The Heineken Star Serve National Finals 2017

Heineken Bhd travelled across Malaysia and selected 8 of the best beer pullers to tap the perfect pint of Heineken draught beer in the Heineken Star Serve (which used to be called the GAB Professional Solutions Academy before the brewery re-branded) National Finals that ran last August.

What makes a perfect pint Heineken pull? It involves its signature "5 part ritual": the rinse, the pour, the skim, the check and the serve. And for the finalists, this ritual is to be completed in 4 minutes.

Now in its 4th year, the Heineken Star Serve is a global programme that educates bartenders so they know how to serve the perfect pour of a draught Heineken.

Unlike in the previous years, Heineken International announced that there will be no Global Bartender Finals for 2017. However this international event will be back next year. Last year, Malaysia was put on the map when our local boy bagged 1st place at the Global Bartender Finals in Amsterdam.

This year’s Star Serve National Finals was clinched by Daimler Kenn Cagas of The Beer Factory, Kota Kinabalu and he won himself an all-expenses-paid trip to Amsterdam to explore the Heineken Experience.

Syabas to Daimler!

- Jon

A Most Unusual Wedding Dinner

This is a long procrastinated official thank you post.

2nd Aug 2017 was officially our 2nd wedding anniversary and not coincidentally also my FA's birthday. How time flies when you are having a great time (no, she didn't put me up to say this, really).

Diageo Classic Malts Tasting Session

Diageo recently held a tasting session featuring some of its Classic Malts collection which include Clynelish 14 Year Old, Dalwhinnie 15 Year Old, Oban 14 Year Old.

The highlight of the evening was the Benrinnes 21 Year Old from Diageo’s Casks of Distinction.

What is “Diageo’s Casks of Distinction”? It is a limited program where customers can purchase the entire casks from selected distilleries, and then choose to either bottle it or continue ageing it for bottling at a later date.

Know about your wine before you drink it - Vivino

Note: This is not paid nor sponsored post, but we really wished it was. :)

Source: Sotheby's

Wine has always been my Achilles heel. Not because I don’t like it, but it is so vast in variety and so subjective. What I can tell is if a wine is bad (which really just means, I don't like it) or no good. And then there are wines which are just absolutely divine in the mouth. Both I'll only know once I have the wine with me, and it's opened, and the liquid's in the mouth.

What I really can't gauge is wine prices or possibly what we should be expecting from it just based on the bottle itself. So this is where this little app on my phone is very helpful - Vivino.

Angeltini reviews… Caught on Video

So we're gonna be trying to do some casual vblogs.

The stuff reviewed will be random and unadulterated and possibly (no, will be!) NSFW from a verbal point of view.

The products featured will be random items we either have in hand or recently bought to try.

It's an honest review from FA, unscripted, one take and full of imperfections.

This one's on 2 types of Guinness 0% ABV which was purchased from a nearby Hero supermarket at the soft drinks section, priced at RM3.50 each. One looks like an "original" version and the other is called a 'Ginseng zesty lime".

Enjoy!



- Jon

Locker & Loft's Shake and Take

At one point of his life, Deepak of The Thirsty Blogger told himself, “I’ve had enough of this nonsense” - alcohol prices were going off the charts in prices (no thanks to imposed taxes) which led to too many unscrupulous players in the industry, "cheating" customers.

Then Deepak said FTS and went on to open a bar with his business partner - giving birth to Locker and Loft.

The man himself, Deepak.

About Jon," The Bodyguard".

So Fireangel/FA/Ah Fa has been inundated with her offline obligations and I've decided (on her behalf) that it's time to dust off the cobwebs on this blog and bring it to life again.

Allow me to introduce myself.

I started off being known just as… "The Bodyguard", which was before I became "the boyfriend" to which then blossomed into "the Fiance".

Today, I go by different monikers namely "the ex boyfriend" or her "ol man", and "grumpy ol man" (depending on my mood).

