Tag Archives: duty-free

The Glenlivet dinner @ Dewakan

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Glenlivet scored again with one of their cool events. This time, it was @ Dewakan, a restaurant at KDU in Shah Alam.

The selection for guests were three exceptional triple-cask matured single malt whiskies, which are exclusive to travel retail.

The spread

The spread

A really cool e-book about the whiskies

A really cool e-book about the whiskies

The Master Distiller’s Reserve, the cornerstone of the range, is joined in 2015 by two new expressions: Master Distiller’s Reserve Solera Vatted and The Master Distiller’s Reserve Small Batch, to become the new permanent range.

Interestingly three types of wood are involved with all the whiskies, contributing to their the multi-layered characters.

Interesting..

Interesting menu… (sorry about the spots – camera issue i think!)

The food at Dewakan was a treat for sure.

All whiskies involve the highest quality Traditional Oak, American Oak and Ex-Sherry Oak casks.

The first whisky was the Master Distiller’s Reserve. I got leathery spice on the nose, spicy in the mouth, with a sweetish end.

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The second one, New Master Distiller’s Reserve Solera Vatted, seemed drier, and gave me a citrusy nose. While New Master Distiller’s Reserve Small Batch was sweeter in a fruity way, with hints of marmalade.

The characteristics of various wood

The characteristics of the various wood

Dewakan is run by popular chef Darren Teoh. He’s a young dude that’s done well for himself.

Darren in action

Darren in action

Fried bread sticks, which were served with budu mayo!

Fried bread sticks, which were served with budu mayo!

Various species of shrooms being prepped

Various species of roasted shrooms being prepped

Lamb breast. Portions weren't big

Lamb breast. Portions weren’t big. Marinated for a day then cooked in a wood-fired oven. Amazing stuff

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Giant cockroach with ice-cream

The fortunate guests

The fortunate guests

All the whiskies are exclusive to travel retail, and are available at KLIA from US$51.

The meal at Dewakan was exceptional and new. Glenlivet and Pernod Ricard Malaysia have yet again done an amazing job with a really cool event, and was worth the drive to KDU University College in Glenmarie.

Lionel and his PR/event team at Millennium Associates aced it again. As usual, i look forward to the next one.

 

Brain damage: 8/10

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World-first: Absolut Brand Store launched @ KLIA

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Post written by my buddy and fellow alco Paulie:

I was invited to attend the launch of Absolut’s 1st ever retail boutique in the world, in KLIA, representing The Thirsty Blogger of course.

At the event, we were accompanied by cocktails (they had a virgin drink, didnt interest me) made from Absolut Hibiskus, mixed with pomegranate, etc.

Thats all it took for me to get into my comfortable mode, which meant only one thing, Absolut Drownme. You usually get it at Absolut events. Limited edition if you ask me.

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The PRM big guns gave their respective speeches and MAHB’s GM gave the last one followed by the official launch (ribbon cutting) of the outlet.

Pretty nice set up, the event. The outlet itself is located right at the entrance and exit of the sky train platform. Convenient.

I was impressed with the layout of the place. Its the only place in the world that you can find all the flavours of the Absolut family, after their Swedish warehouse of course. However they didnt have the Absolut Pepper and Absolut blue on. There was a couple of their limited edition Absoluts on display.

The highlight of the launch of course, for me was their bar. Yes, you heard me right. The brand store actually boasts a bar that, beat this, sells Absolut cocktails with duty free prices!

The bar that day was run by Mark Tay, the founder of BarSmiths Singapore  and according to him, will be run by one of their boys during normal operations.

Pretty impressive set of cocktails they had. Absolut Calamansi, Absolut Hibiskus Gingerlime, Absolut Hibiskus Chilli, Absolut Hibiskus PomRose and Absolut Hibiskus Tropical Passion. I rated the Absolut Chilli as the best tasting one. I thought that the Gingerlime was good too.

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The rest, just tasted normal to me, though the preparation looked pretty interesting, with Mark scooping out pomegranate seeds for the PomRose and using melted gula melaka for the tropical passion. Picture chilli seeds boiled in hot water and the liquid later used as a flavouring for the Absolut Chilli. Pretty neat eh?

