailor Jerry's New Look.

Source: www.thedrinksreport.com

Not to worry, the Hawaiian girl's still in tact. It's so minor you won't even notice it, did you? So, instead of one single label, it's been split into 2. Just thought you should know so you don't suspect that it's fake when it's finally release in this market. Should be available from this month onwards.

Funny thing is that it's so new, that even their own website is still featuring the old label, lol.






Absolut Andy Warhol.

Source: http://www.absolut.com/us/andywarhol/

Yup. It's yet another Absolut Limited Edition Bottle. Same ol' liquid, different clothes. But you just gotta get them all, right? I'm curious how you die-hard Absolut bottle collectors manage to keep up with the designs. Please, if you are one of them, I'm dying to know how your collection looks like. Hit me up!

For more: http://www.absolut.com/us/andywarhol/

Maker's Mark Cask Strength

Source: www.drinkspirits.com 

I'm a fan of Maker's Mark. More often than not, I reach out for it whenever an recipe calls out for Bourbon. If there is only one basic bourbon you should have in your home bar, it is this. Not only does it taste yum, it is not too painful in the wallet. The cask strength is at an ABV of 56.6% and I would love to get my hands on this but unfortunately it's only released in small quantities and in the US... and apparently only in its hometown, Kentcuky. Not cool, Maker's Mark. Not cool at all. Sigh x 10000.





Killer Queen Vodka.

Source: http://www.killerqueenvodka.com/

This is basically a vodka released by Queen (the band, not the monarch) as a tribute to their late lead singer, Freddie, who really enjoyed his vodka... and to celebrate the band's hit single of the same name - Killer Queen.

The Killer Queen Vodka is produced by Stoli, so you know it won't suck. I feel like getting one. Just because it's Queen... and because I'm a little bit of a sucker for the cool packaging... and it's because it's Queen! Check it out: http://www.killerqueenvodka.com/


Glenmorangie Taghta

Image: Glenmorangie.com

This "so-called" crowd-sourcing whisky will be ONLY at selected countries... and NOT available via online purchase in Malaysia. Is that a bummer or what? If you ask me, it is a HUGE bummer. Vexed does not even describe how I feel about this. And I say "so-called" because apparently "members" of the public tested and voted for this whisky... but if you go to their website from Malaysia, there is no way you can sign up to be any part of this "club". Yes, I am being VERY upset and vindictive. And also quite high from my overly strongly made White Russian (I used 2 shots vodka, 1 shot Kahlua... I was asking for it)

Seriously, they unapologetically INFORM you that they don't have it "TO YOUR MARKET": https://glenmorangie.com/en/caskmasters

Glenmorangie, you snub Malaysia? I AM VERY ANGRY AT YOU. And if I find out that you are available for online purchase at Singapore, I would be even MORE ANGRY at you.


Jack Daniel’s Rested Tennessee Rye

Source: www.drinkspirits.com 

There is just not enough Rye whiskies in the market, IMHO. The closest one can get to Rye Whiskey in Malaysia is probably the Canadian Club (which evidently uses a whole lot of rye in their blending).

While not usually something you'd drink straight, it's the main ingredients for 3 classic cocktails - Manhattan, Sazarec, Old Fashioned (Mad Men, anyone?).

Unfortunately, we will not be to get our hands on it....because it's irritatingly only available in the US and in limited quantities. RAWR! SO ANGRY! WHY WHY WHY!

For more: http://www.jackdaniels.com/whiskey/rested-rye


And that's a wrap! Enjoy the weekend!

Horizontal 18 Year Old SMW Tasting

All the beauties in a row.

From left to right: (italics to emphasize the ones not meant to be part of tasting)
1. Tomatin 18 year old
- Strathisla Single Malt Scotch Whisky (not an 18, but was brought out because it was interesting)
- Macallan 15 year Old, Fine Oak (not exactly drank, more like eaten. it was used to flame steak which was served for dinner, I shit you not)
2. Macallan 1994 / 18 year old sherry
3. Yamazaki Hakushu 18 year old
4. Glenlivet 18 year old
5. Laphroaig 18 year old
- Glenfiddich, 125th anniversary edition (brought out because we were all curious)
6. Glenfiddich 18 year old
- Glenfiddich age of discovery 19 year old Madeira Cask  (brought out because we wanted to compare)
- Glenfiddich, 30 year old (brought out because the host was high and feeling generous)

Jameson Irish Whiskey

Ohai!

What makes a whiskey and a whisky different (apart from the obvious missing vowel, wise guys, haha) is that "whisky" comes from Scotland, and is also known as a Scotch. What makes a Scotch a Scotch is, among other things, that the whisky needs to be aged in Scotland, aged for at least 3 years and bottled at no less than 40% ABV.

Jameson's very proudly, made in Ireland. So it's not a Scotch, neither it is a whisky. It's a whisKEY.

Doesn't make it worse or better. It only makes it different from a Scotch.

It is tripled distilled, which is probably why the aroma isn't as strong as  say,  a single malt whisky (SMW) which is distilled only twice. But it is also the reason why it goes down so smooth, it claims. Though it IS smooth. 

Oh and it is sweet. You can smell the sweetness (which is unlike the strong vanilla sweetness from SMWs) and taste it too, even on the rocks. Has that slightly smoky aftertaste which is not distracting. 

I like it. 

Man, I need to take better pictures of the stuff I drink or throw away that BB for a better phone. :/

More:

Official website