A very special Singleton dinner

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

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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Kickin-back with Tiger White in… Bentong

I’ve always liked Bentong, as well as the other little towns northeast of the Valley. Famous for durians and that killa ABC / ice-cream shop, Bentong district was where Tiger White found a great little spot by the forest for a weekend getaway, with some glamping arranged for its competition winners.

For me it was a much-wanted break, after spending months setting up Locker & Loft.

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Typo?

Glamping is basically camping for sissies, aka ”glamorous camping”. The resort Caravan Serai has many such tents, with attached bathrooms, and Tiger was kind enough to fit ACs to all tents. How nice. Turned our tent into a party spot.

Not our tent obviously

Not our tent obviously

This is like the fourth ‘surprise’ excursion done for Tiger White consumers, including a trip on a yacht out of Port Klang for other winners. I wasn’t invited for that, probably coz i would have commandeered the yacht and stormed Cenang Beach. Wouldn’t be a day-trip anymore.

The resort is very chilled, cozy and welcoming, with lots of green and an airy cafeteria, which also housed the bar with an unlimited supply of ice-cold Tiger White, which is a Malaysian-created wheat beer (abv 5%). It also contains clove, coriander, and orange peel for a hint of extra flavour.

Day 2; Tiger White winners, their guests, and members of the media strike a pose before leaving Caravan Serai, Bentong

The crew

Besides downing cold ones, the other exciting activity we got tangled in was quad-biking! This was on the evening we checked-in, although trying to create a drink holder on the vehicle was a challenge. I lost my Tiger to the forest. Haha

Paulie losing it. In his sexy shorts

Paulie losing it.  In his sexy shorts

We also got to enjoy some mischief in the forest – paintball. Unlike the urban version, bush paintball is another level altogether. Many variables, and uncertain terrain. I found a great sniping spot, but had to maintain, as insects and shit crawled all over me.

Me and Paulie wanted to enter the river and wade upstream to flank the other team, but we disallowed from doing so. Damn. Would have whooped them and eaten their leader.

Either way, each team won one game apiece, and most participants were too emotionally drained and exhausted to play a finale. Or too thirsty.

Ready

Ready

The night that we arrived, guests were treated to an outdoor movie as well.

Garden party

Garden party

Not sure what all those official photographers were doing there but we hardly received 10 photos of the entire weekend. Haha.

Unlike most alcohol brands that do same ol stuff in the city, Tiger White has been a lot more adventurous and daring. It provided guests with stuff they would normally not do, and for some, probably never would have done. Hats off to the brand for that.

 

Brain damage: 7.5/10

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Beware, your beer has a clandestine enemy

I learnt something new today. Keeping your drinks cold has another enemy that is little known – condensation.

While i always assumed condensation was natural and quite harmless, it’s in truth a goddam cold-sucker. The droplets on your glass, can or bottle, are actually the main cause of your drink warming up.

Once you grab a can or bottle of beer from the fridge or esky/ice-box , stopping it from warming up quick is a losing battle, unless you have some protection. (Thirsty Blogger post on booze storing systems and ice-boxes here.)

The important part is why. The researchers studied how much of an effect the water droplets that collect on the outside of the beverage — condensation — have on the temperature of the can, glass or bottle.

NOOOOooo....

NOOOOooo….

The effect is huge: the formation of those damn droplets sucks heat from the surrounding air, and delivers it straight to the drink.

It was sumtin i saw on Business Insider, an article called Science Proves It: Koozies Keep Beer Colder. Among others, the koozie stops the formation of these water drops, thus slowing the heating process.

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Koozies by huggaz – handy drinkers’ gear

Works for wine bottles too

Works for wine bottles too

Says study researcher Dale Durran, atmospheric scientist of the University Of Washington, “Probably the most important thing a beer koozie does is not simply insulate the can, but keep condensation from forming on the outside of it.”

I didn’t know that. I assumed it’s role was merely the insulation from the surrounding heat.

Will use huggaz koozies a lot more now. Haha.

A beer is typically served at 5 Celsius. With condensation, within 5 minutes it can double and warm up to 10 Celsius. Condensation is an exothermic process. Heat is released into its surroundings, in this case, the beer.

Liquid absorbs heat to turn into gas; thus gas (in this case H2O) releases heat when it turns into liquid.

condensation

Condensation = bad news. Gas turning to liquid and causing shit

When u see sweat on your can, beer or wine bottle, or glass, it’s no good. And the more humid the air is, the worse the condensation. And we have a high 80% humidity.

So watch out for that condensation. And if you dont have a koozie/huggaz, a napkin will have to do. Just make sure you don’t allow that evil condensation!
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