Here it comes

Grant’s 12 is made of a blend of fine single malts and grain whiskies, matured in oak for a minimum of 12 years. It also does an additional three months in American oak casks. The result – a full-bodied whisky that’s real smooth and rich. It’s main notes – mix of vanilla n spice, and a lil fruity too.

Grant’s is from William Grant & Sons (how come it’s never … and Daughters?) Ltd, a family-owned distillery since 1886. It won Distiller of The Year at the IWSC in 2010 and 2011.

Starter

The event took place at one of my favourite-lookin lounge, Flo. Food was great, and there was haggis too. Tender stuff.

Funky joint

Main bar

There were guys in skirts dancin

I’m pretty sure that the award-winning Grant’s 12 has been in Malaysia before, I’ll tell u why. My bro got married a few years ago, so after the ceremony in the morning, there was a drinking session at a members club for the groom’s posse before the lunch. Within that short period before we makan with the bride’s side n all, we polished 20 bottles of Grant’s 12. Good stuff.

We were very late and very high by the time we showed at the hall for lunch. And the dancing began.

Ready to party

Great to see you again Grant’s.

And it’s an invite-only gig. So there’ll be music n free booze (lager that is).

It’s kinda all-expense paid.

It’s a 12-hour event by Carlsberg that’s called Where’s The Party?

Where??

It’s a secret, and u’ll know when the chartered bus gets u there.

The last one went down at a resort in Sepang, and it was fat, at the Golden Palm Tree Resort. Massages n various fun games too.

I’d love it to be at the beach, but who knows. Wherever, it shd be interesting.

So, interested? The first 10 people who like the Facebook page from this blog will win a ticket. Easy!

Not sure how they will give it out tho. TODAY (Thu) is the last day for tickets.

The best part is – i can get sumtin too – if 100 readers from here like that page, i get a camera.

And if u only knew what baaad shape my goddam camera is in at the mo, u’ll really like the page! Here.

Yea, the chilled event at a chilled day-drinking spot is blessing us again. The last event was in April.

Kick-off remains at the excellent time of 2.30pm.

I might go heavy Saturday nite, so really hope i’ll make it to Bakita this Sunday. The last two Thirsty Sundays were pretty solid.

The cover is $25, but u get coupons worth $25. How nice.

Lagers and ales are $5 and $10 per cup, and there be grub.

My Sundays have been getting nice ‘n nasty recently.

The beers were Rogue, which had its launch party recently. The chefs were specially hired for the event – Cuisine Riot, a team of Malaysian-based TV chefs. The dinner was open to the public for a fee.

The food boyz

Beer-pairing is actually not uncommon, although most times it’s wine, not sure why. Beers (as in ales mostly), have depth and complexity as well. The problem here has been the lack of variety as most beers used to be lagers. That has obviously changed.

Craft Brew founder Paul Khong  says that Craft Brews wants to spearhead the beer education and appreciation trend in Malaysia. “We see it as our responsibility to create new and exciting opportunities to help and educate people on how to enjoy beer.”

Cozy

Craft Brew has a range of beers, with the latest being American-made Rogue.

Nite began with a glass of OREgasmic Ale (pale ale, ABV 6%), paired with pork belly, onion tagliatelle, onion coulis, pickled daikon and papaya ketchup.

It was an excellent dish of tender, juicy slabs of meat, with a very wild-tasting ketchup. The beer was a little too bold and tasty for me. The OREgasmic was the only beer i couldn’t finish at the launch party.

When the next dish showed up with a couple of syringes, it got my attention.

Where the needles at?

This is a mix of mushroom consomme, sago pearls and… instant noodles. As you fire the syringe into the soup (not your arm), it turns into noodles.

Cool. I enjoyed playing with my food.

This dish seemed herbal-ly, and refreshing, with medium-strength flavours, and went well with the light-medium beer – the pairing was with the Mom Hefeweizen (Belgian ale, ABV 5.2%).

Next was the duck fillet, Israel couscous and beetroot, with the Hazelnut Brown Nectar Ale (brown ale, ABV 6.2%). The bird was cooked quite rare, with a nice roasted skin, and gamey – which was tempered by the sweetness of the couscous. It was a good mix for the roasty, caramely beer.

Hey there brown sugar

I missed out on the tandoori chicken and dessert as i had to split early.The next pairings were the Juniper Pale Ale and the Chocolate Stout. Dammit!

Well, am sure there’ll be other such events comin up. Look out for it if you’re into beers while dining.

Party starts

To add some spice, beer fans will be pleased – GAB has introed three new German beers for the season – Hopf Ice Wheat Beer, Paulaner Oktoberfest Bier, and 111 Zwickl. Mixologist Ben Ng brought us thru a tasting.

Balloonhead got thirsty

The Hopf (ABV 5.5%) uses ice-conditioned wheat where excess water from the wheat is extracted through freezing, giving more depth to the flavor and body. Gives the beer its distinctive crisp and clean taste that is mild and refreshing.

