John Walker & Son’s XR 21 Mastery

Johnnie Walker is arguably one of the most popular blended whisky brand in the world. Any whisky drinker worth his/her salt has probably drank a Johnnie Walker product if not started with one.

Many exceptional blends have been produced by Johnnie Walker & Sons and the XR 21, produced as part of their premium Prestige line of products is one excellent product.

The XR 21 is a product inspired by Alexander Walker II to honour the commemoration of his knighthood he received in 1920. Alexander Walker II was a master blender like his father and his grandfather before him, who devoted his life to making exceptional whiskies. Inspired by Sir Alexander’s own hand-written notes, it is blended from the exclusive Johnnie Walker reserve of rare whiskies, all of which have been matured for a full 21 years.

I was lucky enough to enjoy an a gastronomical experience with XR 21 recently.

We were transported to the elegant Khoo Kongsi in Penang, one of the prestigious UNESCO heritage clan houses in Malaysia owned by the Khoo (surnamed) clan. Against the backdrop of lighting, the Khoo Kongsi was transformed into a courtyard of entertainment, where we dined from the stage of the opera house overlooking the temple.

The 4 course delectable menu meal served was selected with the highlight of local (Penang) ingredients and tastes made Chef Spider Kong, chef owner of private dining restaurant, Soul Food in Penang, and Chef Jeffrey, the Head Pastry Chef at Metisser Dessert Parlour in Penang.

Balanced and elegant, the XR 21 has intriguing layers. Sweet honey, fruits and spices with smoke coming through. At 40%ABV, with a splash of water, the fruitiness is even more pronounced.

At the later part of the night, another surprise was revealed to us. A special tasting was arranged for another exceptional whisky; the Mortlach 21 - which is one of the whiskies blended into the XR 21, lending it its honey sweetness.

The XR 21 Mastery is a platform created exclusively for Malaysia, featuring local hidden gems and culinary experts to pair with the XR 21. For more information on the XR 21 Mastery, contact diageoinfo@mhdm.com.my

What a great mini holiday this was. Slàinte mhath Diageo!

- Jon

East Imperial's 5th Annual Gin Jubilee 2017 has arrived in KL

Celebrating everything G&T, participated by over 100 bars across Singapore, Hong Kong, Phnom Penh, Bangkok, Shanghai and Auckland, the Gin Jubilee will be in KL starting tomorrow.

A post shared by Fireangel (@fireangel80) on Nov 26, 2016 at 9:54am PST

So what’s in store for you, dearest KL-based imbiber?

1. 21 variations of the gin and tonic... from 21 participating bars in KL from 13- 16 September 2017:

Using Kyrö Napue:
Insan Nurull from Pahit
Mattman Joseph from Skullduggery

Using St. George:
Golam Kibria from Jack Rose
Alvin Au Yong from Birch

Using Fords Gin:
Ali Aye from PS150
Desmond Yatigammana from JungleBird

Using Gin Mare:
Alvin George (Loco) from Coley
Kelvin Lee from Bonfire Restaurant & Bar
Erik Fiza from Suzie Wong

Using Bombay Sapphire:
Kay (Khir Johari) from Virgin & Throne
Jovilane Maghanoy from Opium KL

Using Hendrick's:
Roymark Arusab from The Pawn Room
Jiffy Madredijo from Ril's Bangsar

Using Death's Door:
John Buxton from Encore by The Vault
Ebony Hogg from Sticky Wicket

Using West Winds:
Nik Syafiz from Locker & Loft
Anand Pirinyuang from Shelley Yu's

Using Citadelle:
Osmund Bernard from IKKI
Kazi Tanbir from Hyde at 53M

Using Botanist:
Joe Ngui from Omakase + Appreciate
Mitchell Raymond from 61 Monarchy

Say hello to your 21 friendly participating KL bartenders!

2. Win an all-expense paid 3-day trip to Singapore:

To vote for your favourite g&t and stand a chance to win a free holiday :
1. You'll first need a public Instagram account.
2.  Follow @eastimperial on Instagram
3. Post a picture of your favourite bar’s Gin & Tonic
4.Tag @eastimperial.
5. Post up the bar’s name, and use the official hashtag: #GinJubilee2017.
6. Accompany it with a clever caption
7. Make sure you post between 13th to 16th September.

