Category Archives: ~ Booze news / new products ~

Johnnie Walker Double Black

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This is a relatively new Scotch that my housemate Ben got his paws on.

Tried it out recently. Quite different from the Black Label; a lot more smokiness, as its uses West Coast whiskies. Some Islay style. Although it’s blend, it’s got a distinct character that suggests otherwise. More like a single-malt.

The whisky was created taking Black Label as a blueprint and adding heavily-peated malts, with some aged in deeply charred oak casks.

Giant stills at the Cardhu distillery

Some of those who enjoy Black Label might appreciate something more complex like the Double Black. Price wise, its 15-20% higher than Black Label.

It’s reported to be doin really well – it’s already number eight in travel retail liquors by value, above Absolut Blue, Jack Daniel’s and Famous Grouse – exceeding sales targets seven times!

At the mo, its available exclusively in travel retail at selected airports. KLIA probably not yet, but is designated to be available at Bangkok International and Changi.

Loos like the JW DB is set to be a hit!

 

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Slight increase involving beer

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Prices of certain products from Guinness Anchor Bhd and Carlsberg Malaysia has gone up by a small amount, ie 3%. It’s in line with inflation, or in fact, below inflation.

This is due to the rise in prices of raw products, etc. According to GAB, costs have increased significantly for malt, aluminium, and transport, by up to double digits. However, the breweries have probably been able to absorb and hedge most of it.

GAB brands

Prices at outlets aren’t expected to increase. I think all bars will absorb this increase, due to its small amount. If a beer used to be supplied to them at five bucks, now it will cost $5.15. With the very high competition among bars now, i cant foresee any of them increasing prices.

For GAB, it’s for all their main brands (Tiger, Guinness, Heineken, Kilkenny, Strongbow, Anchor), except Paulaner. For Carlsberg, they did not repond to my questions quick enough, but i’d assume it would involve Carlsberg lager, Connors, Skol, Tuborg, Tetley’s and Blackthorn.

Carlsberg Malaysia

Any bar that increases their beer prices would piss a lot of drinkers off, that’s for sure, considering their mark-ups are already between 100% to 300%.

And if the increase is more than 3%, it might be illegal, so this would be a great time for us to try out the new Anti Profiteering Act 2010, and contact the Malaysian Competition Commission to get on the outlet’s case.

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Will new laws affect drinking industry?

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A couple of major new laws by the Ministry of Domestic Trade might have an impact on drinkers.

The Competition Act 2010, which will be enforced from January 1st next year, is meant to protect free competition and promote a level playing field for businesses, primarily to benefit consumers, and make this country more open and competitive. More details in a feature by The Star.

Provisions include those against price-fixing, tie-ins and price-discrimination. One that is of interest is entitled “Exclusive Dealing”, which prohibits unfair trading terms such as exclusivity. Will that affect the main players here such as the Malaysian beer industry?

Right now, most bars are forced to sell either GAB or Carlsberg Malaysia’s brands on tap. So if an outlet serves drafts such as Carlsberg or Hoegaarden, there cant be Guinness or Tiger draft.

Draft beers are getting more popular, but limited in variety due to allegiance to particular breweries

Which limits a consumer’s outlet choice according to which beer he prefers. And bar owners too have to agree to those terms and shut out the competitor, and in return get rewarded by the brewery in various ways.

It doesnt affect the liquor guys so much i guess. Moet Hennessy Diageo and Pernod Ricard Malaysia are the biggest, so this law might help the little guys.

The other relevant law is the Price Control and Anti-Profiteering Act 2010, which has already kicked in this month. Besides making sure all outlets display prices for all products prominently, there is a new provision, which makes it illegal to make unreasonably high profits, or profiteer.

The law also controls prices increases. Say the tax on booze or whatever product is increased by 5%. If the retailer then increases price disproportionately, he can be guilty of an offence, with massive fines up to 100k for individuals and 500k for companies. Consumers themselves are the primary enforcers of this law, and can contact the Malaysian Competition Commission to make a complaint.

This is to control the unjustified price increases by businesses in this country, which has been sending our standard of living downhill.

About time i say.

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Fashion TV’s F Vodka arrives

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At Bedroom Club in Pavilion KL last Thursday, a new vodka hit our shores, created by Michel Adam, founder of Fashion TV: The “Elixir of fashion”, F. Vodka.

Taken neat, it’s kinda sweet n a lil rough. Reasonably ok for shots.

But then again, some people probably consider themselves too cool for neat vodka.

Mmm mmh.... Fresh meattt

Its quadrupled-distilled in Poland from fine Polish wheat & rye, with water from artesian wells. The vodka (and the eagle wings logo) is based on a traditional recipe served to the White Eagle Legion in the American War of Independence, 1783.

Must have been an interesting war.

RRP is between $168 and $200 retail, above $300 in outlets. However, it’s exclusive to Bedroom for the next two months. It’s brought in by TWE.

More options in d market, better for consumers

The F Vodka party started a lil slow, but was soon heaving. Cool funk house tunes, none of ’em cheesy electro shite. And before i realized it or aimed for it, i was pretty gone. Must have been the shots. Thanks Vince.

Dont remember much bout gettin home! I guess that’s what happens when u forget to eat.

Service with a smile

That’s three Thursday nights in a row that i been bent, rather than Fri/Sat.

What’s goin on??

Refreshing hits

Last Thu was the F party, Thursday before that by buddy Paulie wuz in town, and we started at 6pm @ Overtime in Kota Damansara. Decent happy hours – about $35 for two pints of Starker unfiltered beer before 7pm.

Bring it, dont stop

Then shifted butts two minutes away to Movida, for an even more amazing deal. $36 nett for your first Kilkenny/Guinness, then a buck each for the next two! So 38 bucks for three. And the rounds kept comin!

So bengkok there. Pushed on to Frendscino in Damansara Perdana, where on Thursday, two pints of Erdinger are $40 nett.

Tall ones

Followed by Es Para Ti for some Jack Daniels. And Jagerbombs (yuck), then Tom Dick & Harry’s for Franziskaner ales. A nice tour over five outlets in one evening. Number of drinks: Uncountable.

Me n Paulie had a major brown-out.

The previous Thursday i randomly strolled into 42East in TTDI, unsure what was up – some Jose Cuervo cocktail promotion. I ended up havin three pints of weissbier, six cocktails, and six tequila shots, including the 1800. Yummy!

Some really interesting tequila cocktails were featured by the distributor Fortier via Remy Cointreau. Will talk about them later.

There’s actually a Jose Cuervo margharita ‘Slurpee’ machine behind d bar. I’ll be featuring 42East soon.

Thursday became the new Friday. Hopefully not dis week.

 

Brain damage: 8/10

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