My past resume reads like this: 1. Accompany FA to events and prevent her from getting herself drunk.

Yup, actually just ONE job, really.

Apparently I have done a decent enough job and now she trusts me enough with her blog to provide research and creative content for Angeltini.com.

So for any posts with my input, I'll be signing it off with "Jon'".

Or you could also call me “O ghost who writes"

Cheers!

- Jon

P/S:  FA is still very active (perhaps too active1) on  www.instagram.com/fireangel80. Boozy updates (#angeltini) will be interspersed with her daily shenanigans too. If you'd like to take a peak into her life, go ahead and follow her now!

K1664's “Pause for Le Moment!”

When in France drink as the french do, which we’d probably think; wine right? But the French also have their own beer too - the Kronenbourg 1664 - which you'll also see Parisians enjoying in their little cafes in the heart of a city on a hot summer's day.

K1664 showing you how to chill correctly.

Win: Probably the Best Brewery Tour by Carlsberg

DRINK ALL THE BEER!

FA used to live just a mere 3km from a beer brewery and now after moving in (to, what seems like, another "continent") with me, we live 7km away from another. I’ve been to both countless of times but never have had the participate on a brewery tour... until recently.

Botak Liquor @ Petaling Street Kuala Lumpur

Smack right in the urban jungle of Chinatown Kuala Lumpur is this super instagram-friendly bar with its mismatched quirky furniture in its rustic pre-war shoplot charm (it used to be an actual brothel!) surrounded by foliage from floor to ceiling.

The concept of this bar is farm-to-glass. Raw ingredients will be sourced from the founder's own farm in Cheras as much as possible. They are proud of their homemade syrups (no pre-made ones in the bar, they say) and infusions. Fresh ingredients (herbs, vegetables, fruits) are the star of their drinks.



Its back bar features predominantly white spirits like mezcal, tequila, grappa, neutral makes and even moonshine which they plan to expand in time to come. They even have selected cocktails on tap!

If you need a break from the concrete jungle that's KL - I would highly recommend that you check this place out. Don't say we #bojio

Find them here: https://www.facebook.com/BOTAKLiquor/

A post shared by Fireangel (@fireangel80) on Dec 1, 2017 at 3:22am PST

Event: Malaysia Wine Fiesta 2016

WOOT! 5 pairs of entry tickets up for grabs! Read till the end of the post for more.

What is it:
A wine fair that lets you taste, learn about (from 15 visiting winemakers) & buy (at a promo rate) over 60 types of wines from France, Italy, New Zealand, Spain, South Africa, USA and even China. Ideal for wine noobs to connoisseurs of all (legal drinking) ages!

As a prelude to the main event, there’s also a Wine Makers’ Night - a private dinner with the winemakers featuring a 10-course meal paired with 12 wines!

Event: The Whisky Society 2016 - Win Tickets!

TLDR: 2 pairs of The Whisky Society event tickets worth RM229 each up for grabs. Find out how to win them at the end of this post.

What is this?
Back for its second year, The Whisky Society is a mini Malaysian whisky tasting festival which is especially ideal for people who want try a whole bunch of whiskies but don't really want to  commit to full bottles of too many different expressions.

Event: Toast the Macallan

What is it?
Finally coming to our shores after dropping by Singapore, Taiwan & Thailand, Toast the Macallan is a pop-up experiential event by The Macallan to showcase their range of whiskies & history through an exhibition & tasting session; hosted by The Macallan Brand Trainer, Keith Nair and Brand Advocate, Randall Tan.

The Macallan will also be unveiling its newest series, the Trilogy, which consists of:

What You Should Know About Absinthe

New age brains don't read articles unless they are in some form of a list, right?

