Dewar's Tasting Event

I've been meaning to write about Dewar's tasting event that I went two weekends ago but got tied up with work and then the mine rescue came about. I guess, better late than never...Last Oct 7, I had a chance to join other whiskey lovers to be part of the Dewar's tasting event held at Chelsea's Milk Studios. It sure was a truly good experience learning the history of Dewar's and even had a pleasure of making my own blend of scotch whiskey.

The night started with cocktail hour where guest were treated to various hors d'oeuvres such as Mozarella and Tomatoes, Chicken Sliders, Beef Sliders and so much more. And you got to wash the finger food down with your choice of either Dewar's on the Rocks, Dewar's Smash and Dewar's and Ginger.

Dewar's Smash

Dewar's on the Rocks is basically Dewar's 12 Blended Scotch Whisky on the rocks; Dewar's Smash is a mix of fresh mint, simple syrup, seltzer and lemon with Dewar's White Label; and Dewar's & Ginger is a mix of Dewar's White Label with Gingel Ale. I decided to give Dewar's Smash a try and it was pretty good. Very smooth and tasty - almost similar to a mojito.

Then our emcee, who is one of Dewar's ambassadors for which I cannot remember his name, announce that it was time for the tasting event. He asked everyone to line up near the curtain and the Dewar's ladies led us in to our table. The tasting room had tables that fit 8 guest and setup in a semi-circle with screens at the back of the room showing Dewar's history and another screen up front. Once seated, each guest have have 5 glasses filled with drips of Scotch and water, and 5 test tubes containing different flavored White Label whiskey (Honey, Fruity - Citrus, Floral, Vanilla and Smokey - Peat). I even had a chance to smell the peat when our ambassador lighted and allow us to smell the smokey flavor.

The Dewar's Drink Ambassador started off by telling a brief history of Dewar's. He even taught us two Gaelic words, one of which is "Slaandjivaa" which is Scottish Gaelic for cheers. After few more Dewar's facts, we started the tasting. We had a chance to try Dewar's White Label again after which our ambassador asked us to nose each whiskey flavor and then asked us to blend our own scotch whiskey. I used smokey as my base flavor and mixed in some honey and floral. I would say my whiskey came out nicely.

Next up, the ambassador allows us to taste one of the rarest Dewar's whisky - the unaged blend and of course, the Dewar's 12 that is unavailable for sale and is the drink of England's Royal Family. This 12 year old Scotch comes out of the still and then poured back into the still for continued aging. Of course, we also had a chance to taste the finished version of Dewar's 12 which is pretty different from the unfinished one. The night then ended with how you really should have your scotch - a glass of Dewar's White Label with a singular ice cube.

After the event, Dewar's gifted each guest a gift bag with a set of Dewar's etched glasses.  Looks like all I need now is to get a bottle of Dewar's

Dewar's Fact: Dewar's master blender is a female. Yes, you see it right, Stephanie Macleod is the first woman and the seventh master blender in Dewar's 160 year history. The reason, females have a better sense of smell.


Dewar's website

Of Johnnie Walker Journey and Fashion Night Out

September is really off to a good start. Last weekend was Electric Zoo, this week was Johnnie Walker Tasting Event and Fashion Night Out in line with Fashion Week.

I headed to the city for Johnnie Walker Tasting Event. The last time I went to a tasting event was almost a year ago so I was eager to go to this one.

The event started with a little cocktail hour where guest are treated to a cocktail made with Johnnie Walker Black Label and some hors d'oeuvres. So I tried the Old-Fashioned which had a slice of orange, lemon, cherry, sugar, bitters and water. It was a pretty interesting drink.

Afterwards, they asked the guest to go to the tasting room where a Johnnie Walker ambassadors guided us through the journey of Johnnie Walker. The last time I went to a Johnnie Walker tasting event, the video presentation and lighting effects was really phenomenal. This time around, the video is much different but still quite interesting. It was still quite an experience sniffing and tasting the various labels of Johnnie Walker.

We started off with Black, followed by Red, then Gold, Green and finally Blue. Each brought out a different taste in our palates. Black has that strong aroma while Red had a sweet aftertaste. Gold was served chilled and the ambassador highly recommends it to be chilled before serving. As for the Green, we tasted it differently, the ambassador asked the guest to pour a drop on the palm of our hands, rub them together and sniff the aroma of the Green label. It had the nature flavor to it. And finally, the Blue Label, Johnnie Walker's premium blend with every bottled serial numbered accompanied by a certificate of authenticity and its one of the most expensive scotch whiskeys in the world. I could say that I have drank a Blue Label (cross off my bucket list).



Then came Fashion Night Out...

Fashion Night Out is an event that happens during NY Fashion Week. For one night, stores had special promos and discounts - not to mention celebrities and parties galore - to lure shoppers back and revive the fashion industry. For me though, the lure was DJ Fedde Le Grand playing a set at the Armani Exchange Flagship store in Soho.

So we made our way to Soho and the place was already getting crowded with fashionistas, fanatic fans and bargain hunters. Not to mention food and fashion trucks plying the streets of Broadway, Prince, and Mercer. We stood in line outside Armani Exchange and was awarded with a iTunes gift card which I could use to buy the new A|X Music mixed by Le Grand himself and VIP tickets to Pacha, NYC. He started his set with Back and Forth ("Put Your Hands Up for New York") to get the crowd rocking and kept the momentum with a mixture of House music. A|X store employees were probably surprised while shoppers were mesmerized by the fistpumping crowd  singing and chanting while Fedde played tunes from A|X Music as well as his own tunes. The crowd dissipated after his set was done.

Soho was surely packed and I was surprised that some of the side streets were not closed during the event. I passed by 3.1 Phillip Lim store and the crowd outside was having a great time with the street party and music was blasting from inside the store. While the Piperlime store had the crowd spilling towards the street that traffic was on a standstill. The crowd was apparently there to catch a glimpse of Rachel Zoe. I think that Fashion Night Out was a success this year and cannot wait for next year.

Of course the night didn't ended without having some food, stopping by Bar 89 and had the 89 Club with Chicken and Avocado. It was delicious.

Links: Johnnie Walker | Fashion Night Out | Bar 89 | SoHo | Armani Exchange