Your vote counts because KL's favourite G&T from the winning bar/bartender will then go on to compete with winners from the other 6 countries for the ultimate title of “Asia’s Best Gin & Tonic” at the jubilee grand finale in Singapore this December.

3. Attend guest shifts and masterclasses by brand representatives from various gin distilleries and international bartenders.

Check out the jam-packed schedule of activities here:  http://ginjubilee.com/calendar

DRINK ALL THE G&T

4. A Big Gin Lane Finale Party with RM25 G&Ts all night!

Date: Saturday, 16 September
Time: 6pm – 12.00am
Venue: Plaza Batai, Damansara Heights

Don’t say I Bojio!

For more: http://ginjubilee.com/

The Heineken Star Serve National Finals 2017

Heineken Bhd travelled across Malaysia and selected 8 of the best beer pullers to tap the perfect pint of Heineken draught beer in the Heineken Star Serve (which used to be called the GAB Professional Solutions Academy before the brewery re-branded) National Finals that ran last August.

What makes a perfect pint Heineken pull? It involves its signature "5 part ritual": the rinse, the pour, the skim, the check and the serve. And for the finalists, this ritual is to be completed in 4 minutes.

Now in its 4th year, the Heineken Star Serve is a global programme that educates bartenders so they know how to serve the perfect pour of a draught Heineken.

Unlike in the previous years, Heineken International announced that there will be no Global Bartender Finals for 2017. However this international event will be back next year. Last year, Malaysia was put on the map when our local boy bagged 1st place at the Global Bartender Finals in Amsterdam.

This year’s Star Serve National Finals was clinched by Daimler Kenn Cagas of The Beer Factory, Kota Kinabalu and he won himself an all-expenses-paid trip to Amsterdam to explore the Heineken Experience.

Syabas to Daimler!

- Jon

A Most Unusual Wedding Dinner

This is a long procrastinated official thank you post.

2nd Aug 2017 was officially our 2nd wedding anniversary and not coincidentally also my FA's birthday. How time flies when you are having a great time (no, she didn't put me up to say this, really).

Diageo Classic Malts Tasting Session

Diageo recently held a tasting session featuring some of its Classic Malts collection which include Clynelish 14 Year Old, Dalwhinnie 15 Year Old, Oban 14 Year Old.

The highlight of the evening was the Benrinnes 21 Year Old from Diageo’s Casks of Distinction.

What is “Diageo’s Casks of Distinction”? It is a limited program where customers can purchase the entire casks from selected distilleries, and then choose to either bottle it or continue ageing it for bottling at a later date.

Know about your wine before you drink it - Vivino

Note: This is not paid nor sponsored post, but we really wished it was. :)

Source: Sotheby's

Wine has always been my Achilles heel. Not because I don’t like it, but it is so vast in variety and so subjective. What I can tell is if a wine is bad (which really just means, I don't like it) or no good. And then there are wines which are just absolutely divine in the mouth. Both I'll only know once I have the wine with me, and it's opened, and the liquid's in the mouth.

What I really can't gauge is wine prices or possibly what we should be expecting from it just based on the bottle itself. So this is where this little app on my phone is very helpful - Vivino.

Angeltini reviews… Caught on Video

So we're gonna be trying to do some casual vblogs.

The stuff reviewed will be random and unadulterated and possibly (no, will be!) NSFW from a verbal point of view.

The products featured will be random items we either have in hand or recently bought to try.

It's an honest review from FA, unscripted, one take and full of imperfections.

This one's on 2 types of Guinness 0% ABV which was purchased from a nearby Hero supermarket at the soft drinks section, priced at RM3.50 each. One looks like an "original" version and the other is called a 'Ginseng zesty lime".

Enjoy!



- Jon

Locker & Loft's Shake and Take

At one point of his life, Deepak of The Thirsty Blogger told himself, “I’ve had enough of this nonsense” - alcohol prices were going off the charts in prices (no thanks to imposed taxes) which led to too many unscrupulous players in the industry, "cheating" customers.

