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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Whiskey – the Irish liquid

Yup, not many know that the exquisite spirit of whiskey was actually something that originated in Ireland. But the Irish are used to being screwed, so Scotland’s whiskey is now more well-known around the world.

Initially distillation was used by boring early humans to make perfumes, but they soon graduated to produce better stuff, thanks to ancient Celts whose monks brought the tech back to Ireland to produce uisgebeatha (water of life).

Not a bird..

Not a bird..

The first Irish record of drinking waay too much whiskey is that of a chieftain in 1405 “taking a surfeit of aqua vitae” at Christmas. Yea, understandable. He OD-ed and died.

Till today, it’s the first written record of the existence of whiskey. Haha. Solid.

Anyway Kieran Crowe is a very-much alive Irishman who’s the brand ambassador of Jameson Irish Whiskey whom i met recently for a chat.

The Irish

The Irish

So what’s different about Irisch (i just made that up) vs say, Scotch? ”Well Scotch tends to be smokier. Irish whiskies are typically triple-distilled, makes it a little smoother. Also when we malt our barley, we don’t use peat to smoke ’em; we use heated air. That would be the main difference,” he says.

Cieran pretending to make a cocktail

Kieran pretending to make a cocktail

Irisch was bigger than Scotch for a very long time in fact. But a series of unfortunate events saw Scotch take over the number one position. “But over the last 25 years, Irish whiskey has gotten bigger and bigger, lead by Jameson.”

The unfortunate events include the Irish War of Independence and subsequent trade war with Britain which denied it access to Commonwealth markets.

Kieran says the worldwide revival began in a Brooklyn dive bar called Bushwick Country Club (not a country club), with affordable drinks and friendly staff. The bartenders there invented a shooter called the Pickleback. A shot of Jameson is chased by a shot of pickle brine. Gotta try it.

Owner John fixing a Pickleback

Owner John fixing a Pickleback

US is the largest market for Jameson, which takes half of their 5 million annual cases. Interestingly, 12 more distilleries are opening in Ireland over the next five years.

The second best-selling Irisch in the world is Bushmills, followed by Tullamore Dew. “Keep an eye out for Red Breast.” is his tip.

That's the delicious Scarlette O'Jameson, a cocktail with raspberries available at Locker & Loft

That’s the delicious Scarlette O’Jameson, a cocktail with among others raspberries, available at Locker & Loft only

How do the Irish drink Irisch? “Over rocks, with a little water. The younger ones drink it with ginger ale and lime.”  Ale & lime? That’s how i usually take rum!

I kinda enjoy Jameson Original. A good whiskey to be taken on it’s own, at anytime, and versatile in cocktails as well. It’s matured in a combo of ex-Bourbon barrels as well as Sherry casks.

Kieran leads a toast after the tasting session

Kieran leads a toast after the tasting session

Kieran also took a bunch of folk thru a whisky tasting, which went down at restaurant & cocktail bar Locker & Loft. Followed by shots of Jameson, like true Irish.

He however messed up big time and said ”Cheers”, but soon corrected himself – “Sláinte!!”

 

Brain damage: 7.5 / 10

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Benromach, a Speyside special

Speyside single malts like Glenlivet tend to be my favourites. Typically, they possess light, sweetish characteristics. Lunchtime whiskies. The older ones and those aged in sherry casks however are richer and more pronounced.
Benromach is a tiny distillery from this region, which was once closed for a long time. Then it reopened in 1998. Nothing is automated at Benromach. It’s 100% hand-made single malts.

All the action in this 'house'

All the action in this ‘house’

It’s the second smallest whisky distillery in Scotland. It’s such a small distillery that only a handful of guys run it.

Stills... mmmm..

Stills….  mmmm….  full of goodness

Speyside whiskies of past had small elements of smokiness in them. This feature is said to be the classic pre-1960s Speyside character.

Before the mid 1960s, these distilleries malted their own barley. Hidden away in remote glens, they’d top up their fires with cuts of local peat when coal was running low. These slices were enough to impart a touch of smoke in the region’s whisky.

Hmmm. I didn’t know that. I have always assumed Speyside whiskies traditionally have a light and non-smoky profile.
However, the ‘Speyside smoke’ ain’t nowhere like the Islay one (in your face). The smokiness is very light, and not very noticeable.

Ace

Ace

Met up with the Juliette Buchan of Benromach for an introductory session.

The Benromach 10 Years (43%) is a mix of aged whiskies with 80% from bourbon barrels, 20% from Sherry hogshead. Final year is spent in first-fill Oloroso casks. Its beautiful taste of sherry, fruit and vanilla gives way to a light pop of smoke, coming after that pleasant sweetness that Speysides are so sought for.

Loved it. This is Benromach’s flagship expression.
We also tried the 10 Year Old 100 proof (50% abv). Just as interesting, only stronger.

The teen

The teen

The longer maturation of the 15 Year Old (43%) softens its smokiness to hints of charred smoke, while developing the wood-imbued character of honey, vanilla and fruit. Very pleasant, but richer.
As a treat, we had some Benromach 35 Year Old (43%). This exquisite dram is a lot more complex after chillin for more than three decades in oak. It’s a sophisticated, delicate dram, with the right balance between fruity freshness and oaky maturity.

Classy

Classy

This tiny family-run distillery by the town of Forres produces some astounding stuff. Will plan to serve it at Locker & Loft, especially the 10.

 

Brain damage: 8/10

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