Welcome to Malaysia

The Paulaner Oktoberfest Bier (ABV 6%) is synonymous with the Oktoberfest in Munich, and is its official beer. Its gotta rich malty aroma, pleasant taste, and a reasonably full body.

The 111 (5%) is light-flavoured, with a hint of flower, and a mild yeasty flavor.

GAB’s recommended retail prices for outlets  for these beers are:

• Paulaner Oktoberfest Bier (Draught, 500ml)        : 26
• Paulaner Oktoberfest Bier (Draught, 330ml)        : 18
• Paulaner Oktoberfest Bier (Bottle,500ml)             : 26
• Hopf Ice Wheat Beer (Bottle, 330ml)                      : 18
• 111 Zwickl Beer (Bottle, 330ml)                                 : 18

They can be scored at these outlets.

The new Souled Out, HSC tower

Some of the other games for Oktoberfest, besides drinking, is rolling the barrel, the chicken dance, and masskrugstemmen – basically holding up a stein (litre glass) up straight as long as u can.

More info on the Oktoberfest FB page here.

Steins. I like

One way to cheers in German is Eins, zwei, drei, g’suffa! (Pronounced aa-eens, zvai, dry, zuffa.) It means One, two, three, drink! Doesn’t get simpler than that.

1. Arthur’s Day launch

Was at Beer Factory, Sunway Giza, PJ.

Arthur's back

Arthur’s Day happens on Sept  23. More details here.

Some weird mickey mouse restaurant in Giza

2. Glenmorangie exclusive fat-cat dinner @ Spasso Milano

This was to introduce to selected guests the Glenmorangie Pride 1981. Good year.

Only 1,000 pieces have been produced for the world.

Thus it’s a very limited 28-year-old single malt. It’s like $400+ per shot. Definitely the most precious fluid I’ve ever consumed. Somehow i had three.

It’s pure ecstatic nectar, nuff said. The Pride is the pinnacle of Glenmorangie’s seemingly consistent desire to push boundaries and innovate. With this creation, a prized 18-year-old batch was aged a further 10 years in Sauternes ‘Barriques’ from the vineyard of Château d’Yquem, France. Fancy.

Malaysia has only been allocated 10 bottles. (Well, 9 now.) Its cost per bottle is more than all my furniture.

Karen and Frederic of MHD

We had some insane duck. Unreal stuff

The merchandise. Comes in a funky case with mechanical arms

Some cellar guy appeared with back-up

3. Unveiling of the Chivas Regal 18 Christian Lacroix Limited Edition Bottle

At Imagerom Studio in Kota D, Chivas Regal showcased its collaboration again with fashion designer Christian Lacroix for its super-premium Scotch, with a luxury limited edition. The bottle itself is a work of art, with a metallic outfit, and mirrored interior. Looks awesome, probably a collector’s item.

3,ooo made, with 1,000 for travel retail, where it goes for about RM1,500.

How to chill whisky

Some cool device that relies on gravity to create a large, perfectly butt-round ice

Style

Watdat. Makcik

Sometimes they suck. And you basically wasted your time and effort attending the damn event. “Should have stayed home!” or “Should have gone elsewhere!” Am sure we’ve all experienced that feeling.

The problem occurs when an outlet or company invites the whole damn world, and then either they cant handle d crowd, or they never intended to cater to the crowd anyway. Both are very disrespectful and irresponsible.

Many bars are not equipped for big events

If you wanna invite say 300 people, ensure that there’re enough drinks for 300 people to have a few.

A friend was invited to Quattro’s anniversary some time back. Got dressed, smelling good, drove all the way to KL from PJ, paid high fees for parking, and got in there.It was a stampede. After all that, he managed to get…. one beer. That was it.

Obviously he wont go back to such outlets anytime. All that effort, for what. It was like 1,000 people there. Obviously not enough bars in there.

Such events should be broken into different days to lessen the load.

There’s also the issue of not having anywhere near enough bartenders to make the drinks. But then again, that could be the plan – staff not being able to cope means less drinks go out, which benefits the outlet/organizer in terms of cost.

Zouk’s bartenders once didnt allow me to order two drinks (one for my friend at d table) at their anniversary party. The bar was already so jammed with guests ordering drinks, u cd hardly move. Nevermind that, they wanted a bigger mess – each and every guest has to squeeze in there, and order their own drinks personally!

Stupid or wat. I’m not so desperate for the goddam ‘free’ drinks. I rather pay, and be treated not even like a customer, but at least like a human being.

Outta my way

I’ve seen people getting stressed, angry. Guests as well as staff. That’s dumb. You shouldn’t invite guests just to make them angry. They supposed to be happy.

The times where it’s near impossible to get the ‘free’ drink, i prefer ordering and paying for my own drinks. Am cool with that. The problem is, usually they dont sell drinks during the ‘freeflow’.

Doubly-fucked. Haha! Cant get the complimentary drink, cant buy your own.

So, go elsewhere.