I was so engrossed chatting with Mark and getting high (prepping myself for the next party, (Arthurs Day at Sepang) by the time i turned around, i was the only person still standing there.

Said my goodbyes to the nice people of Absolut and made my way to the main KLIA lobby nice and buzzed.

 

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Absolut Hibiskus

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Yea, it’s here. Absolut Hibiskus is now available in KL and the rest of Malaysia, as well as duty-free, as of Sept 1.

Fresh

Fresh

The kick-ass launch party was last Friday, and it was good. Lots of Hibiskus too, served via two varieties of cocktails. It went down at The Poppy Lounge, which has been extensively renovated and lookin nice.

There were artworks on display, a collaboration between Pernod Ricard Malaysia and online art hub 3editions.

Party Poppying

Party Poppying

The cocktails on tap were Absolut Pom-Rose and Absolut Calamansi, created by 23aubergine. The Pom-Rose was real good, with the addition of roselle juice and some pomegrenate syrup, plus lemonade; i added a squeeze of lime for a lil zest.

The Calamansi starts sour due to the lime, then ends bitter. Interesting, but not in large amounts for me.

I had Absolut Hibiskus straight. Quite palatable. If i had vodka on da rocks, i would probably opt for the Hibiskus. All day. It’s got a light floral nose, almost rose-like, while in the mouth, there are berry flavours, plus a natural sweetness.

The Hibiskus is actually an infusion of hibiscus and pomegranate. Absolut only makes flavored vodkas from natural ingredients, and no sugar is added. There’s a bunch of Hibiskus cocktail recipes here.

The drink is available at F&B outlets as well as off-trade at Cold Storage, Jason’s, Mercato and Econsave.

Neeext

Neeext!

There’ll be other Absolut Hibiskus events over the next few weeks, with the next one this Friday @ Luna Bar. Nice. Like Absolut’s FB page to stay wired.

ALSO, on Sept 27 Pernod Ricard Asia will be unveiling the world’s first Absolut Brand Store at KLIA! How convenient. I’ll be in the vicinity for Arthur’s Day.

Nice hair. Giant bottle by ..

Nice hair. Giant bottle by 3editions’ artists

 

Brain damage: 8.5/10

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New drinks

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Four alcohol brands – Laphroaig, Balvenie, Cointreau & Brugal – released new editions last week, all in travel retail.

The new look Laphroaig GTR range comprises: QA, the new entry level brand which is priced at €55; An Cuan Mor, also newly launched and priced at €95.

The Balvenie Triple Cask range comprises a 12 YO, 16 YO and 25 YO expression, each of which have been matured in three steps using different styles of barrel.

The Balvenie – not so big here yet, but picking

First-fill bourbon are used first, refill bourbon casks are used second, followed by a final period of aging in Jerez sherry casks.

Rémy Cointreau also joins the party with its new line extension, Cointreau Noir, a 40% ABV blend of orange liqueur and Rémy Marin cognac. Sounds tasty.

You could probably mix this into Baileys

Matthew Hodges of Remy Martin says “Cointreau Noir is a sultry dark version of the orange liqueur we know and love – the blend of Cointreau and cognac seems to add depth which we believe will appeal to dark spirits connoisseurs as well as lovers of cocktails.”

Maxxium also unveiled Brugal Papa Andres, a new ultra-premium rum. Named after the company’s founder Don Andres Brugal, Brugal Papa Andres is limited to 500 bottles, exclusive to travel retail and is priced at €900/US$1,200.

Brugal. One letter away from Brutal

The number of new products out there is pretty astounding. Even Johnnie Walker just released a new expression under its Explorers Club range – three to be exact. Spice Road, Gold Route, and Royal Silk Route. Details here.

And on top of that, two months ago, John Walker & Sons released Odyssey, a triple malt.

Phew. You’d need to travel every week just to get your collection!

Some affordable, others strictly for collectors. Available in airports in US, Europe and Asia at different times.

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