Well then, since I'm at your brain's mercy - here is a listicle on 5 things about Absinthe you might not already know:

1. Drinking absinthe can make you go crazy or kill you.

Image:Faded Industry

No entirely true. Absinthe once upon a time gained a bad rep when it was banned internationally (from misinformation and mass hysteria) after a man allegedly killed his entire family from drinking absinthe. But people always leave out the part about 1) him being an alcoholic 2) how much alcohol he was actually drinking (it was evidently, ALL DAY for a FEW DAYS in a row).

5 Reasons Why You Should Kanpai with Sake Masters at Kampachi Plaza33

It's back! OMG it's back!!! For its 3rd consecutive year - Kampachi's annual KANPAI! with Sake Masters from Japan is BACK!!!

Kanpai promotional poster lifted off from Kampachi.com.my

It's one of the most awesome sake & buffet dinner session you'll ever get to experience in Malaysia, IMHO. I had the utmost pleasure of attending last year's session and loved every second of it - you bet your liver I won't miss this year's for the world.

If you are still in two minds about going, well, here are 5 reasons why you should NOT miss it (largely based on my previous experience, which should be similar to the upcoming one):

Diageo World Class South East Asia Finals 2016: Meet our Malaysian Representatives!

The Diageo World Class Malaysia 2016 took place recently (2-3 May, to be exact) at the KL Journal.

After 2 days & 4 grueling challenges later, 4 local bartenders were chosen to represent Malaysia in the Southeast Asian World Class Finals 2016 - happening right now in Bali.

Meet the 4 Malaysian representatives for the Diageo World Class South East Asia Finals 2016: (L tp R:) Joel John Timmis, Osmund Bernard, Jeffri Sulaiman & Boy Labib

I've googled and googled but couldn't find much info about our heroes. Which is why I've decided to put on my spy glasses, hunt them down, pose them a few questions, then get their background out here so that they have some form of a digital footprint on the interweb.

The Macallan: Edition No.1 Sample & Rare Cask Malaysia Launch

Macallan has been actively moving away from age-statements and are now putting all their focus on wood.

So expect to see new NAS bottlings and even more geekery about their casks.

I'll be featuring 2 of them in this post, as they were all shared with me during my hiatus back in January - but better late than never eh?

Launch: Carlsberg Smooth Draught Beer in Malaysia - first in the world!

That's right! We're the first in 140 Carlsberg markets in the world to have this!

Officially launched end of April, the intention of this new version is to provide the "freshly tapped beer" experience at outlets that typically have no access to draught beer. We're looking at coffee shops, food courts, hawker centres, chinese restaurants & some supermarkets (ie, your home).

(Re)Launch: Johnnie Walker Green Label Datang Lagi!

Johnnie Walker Green Label is back!

Heart were broken, (manly) tears were shed, shelves were emptied and basements were filled up with green boxes (YOU BLOODY HOARDERS) when Diageo decided to discontinue selling the Green Label back in 2012 (except in Taiwan, because you know, where, instead of oxygen, they inhale single malt whiskies) to introduce the Gold Label and Platinum Label.

Hennessy V.S.O.P Privilège Collection 6 Launch

Hennessy VSOP has some dazzling new clothes made by Peter Saville, an English graphic designer, and some of us were invited to check it out.

Hennessy V.S.O.P Privilège Collection 6 by Peter Saville (Image: MHDM)

Jacob's Creek Heritage Wine Collection Dinner @ Saujana Resort

Jacob's Creek Reeves Point Chardonnay + chilling at Saujana Resort = Bliss.

There's a trend that's taking over wine makers by storm - going rogue and breaking all the rules with new grape varieties, wacky names, edgy copy-writing and eye-catching label designs.

Sweet bitch. Fat Bastard. Bulls Blood. Gnarly Head. Fish Eye. Hocus Pocus. Bitch. Frog's Piss. Elephant on a Tightrope. No, I'm not making up rude words - these are ACTUAL wine brand names.