Then Deepak said FTS and went on to open a bar with his business partner - giving birth to Locker and Loft.

The man himself, Deepak.

About Jon," The Bodyguard".

So Fireangel/FA/Ah Fa has been inundated with her offline obligations and I've decided (on her behalf) that it's time to dust off the cobwebs on this blog and bring it to life again.

Allow me to introduce myself.

I started off being known just as… "The Bodyguard", which was before I became "the boyfriend" to which then blossomed into "the Fiance".

Today, I go by different monikers namely "the ex boyfriend" or her "ol man", and "grumpy ol man" (depending on my mood).

My past resume reads like this: 1. Accompany FA to events and prevent her from getting herself drunk.

Yup, actually just ONE job, really.

Apparently I have done a decent enough job and now she trusts me enough with her blog to provide research and creative content for Angeltini.com.

So for any posts with my input, I'll be signing it off with "Jon'".

Or you could also call me “O ghost who writes"

Cheers!

- Jon

P/S:  FA is still very active (perhaps too active1) on  www.instagram.com/fireangel80. Boozy updates (#angeltini) will be interspersed with her daily shenanigans too. If you'd like to take a peak into her life, go ahead and follow her now!

K1664's “Pause for Le Moment!”

When in France drink as the french do, which we’d probably think; wine right? But the French also have their own beer too - the Kronenbourg 1664 - which you'll also see Parisians enjoying in their little cafes in the heart of a city on a hot summer's day.

K1664 showing you how to chill correctly.

Win: Probably the Best Brewery Tour by Carlsberg

DRINK ALL THE BEER!

FA used to live just a mere 3km from a beer brewery and now after moving in (to, what seems like, another "continent") with me, we live 7km away from another. I’ve been to both countless of times but never have had the participate on a brewery tour... until recently.

Botak Liquor @ Petaling Street Kuala Lumpur

Smack right in the urban jungle of Chinatown Kuala Lumpur is this super instagram-friendly bar with its mismatched quirky furniture in its rustic pre-war shoplot charm (it used to be an actual brothel!) surrounded by foliage from floor to ceiling.

The concept of this bar is farm-to-glass. Raw ingredients will be sourced from the founder's own farm in Cheras as much as possible. They are proud of their homemade syrups (no pre-made ones in the bar, they say) and infusions. Fresh ingredients (herbs, vegetables, fruits) are the star of their drinks.



Its back bar features predominantly white spirits like mezcal, tequila, grappa, neutral makes and even moonshine which they plan to expand in time to come. They even have selected cocktails on tap!

If you need a break from the concrete jungle that's KL - I would highly recommend that you check this place out. Don't say we #bojio

Find them here: https://www.facebook.com/BOTAKLiquor/

A post shared by Fireangel (@fireangel80) on Dec 1, 2017 at 3:22am PST

Event: Malaysia Wine Fiesta 2016

WOOT! 5 pairs of entry tickets up for grabs! Read till the end of the post for more.

What is it:
A wine fair that lets you taste, learn about (from 15 visiting winemakers) & buy (at a promo rate) over 60 types of wines from France, Italy, New Zealand, Spain, South Africa, USA and even China. Ideal for wine noobs to connoisseurs of all (legal drinking) ages!

As a prelude to the main event, there’s also a Wine Makers’ Night - a private dinner with the winemakers featuring a 10-course meal paired with 12 wines!

Event: The Whisky Society 2016 - Win Tickets!

TLDR: 2 pairs of The Whisky Society event tickets worth RM229 each up for grabs. Find out how to win them at the end of this post.

What is this?
Back for its second year, The Whisky Society is a mini Malaysian whisky tasting festival which is especially ideal for people who want try a whole bunch of whiskies but don't really want to  commit to full bottles of too many different expressions.

Event: Toast the Macallan

What is it?
Finally coming to our shores after dropping by Singapore, Taiwan & Thailand, Toast the Macallan is a pop-up experiential event by The Macallan to showcase their range of whiskies & history through an exhibition & tasting session; hosted by The Macallan Brand Trainer, Keith Nair and Brand Advocate, Randall Tan.

The Macallan will also be unveiling its newest series, the Trilogy, which consists of: