Carlsberg 2015 CNY Celebration - A Smooth Sailing In the Year of the Sheep

5  clear signs that Chinese New Year is upon us:

1. McDonald's Prosperity burger set is available
2. Eu Yan Sang runs their cheesy hamper radio ads
3. Banks start giving out empty angpow packets
4. Malls put up loud red decorations and/or loud chinese new year songs
5. Beer boys organise Chinese New Year parties and start dropping prices of their 24-can packs in hypermarkets, coupled with chinese new year themed gifts.

Item #2 is what we're going to talk about today....... No I kid. of course I meant #5. Surprise surprise. It's the only sort of thing I'll ever talk about, on this blog, anyway. So let's go go go!

Did you know that Carlsberg was born in the year of the sheep waaaayyy back in 1847? Well, this 168 year old young man brand celebrated its zodiac-versary, with a HUGE party. And by huge, I mean, a 18 ft Chinese ship (sheep, ship, lol) in the middle of Ara Damansara Oasis HUGE.

See how BIG the ship was. I placed the entire Carlsberg management team, 2 lion dancers, 7 chinese drummer boys and 8 gods of prosperity there just for scale..

The IBA Project: Hemingway Special

The Grandfather story:

• A twist of what Hemingway liked - which was basically a daiquiri with no sugar and extra strong (known as the Papa Doble, where > 3 oz of Bacardi  was originally used), blended with shaved ice. 
• A Hemingway Special is based on this recipe but with an additional maraschino, grapejuice and with less rum, which I suppose was to make it more palatable for the normal, non-alcoholic drinks like you and me. :D

Fun fact:
Hemingway was a known alcoholic and diabetic. Apparently he could consume glasses upon glasses (6-12, legend has it) of this original recipe of this daiquiri in a sitting.

The IBA Project: Margarita

I'm a margarita. Drink me.

Grandfather story:

• The Margarita can be considered a Tequila Sour (Sour = base liquor, lemon or lime juice, and a sweetener), or a Tequila Sidecar (replacing cognac).
• It could simply be a twist on the Daisy, (a classic long drink from the 1870s made with a base spirit, lemon juice, sugar or liqueur) - as Margarita is the Spanish word for daisy.
• In a British cocktail publication called Café Royal Cocktail Book published in 1937, the author mentions a drink called a Picador, which lists its ingredients as tequila, Cointreau and lime juice (the exact same recipe as a margarita!)
• The 1st official mention of Margarita in print in Dec 1953 was in the Esquire magazine with a quote "She’s from Mexico, Señores, and she is lovely to look at, exciting and provocative". The recipe called for an ounce (30ml) of tequila, a dash of triple sec and the juice of half a lime or lemon.
• Like most cocktail histories, there are quite a number of people who have claimed to have invented it, and if you'd like to know, here they are:
• Could have been created in 1930 by Doña Bertha, owner of Bertha's Bar in Taxco, Mexico (unlikely as Mexicans don't typically drink margaritas)
• A Vernon Underwood, who had started distributing Cuervo Tequila in the 1930s may have went to Johnny Durlesser, head bartender of the Tail O' The Cock in LA, and asked him to create something using his spirit, then named it after his wife Margaret (Margarita).
• Daniel (Danny) Negrete could have created the drink in 1936 when he was the manager of Garci Crespo Hotel in Puebla, Mexico for his girlfriend Margarita as a present.
• Francisco 'Pancho' Morales, while working in a bar called Tommy's Place in Ciudad Juarez, Mexico, was asked to make a 'Magnolia' on the 4th July 1942, but couldn't remember it so created this drink.
• Carlos 'Danny' Herrera created the cocktail either in 1947 or 1948 at his Rancho La Gloria bar in Rosarito, Mexico, for an actress called Marjorie King who drank only Tequila. He added Cointreau and lime, and the unique salt rim that caught people's attention at the bar, then named his creation Margarita, the Spanish for Marjorie.
• A socialite Margaret Sames held a Christmas party in Acapulco, Mexico, in 1948, and created the first Margarita.

Taste: The Arran Single Malt Whisky

All the Arrans Available in Malaysia.

Background:

• Opened in 1995 - to put things in perspective, the oldest bottle that they technically can have today if barreled then is 19. So it is a relatively new distillery.
• It is located at the East of the village of Lochranza at the North of the Isle of Arran. Yes, the whisky took after the island's name.
• An independent distillery - ie privately owned and not owned by the big boys.
• Founded by Chivas Brothers’ retiring managing director, Harold Currie.
• The only malt whisky distillery on the Isle of Arran (since the last legally run distillery, ‘Lagg’, was closed in 1837... that's about 158 years ago!)
• Water used in the distillery is sourced from Loch na Davie, supposedly home to the purest water in all of Scotland.
• Its single malts are non-chill filtered, which means that it will cloud in a cooler temperature.

The IBA Project: Mojito

The Mojito - my mum ony drinks this.

The Grandfather Story:
- Likely birthplace in Cuba.

- There are 2 versions of its origins, pick one you like:
1) In the 1500s, its original recipe was used as medicine to cure scurvy aboard Francis Drake's ship where he learnt it from the South Americans. It was made with firewater (crude form of rum), lime, sugarcane juice and mint.
2) Could've been created by African slaves working in the Cuban sugarcane fields in the 1800 where sugarcane juice was in abundance (but the recipe was without lime).

- The name itself could apparently be derived from:
1) Mojar, a Spanish verb suggesting wetness.
2) An African word 'mojo', meaning spell.
3) Mojo, a Cuban seasoning made from lime and used to flavour dishes.
4) Mojadito (Spanish for “a little wet”) or simply the diminutive of Mojado (“wet”).

New: Haig Club Single Grain Scotch Whisky

Hi. I'm David Beckham. See how handsome I am. Drink my whisky And you might become handsome just like me.

So David Beckham graced us with his regal presence to launch a brand new whisky. Perhaps officially putting us down in the whisky map.. or not... but does it matter? Yes. Yes it does.

Most of the stuff you'll read about the local launch was unfortunately, mostly about David Beckham this and David Beckham that... hardly anything about the whisky, but I WANTED TO KNOW MORE ABOUT THE WHISKY!

Truth be told, I'm not sure how Beckham or even Fuller is associated with whisky. But maybe I'm just silly like that. 

Anyhoo, I digress. To cut through the clutter, here is some info about the Haig Club whisky which I've compiled from international press releases & websites. You're welcome! 

The IBA Project: Sazerac

The Sazerac cocktail with Cognac.

The Grandfather Story:

• Originated around the 1830s. 
• Could've been America's first known cocktail.
• Antoine Peychauds was an apothecary from New Orleans who created the now famous Peychaud's bitters, was said to have created the original Sazerac for a cure, not as a cocktail.
• The drink is named after its original base spirit, a cognac named Sazerac de Forge et Fils.
• It was originally a cognac based cocktail, but it seems like rye whisky is the popular base now. 
• The reason for the shift to rye whisky was either 1) cognac suddenly became scarce due to a bug problem or 2) American whiskey was readily available and very popular (and also very preferred by its local drinkers) so it was used in everything then.

Fun fact: In 2008, New Orleans proclaimed it to be its official cocktail.

The IBA Project: Cosmopolitan

The Cosmopolitan  here IS pink. Really. I've got bad lighting. 

The Grandfather Story:
There are too many versions of its origins - so you gotta take your pick as to which one you'd prefer to believe:

1) The Cosmopolitan Daisy, found in a bartending  book from the 1930s, could've been its ancestor. While a lot of the basic ingredients were not quite the same, the end product was characteristically what today's cosmo looked like. Jigger Gordons Gin, 2 Dashes Cointreau, Juice of one Lemon, Teaspoon Raspberry (syrup)

2) Ocean Spray printed its version of Cosmopolitan in the 1960s called the "Harpoon" to sell more of its juice: 2 oz. cranberry, 1 oz. vodka or light rum or gin, over the rocks or tall with soda, with an optional splash of lime or lemon.

3) Apparently it was created by the gay community in the 1970s, by adding cranberry juice into a kamikaze.

New: Kilchoman Islay Single Malt Scotch Whisky

3 Kilchoman beauties in a row: Machir Bay, 100% Islay & Loch Gorm

The guys at Single & Available organised a couple of tastings to introduce this really new label into the Malaysian market.

