Category Archives: ~ Events ~

Brooklyn Beers in town

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Carlsberg Malaysia has launched two new foreign beers, in its bid to get some action from the somewhat niche craft beer scene. A lil late to the game i gotta say, with two options – the amber lager and IPA, from Brooklyn Brewery, NY. Both are unique in their own way.

The launch took place at TREC

The launch took place at TREC

20171214_193036The first (5.2%) is definitely flavoursome for a lager. It’s basically a Viennese-style beer that uses the British dry-hopping method (steeping the beer with fresh hops as it undergoes a long, cold maturation). Suggested eats are pizzas, burgers n Mexican food.

The new pair

The new pair

The East IPA is not a bitch-slap that many others give you. It doesnt have the usual aroma of marijuana buds (hops are from the marijuana family). Nevertheless it contains six strains of hops. It’s milder in taste and easy on the bitterness (the IBU is 40).

It weighs in at a respected 6.9%. I could drink it all night without getting bored or jelak with the flavour. Best with spicy food.

Great bites with the beers

Great bites with the beers

It comes in 355ml bottles. With the probable high price point of up to RM40 or so at outlets, it’s gonna be a challenge to go against the tons of craft beers that we have here, which are mostly lower-priced and well-known.

20171214_193139Booklyn Brewery is currently ranking #11 in volume among United States craft breweries. It produces award-winning beers that are available in more than 30 countries.

 

Brain damage: 8/10

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Mixtealogy anyone??

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It’s extremely rare for me to get an invitation to a non-alcoholic drink event. It’s even rarer for me to accept! However, i was kinda intrigued by this one called Mixtealogy.

?

It’s basically a colab between Monin syrups (often used by bartenders for cocktails) and Lipton Tea to create new drink recipes using the various flavours that both brands have in their portfolio.

Monin has a range of 175 flavours including gourmet sauces, fruit purees and frappe powder. Lipton has quite a few too, including the premium Sir Thomas J Lipton range.

Not huge fan of mint drinks but this was one of my faves

Not huge fan of mint drinks but this was one of my faves

Am glad i attended, as many of the drinks that were created are really good, even the simple ones.

Guests had several options when it came to drinks – you could either pour yourself from the ‘draught’ taps, or order a specialty one from the mixologists at the bar.

For the latter, you have an order card where you tick off various flavours as well as the ‘feel’ that you would like your tea mocktail to have.

Bartenders were recruited for this event

Bartenders were recruited for this event

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?

 

IMG_9236 (2)?

In fact this even inspired me and the bartenders at The Locker & Loft to come up with our own tea cocktail, blending green tea and cucumber juice, and it’s gooood.

Lipton Green Tea-infused gin, Midori, cucumber juice, lemon juice, sugar & Angostura Bitters. Refereshing and well-balanced

Japanese Squeeze – Sir Thomas J Lipton Green Tea-infused gin, Midori, cucumber juice, lemon juice, sugar & Angostura Bitters. Refreshing and well-balanced

I guess what this event is aiming to do is show the versatility of one of the world’s oldest beverage, tea. You could really mess with tea, more so than coffee i think. Even without booze.

 

Brain damage: 0/10

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A very special Singleton dinner

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Gosh, don’t really remember the last time i was up at Genting Highlands. I guess am more of a Fraser’s Hill kinda dude… BBQ, beers, butterflies….

However took a drive up the mountain recently for an superb meal with The Singleton of Glen Ord, a single malt Scotch from the Glen Ord Distillery in Speyside.

The kick-off drink. Glen Sour (Singleton 12, lemon juice, maraschino cherry, gula melaka, dark walnut bitters, orange peel oils and egg white)

The kick-off drink, by talented bartender Erlwin, Glen Sour (Singleton 12, Maraschino cherry, lemon juice, gula melaka, dark walnut bitters, orange peel oils and egg white). Tastes gooood

The Trophy Malt Dinner is to showcase some of their exceptional whiskies with equally exceptional food, this time prepared by Chef Steven Chou, at the really cool restaurant with an alluring outdoor terrace, The Olive.

