As they say in the movie business, Whisky Jewbilee 2015 is "in the can". Done. Finito. History. There have been four of them. We've been to three of them, and they get better and better every year. This year was extra special, because in addition to sampling some outstanding whisky, we got to spend time with many of our #WhiskyFabric friends...
We've talked about the #WhiskyFabric before; a diverse group of whisky lovers, whisky bloggers, and whisky industry professionals from across the country and around the world that interact on a daily basis via all forms of Social Media. We talk about whisky. We write about whisky. We even joke about whisky. But most important of all, we love to share whisky with each other. Here are a few of the people that were there in addition to Limpd and yours truly:
At this point, I can probably go on and on about how we spent our afternoon: where we ate and drank; who was there; what we had; what was said. If I did that, then this would be a REALLY long and involved post. I'll skip all that and cut to the chase: over the past five years of blogging, we have been fortunate enough to meet some truly wonderful people. We don't get to see them often due to geography and real life responsibilities, but whenever the opportunity arises, we take full advantage of it and maximize our fun. And that's what we did before and during Whisky Jewbilee 2015! Here are the afternoon and evening highlights...
- Lunch at The Ginger Man: The Coopered Tot picked a super inspired "shot and a beer" pairing which he was kind enough to share with the table: a snifter of Corsair Rasputin coupled with a glass of nitrogenized North Coast Old Rasputin Russian Imperial Stout. Deelish!
- An Afternoon Intermezzo with The New York Office, Allison, and Limpd: Nikka Whisky From The Barrel, Vulson White Rhino Rye, and a super secret spirit were sampled somewhere in the West Village.
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Pre-Event Snacks at American Whisky: While the company was superb, my choice of a Tater Tot Poutine was a bit of a disappointment from a flavor perspective, but at least it served it's purpose: a hearty base to help soak up all of the whisky that I'd be sampling for the next three hours.
Whisky Jewbilee 2015
- The Venue: As I said at the beginning of this post, the Whisky Jewbilee gets better every year. 2014 was the year they moved to a better venue (Studio 450), and 2015 was the year that we fully appreciated all that this venue has to offer. The Jewbilee is spread out over two floors at Studio 450. Instead of going up and down the stairs over the course of the event like we did in 2014, we wised up a bit this time around and decided to start at the top and work our way down. Since the organizers were kind enough to let us in early, this gave us ample time to really explore the top floor before it got really crowded. Thankfully, the weather improved over the course of the day, so we were also able to spend a bit more time on the outside terrace.
- The Whisky: With close to 200 whiskies on hand to sample, it's tough to say which ones I liked best. If you put a gun to my head and forced me to make a decision, I would have to go with two whiskies: the Blackadder A Drop of the Irish which our friend Raj was pouring for Purple Valley Imports and the Tamdhu Batch Strength. I found the Drop of the Irish to be absolutely delicious, and what impressed me most was its mouthfeel which was both silky and oily at the same time. As far as the Tamdhu goes, it didn't make the list because it was one of the best whiskies of the night. It made my list because the last time I had a Tamdhu (the Tamdhu 10 that Limpd bought for $20 several years ago), I almost spit it out! That stuff was dreadful (we called it Tam-don't!). This stuff was delicious! A Sherry bomb of a whisky that I hope to try again.
- The People: In addition to spending time with our #WhiskyFabric friends, we also had the opportunity to chat with several of the brand representatives during our 3+ hours at the Jewbilee. Everyone working behind the tables and behind the scenes at this event (I'm looking at you Joshua Hatton!) were both incredibly professional and incredibly kind. Their enthusiasm for what they were pouring was positively infectious, and we couldn't resist trying everything that they recommended. Thank goodness for that Tater Tot Poutine! Without that in my belly, Limpd would have had to carry me back to Penn Station for the ride back to South Jersey!
In case you couldn't tell from the photos that were interspersed throughout this post, everyone in attendance at this year's Whisky Jewbilee had a fantastic time. Many thanks to everyone for the warm hospitality and huge laughs throughout our day in New York! We're already counting down to Whisky Jewbilee 2016. Cheers!
Categories: Booze Banter, Review
Tagged as: booze, Drinkwire, Events, Liquor, New York City, Photography, Photos, Pictures, Review, Reviews, Whiskey, Whisky, Whisky Fabric, Whisky Jewbilee 2015
