The ROK, Limpd, and I attended our fourth “Extravaganza” on 10/29/2010. We were also joined by our friends Rob, Pete, The Rick, and The Godfather of Whisky aka Papa Limpd. As usual, it was a fabulous event! Whisky, swag, food, and amusing conversation throughout the night… what’s not to love?
In addition to the usual whisky tastings, the Society added a pre-game show (The Whiskey Panel), which was a Q&A session with the Brand Ambassadors from The Balvenie, Laphroaig, Glenlivet, and Glenmorangie. The Whisky Panel was a great addition to the night’s events. The audience asked some thought provoking questions about Single Malt Whisky, and the panelists were well prepared to give us some answers. It was an educational and highly entertaining hour.
When faced with a very large room filled with whisky and whisky enthusiasts (or as Limpd would say, “Drunks!”), it’s best to have a game plan, so that you maximize your time. Our gameplan can be broken down into four steps:
- Grab Some Swag – make the rounds to all the tables and grab all the free stuff before they run out.
- Drink Something New – find that special whisky that you’ve never seen before and try it before your palate gets overloaded.
- Eat – line your belly with some food because 2+ hours of drinking on an empty stomach is a bad idea.
- Drink Some More – the event isn’t free, so get your money’s worth!
The beauty of Single Malt Scotch is the wide of array of flavor expressions… smoky, sweet, medicinal, floral, spicy, and so much more. If you’re like me and suffer from food and beverage ADHD, then the world of Single Malt is for you, because there’s always something new to try.
And now for the evening’s highlights…
Best Swag
Dewar’s – metal cigar cases with matching cigar cutters, stainless steel flasks,stainless steel keychains.
Laphroaig – embroidered baseball caps and polo shirts.
Favorite New Whisky Expression
The Balvenie 17 Year Old Peated Cask
Favorite Food & Whisky Pairing
Creme Brulee paired with The Balvenie 14 Year Caribbean Cask
Favorite Whisky That I Could Never Afford Outside of the Extravaganza
Laphroaig 30 which sells for more that $500/bottle
Swag Master
The Rick – Laphroaig cap and polo shirt PLUS a Quaich from The Glenlivet, and so much more.
We’re already counting down to next years event! Only 364 days to go…
Categories: Booze Banter
AMKrouse
The Alemonger
G-LO
limpd
The Wookie
The ROK
Sarah -BeautifulTangibleThings
The Astounding Prism
It's just the booze dancing... 
G-Lo,
I’m enjoying a little Cardhu at 1:30 am and reading your article. Great article. Keep up the good work!
Sincerely
Swag Master (formerly known as “The Rick”)
If it’s free, it’s for me…
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Ahhh, the Phantom bottle of Cardhu. Until I see a review with pics or get a taste I don’t believe it exists.
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Good point Wookie-san!
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Thank you for the kind words Herr Swag Master! 🙂
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Will any of the Booze Dancers be at WhiskyLIVE in NYC tomorrow?
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Yo Josh!
Sadly, none of the Booze Dancers will be attending WhiskyLIVE. It looks like a fantastic event! Unfortunately, there are numerous Spring whisky events that are in direct conflict with the busy season at work. The fact that WhiskyLIVE falls mid-week doesn’t make it any easier to attend. Perhaps with some better planning, we’ll be able to attend next year. I certainly hope you’ll be Twittering from the event! Looking forward to hearing your comments.
So how’s the Master of Malt blend coming along?
Cheers!
G-LO
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Sorry you couldn’t make it. I’m an awful twitterer… 😦
I had a great time at the event with lots of pics & stories. Including the oldest whiskies I’ve ever had….
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I’m green with envy! So can we expect a very detailed post from The Society?
I hope to make it up to one of the NYC events at some point. Perhaps in the fall when work is being less of a pain in the ass. Besides Whisky Live, which other NYC whisky events do you recommend?
Glad to hear you had fun!
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Well, the big ones of course are WhiskyLIVE, WHiskyFest, & the SMWS Extravaganza.
All NYC whisky stuff can be found here (great site):
http://nycwhisky.com/
Sadly, being a Connecticutian, getting out to NYC can be a bit tough so I only hit the big events. On occation I’ll hit Ward III – the have free whisky Mondays and there are always brand ambassadors toting their wares: fun stuff.
A fun post to follow…
Digging the stuff you’re doing, by the by…
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Yo Josh!
Thanks for the link! I’m sort of in the same boat, i.e. NYC is a bit of a stretch.
I imagine the NYC SMSWA Extravaganza in Manhattan is similar to the Philly show. The problem is that the Spring and Fall events are fall within a week or two of each other, so for the sake of the budget (and the marriage), I have to pick and choose one event per season.
Luckily, we Booze Dancers are a stones throw from each other, so one could argue that we have a mini WhiskyFest on most weekends. We just need to write about it more!
Our friend Rob (mentioned above) has talked about attending a NYC show to change things up, so perhaps the Malt Advocate event may happen this year, though I think it may interfere with Fall break for the kids.
Glad you’re enjoying our posts. As I have said on numerous occasions, this blogging “business” is fun. And interacting with like minds is probably the best part. Thanks for the kind words!
G-LO
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