Perfect set-up

Perfect set-up

The theme was the Forgotten Drop Series, which is an annual release drawn from the brand’s rarest and most precious whiskies. The series are whiskies re-discovered from a few extremely rare casks

This year, the annual release is The Singleton of Glen Ord 41 Year Old, with a limited 600 bottles made available worldwide, and only 24 bottles in Malaysia, retailing at RM 15,193 per bottle. Yup. High-roller stuff. (Make it 23 bottles after our dinner.)

Fortunately it’s bottled at cask strength with 49.9% ABV to allow drinkers to experience the original character of this rare batch of old casks. This creates a very special dram with a fine balance and smoothness, alongside rich tropical fruit aromas and hints of oak.

The goods

The goods

Chef Steven doin his thing

Chef Steven doin his thing before main course

No surprises with the food - awesome

No surprises with the food – awesome

Ervin Trykowski, the first Global Scotch Whisky Ambassador for The Singleton,

Singleton’s Global Whisky Ambassador Ervin Trykowski gettin down n dirty with the crowd

The crowd

The crowd

The other crowd. We didn't destroy all tho

The other crowd. We didn’t destroy all tho

Also launched was the 18 Year Old Cask Strength, which is a limited-edition bottling to celebrate the distillery’s 180th anniversary. It is bottled at a major firepower of 58.4% ABV, with honeyed sweetness with rich fruity notes. This whisky is only made available in selected markets with a starting price from RM 624.

Bartender Erwlin is actually someone i met 15 years ago in Sarawak, when he was a kid. Grown up to be a cool man

Bartender Erlwin is actually someone i met 15 years ago in Sarawak, when he was a kid. Grown up to be a cool man. He’s based up there

After-party venue

After-party venue

After the superb session we marched on to some bar for more. Fortunately only required walking. And after, the hotel was close enough to require only required crawling if needed.

Brain damage: 8/10

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A gastronomic trip with John Walker XR21

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Many drinkers might be unaware but John Walker & Sons is a range of super premium whiskies that includes the exquisite XR21, which contains whiskies that are aged for a minimum of 21 years and drawn from extremely rare Johnnie Walker reserves.

XR21 organized a great dinner in Georgetown, Penang, to showcase the craftmanship of local cuisines and insights not just about the drink, but also the ingredients used in crafting the right dish to pair with, called XR21 Mastery. We were pampered alright.

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The balcony of my fancy-ass pad

The star of the show. the XR21

The dinner location was awesome – at the Khoo Kongsi. We were given a guided tour of the traditional association before the drinks started flowing

20170904_190803The three-course meal was created by Chef Spider Kong (am serious), owner of private dining restaurant Soul Food. Dessert was by Chef Jeffrey, the Head Pastry Chef at Metisser Dessert Parlour.

The delicious line-up consisted of Tiger Prawn Kerabu, Chicken Ravioli, and followed by a choice of Seared Barramundi or Tamarind Lamb..

Rajesh Joshi, who is the Marketing Director of Moët Hennessy Diageo Malaysia, says that ”This platform will be bringing flavours of traditional cuisines made with local ingredients across the nation to life, which will be paired with the XR21. The XR21 provides intriguing layers of surprising and delightful flavours.”

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Pre-dinner cocktails

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Long-distance entertainment. Haha

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Dining was on a performance stage

The dessert features the locally-famed Amra fruit, which can only be cultivated in the Tropics and is commonly produced into juice, pickles or used in salads. It was stuffed with chocolate mousse and was probably the most spectacular dish of the night!

You nailed it!

You nailed it buddy!

The Tamarind Lamb which i had is char-grilled, with polenta cake seasonal vegetable, confit cherry vine tomato and cooked with tamarind red wine au jus, which has a hint of acidity that balances the flavours of the rich and juicy lamb cutlets. Excellent stuff!

Score

Score

The XR 21 Mastery is a platform created exclusively for Malaysia which will feature local hidden gems and expertise in the culinary industry, as obviously our food is the world’s best.

Majestic aint it?

Majestic aint it?

The dinner in Georgetown showcased that, incorporating modern flavours into traditional cuisines of Penang. And the location and setting just made it all the more appropriate and outstanding.

The after-party was awesome at Mish Mash, Ben Ng‘s joint. Things got a little hazy during/after that; however the hotel was fortunately crawling-distance.

Brain damage: 8/10

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