First, we learned that Kilchoman is actually pronounced as Kil-HO-man. Must be a Gaelic thing?

Secondly, Peter Willis, who came all the way from Scotland to take us through the tasting, is actually the SON of one of the co-founders.

Isn't it awesome when these companies take some time off their busy worldly schedules to spare a few moments for this tiny insignificant market? This drinker appreciates it very much! :)

So Kilchoman is practically still a baby. The distillery began production in 2005 - it's just about 9 years old this year!

The IBA Project: Caipirinha

A wild Caipirinha!

The Grandfather Story:

• Caipirinha is derived from the Portuguese word - caipira (hick, hayseed, country bumpkin, rube...) and "inha" suffix (a word meaning little or small).
• Its beginnings can be traced back to around 1918.
• It is Brazil's national cocktail and it is drank anytime, anywhere.
• The ancestor of this drink was  a mix of lemon, garlic, honey - supposedly used as cure for the Spanish flu (still used for colds today). 

The IBA Project: Bacardi

The Bacardi Cocktail

The Grandfather Story:

The cocktail has been around since 1917 and made popular in the USA. The Daiquiri was actually the original Bacardi cocktail which became popular after Prohibition. But when bars ran out of Bacardi, bartenders made the cocktail with whatever rum they had in store. 

This displeases Bacardi a whole lot. So Bacardi said, enough is enough, and took matters to court. In 1936, the Bacardi cocktail was copyrighted. The ruling states that an authentic Bacardi cocktail must be made with using only Bacardi rum. Bacardi then decided to modify the original daiquiri recipe and added some Grenadine to make it THE Bacardi cocktail just to differentiate it from the daiquiri.

Fun fact: Bacardi is Cuban by birth, but it is not longer considered "Cuban" rum as it's not found in Cuba anymore as it moved its operation out in 1960 (this in itself, is a history lesson). Did you know that the Bacardi brand has been around since 1862? Well, now you do!

Launch: Affligem is Here!

Selamat datang, Affligem.

Kudos to GAB for bringing in a new beer, yeay! It's so nice to see them venture out of their Guinness and Tiger comfort zone. :p

Affligem is brought in by Heineken, which is part of GAB in Malaysia. Heineken actually has a slew of international and regional brands under its umbrella. Don't believe me? Check it out on wikipedia. Don't believe wikipedia? How about verifying it on the official Heineken international website.

Kirin Glamping Post-Event Report

(Warning, this is a picture heavy post. With loads of horribly taken pictures.)

Kirin ran a promotion through the month of September whereby with any purchase of their beer, you get a chance to participate in something called "Glamping" on 3 October.

Drink more Kirin.

If you're not too familiar with what Glamping means, it's actually a marriage of 2 words - glamorous and camping. So it's a form of camping where you spend some time away from the comforts of your own home in a sort of a retreat (mostly in the forest or nature reserve, like camping lah), but you don't forgo any luxuries like electricity, plumbing, the internet. etc (hence, glamorous).

The IBA Project: Gin Fizz

A  happy glass of  Gin Fizz

The Grandfather Story:
One of the oldest classic drinks originating from the late 1800s. A Fizz is pretty much a cocktail (the base spirit could be a gin, whiskey, brandy or vodka) which contains carbonated water and citrus. The Gin Fizz is actually a variation of the John Collins (also an IBA cocktail) - the only difference between these two cocktails is that John Collins is served in a highball glass with ice, and the Ginz Fizz is served in a chilled tumbler ( a smaller glass than a highball), without ice.

Strength:
Not strong. Sour and carbonated, it actually tastes like lemonade ... with alcohol.

The 2014 Oktoberfest Is Upon Us!

Yums!

More Yums!

What is Oktoberfest? It's technically a 16-day festival running from end September to early October. Historically, it originated as a celebration of the wedding between King Ludwig 1 and Princess Therese of Saxony back in 1810 in Munich, Bavaria.

Fastforward to today and what does that mean to us?  We're in Malaysia and that's thousands of miles away from Germany! Well, really, it's just an awesome nearly-month-long excuse to drink and party with awesome German beer and food. :)