News Flash: Malaysian Wins Heineken Global Bartender 2016 Championship

(29.4.16- edited to include more details + image)

Eddy Jay Jaimin of The Beer Factory Express is very happy. (Image: Heineken)

Eddy Jay Jaimin from The Beer Factory, Setiawalk (Puchong) put Malaysia on the map yesterday by being crowned the Heineken's Global Bartender 2016 Championship winner!

AIX Rosé Wine Media Tasting @ SkyBar, Traders Hotel KL

All the AIX Rosé you can drink.

Provence, France is the birthplace of rosé wines - just like the AIX Rosé, which was officially launched last month.

It's produced by Maison Saint AIX winery that only produces 1 wine - the AIX.

AIX is made from a blend of Grenache (60%), Syrah (20%) and Cinsault (20%) grapes.

Insta Weekly: Whiskies, Spirits & Bars

Hi readers!

Updates will be sporadic for the next 2 months until April. Not only will I be too caught up with my offline commitments, but I will also have to majorly cut down on leisurely drinking (TEMPORARILY ONLY, DON'T PANIC).... unless it's in an event, which I won't say not to, hehe. Meanwhile, feel free to get quite frequent updates from my Instagram (lots of of silly daily shenanigans) and Facebook page. Happy chinese new year, happy chah goh mei and happy valentines in advance!

Old Parr is all the rage.
Evidently an underground popular whisky, my uncle introduced it to me 2 years ago... and then I hear it get mentioned more and more. It's a legit scotch, no doubt - 1 of Diageo's many, many brands. If you can get your hands on it for a good price, it's a very decent house pour.

This Old Parr seems to be the in thing among local businessmen lately. The label is over 100 years old but this expression is just over 25 years old, which is now only gaining popularity in Malaysia. I wonder why so low key. It's an easy-to-drink everyday scotch. I suppose it's perfect for business entertainment and doesn't quite hurt the bank account. What do you make of it? Edit: evidently always been quietly popular. I just didn't know about it #drink #booze #alcohol #whisky #blendedwhisky #scotch #whiskey #oldparr #angeltini

A photo posted by Fireangel (@fireangel80) on Jan 11, 2016 at 6:38pm PST

Insta Weekly: Cocktails drank, Places Visited & Chinese New Year is coming!

Spirit of choice + limes + sugar + ice = easy homemade cocktail
Caipirinha is just the above with cachaca. You can also try it with any other white spirit.

An ice cold Caipirinha for your hot evening, perhaps? Easy to make. Cachaca + 1 lime cut into wedges + sugar + ice. Can use vodka, sake or even Campari in place of cachaca. #drink #booze #alcohol #cocktail #caipirinha #cachaca #homemade #angeltini

A photo posted by Fireangel (@fireangel80) on Jan 5, 2016 at 11:15pm PST

Launch: Tiger White Ale Wheat Beer

Tiger launched this new beer just last November 2015 at Black Box, Publika - 2 years after the launch of Tiger Radler (a shandy variant).

Insta Weekly: Stuff to Try & Places to Check Out.

Give the Hoegaarden ice-cream @ Rekindle ss2 Cafe a go
Sounds a strange but not a bad experience at all.

Hoegaarden ice cream. The moment I saw this I knew I had to have it. It tastes like hoegaarden (wasn't sure what to expect) ! But a creamier, milkier, yeastier, coconutish hoegaardenish ice cream. Not unpleasant, just... odd. Goes so very well with their long back (we tried) though. Maybe can make into affogato of sorts? RM10 (ouch). Here's an idea : why not try making ice cream stout next time! Or kahlua! Or bailey's! Coffee here is excellent and there's a huge variety of cakes. 100% will return to try. #angeltini #fanomz #coffee #cafe #cafehopmy #klcoffeespots #pjcafe #pjcoffeespots #cakes #dessert #pastries #ss2 #petalingjaya #selangor #Malaysia #klcafe #malaysiancafes #icecream #beer #hoegaarden #rekindless2

A photo posted by Fireangel (@fireangel80) on Dec 29, 2015 at 7:41am PST