I think some outlets probably do freeflow events as a scam to get the crowd in. Once they’re there, the outlet has a large crowd of people buying booze after d freeflow ends. The sooner d freeflow ends, d sooner ‘guests’ magically turn to…  ‘customers’! And any money spent on the free drinks (usually zero, coz they got alcohol companies to sponsor) is recovered multiple times the same night.

Some joints serve Klang-mari moonshine when it’s freeflow time. Like Luna Bar. (Some bars do that daily!)

Some places/events actually run out of glasses! What kind of planning is that? Thus, i’m choosy about the events i attend. Many low-quality ones out there, be warned.

When i did my blog anniversary last year (and launch year before), i ensured not only everyone would have quick and unrestricted access to drinks, i also made sure everyone could have loads to drink. Some booze was sponsored, and i also brought additional booze as back-up. I invited guests according to the amount i had for them to consume.

And everybody had a blast. Zero stress.

I wdnt have wasted their time, my time, and all the other parties’ time if i was gonna let guests fight for three drinks each, and then tell them to fuck-off.

Guests should be entitled to at least minimal comfort

Companies and outlets needs to rethink how they do events. Jamming too many people in, and treating them like cattle, is stupid.

It’s obviously counter-productive to your outlet / brand. It only shows how little you respect your customers & guests.

The session at View Bar was entitled Spirits of the Tropics, ie rum, hence my presence. Mixologist Junior created four types of freshly-made cocktails, which were available for civilians at $15 net a pop.

Menu

Sweet deal, considering the quality of the rum (Angostura, Trinidad & Tobago) and the high-quality ingredients. The first, Jungle Bird, is the only well-known Malaysian tiki cocktail. An extremely unique blend of sweet, finishing with bitter, as it has Campari. As well as dark rum, fresh lime juice, syrup and pineapple juice.

Tiki time

I also liked the Missionary. It’s one of ‘em fruity and tropical sweet-sour cocktails. Not too sweet, the way i like it. Better once the ice melts a bit.

The Screw Pine Mojito tastes like a very limey mojito. The loads of mint leaves had me chewing like a goat in Morocco.

The Screw Pine doesn't come with the dragonfly

However, the Malacca-Loda is too bland for me.

Malacca mari ah?

Also hit the tequila dinner at Las Carretas, Damansara Heights. Jose Cuervo sponsored the liquor, and i was taken aback when i saw this:

Yea! One of me fave tequilas

The walk-in drink is known as Old & New, a pair of shooters of iced tequila and Sangrita. I love the latter, like a salsa-sauce drink. Similar to the Red Hot Smoke i had recently.

Food was great, tho not what i expected, as it wasnt spicy.

Mixologist Timothy Jason also fried some sugared pineapples with a blowtorch for the second cocktail, Citrus whisper – 1800, Joseph Carton Triple Sec, orange slices and home made grape fruit soda. It tasted quite like a Screwdriver.

Toast 'em!

Before we left, there was a treat – an extremely rare Cuervo family reserve – the Jose Cuervo Reserva De La Familia. Only a couple of thousand bottles worldwide a year. Ben says “Each glass is probably over a hundred bucks.”

It has a nose similar to a single malt or cognac, with more caramel. Its super-smooth in the mouth, velvety, with a sweet, intense finish. Not a typical tequila.

Niice!

Especial

KLCW is likely to be an annual affair. It should get bigger next year, with more publicity and a heads-up for all yall who’d like to know more about (and get high on) an exciting variety of high-quality cocktails. You’ll be informed!

Brain damage: 8/10

It’s organized by Fluid Alchemy / mixologist Ben Ng.

This event is truly about cocktails…. cocktails.. and more cocktails. So brace yourself for a week of ‘hard work’ at the bar. You’ll also have the nation’s top bartenders mixing up their signature KLCW creations for your enjoyment. Their cocktails will be available for customers at only $15 nett.  A decent deal.

Details visit the event page here. C ya there!

Who da group

The group was formed last year to, among others, counter the crazy taxes we face in this country. Highest in Asia. And for beer, second highest in the world! Why??

It’s ridiculous, considering how much we earn. A couple of our points were raised in this article.

Anyway, some of us decided we’re not gonna take this shit, and launched a successful campaign last year. You can read the background here.

Our aim is also to start giving free promotion and publicity to reasonably-priced outlets.

Alcon press conference

Now we’re takin it a step further, and some have plans for the year. But next step is the launch party on Saturday afternoon, in Desa Sri Hartamas.

Handing our demands to the Ministry of Finance

Places are limited; first-come-first-serve, but all are welcome to attend the festivities, so long as ur a member of Alcon. Join Alcon here. (Our Group page has 5,000+ members, but we have just created a new Fan page). And get your friends.

Media and blogs are welcome too.

Event page here. If u cant view, you might have to join Alcon first.

Need media

The more members we have, the more we can do, and the better our chances of at least freezing alcohol taxes for a few years.

Latest I hear is the government needs money, and are targeting to whack booze this year. We need to object. We should not be targets for easy government cash anymore.

Will probably need volunteers to help in photography and publicity for the event. Pls let us know on the group’s wall page if you can help the cause in any way.