Dinner
After work, Gus, Shawna, Tae, JTK, and I headed out to Tom Sarris's Orleans House off of Wilson Street. We met up with Monica, Sam, and Andy. Orlean’s House specialty is steak and this place possibly is known for the best steak in town. Most of us ordered prime rib (comes with the salad bar selection). I ordered medium-well, regular cut, and 7oz. only. I usually order mine well-done since most places can’t get my medium-well right, but here they always get it right. We also had two bottles of red wine, which I can’t remember the name, but it was Italian. I still had to order Iced Tea. I always do anyway. It was a good dinner with a great bunch of people.
What Next
After dinner, we went to the Renaissance Hotel in D.C. for the Johnnie Walker Journey of Taste RSVP event. In this event, a JW Ambassador guides guests thru a seminar on the JW Scotch process, its culture/heritage, how to be a semi-master blender, and the techniques of understanding what makes a great Scotch. Well, I’m not an avid Scotch or alcohol drinker, it just sounded fun and educational.
The Course
Aside from the two tickets to free cocktail drinks (of course with a mix of Johnnie Walker Black) and free hors d'oeuvres, we had been presented 5 shots of different JW Black blends. From JW Black, Fruity to Smoke. I only consumed one shot and gave the rest to Gus. Man was he excited about the event. Shawna and Monica downed more shots than I did, hey and they took the first shots ahead of the guys. And, Tae was too busy rubbing the scratch-and-sniff brochure on his skin. He was so amazed. Anyway, they have taught us how to blend, what to look for, and some master techniques when taking Scotch/Whiskey. For me the learning process was more interesting than downing all those freebie shots.
Special Treat
Gus was so frustrated because there were no Scottish Men in Kilts. There usually are or is in an event, but this was a late night one. He wanted a picture with them while holding a double-shot glass with JW Black. As a compromise I took a shot of him with the JW Ambassador, Kaye. The good thing is, since we stayed longer with a few avid drinkers, the JW team gave us a special treat - JW Gold and chilled. They also handed out Ferro Rocher chocolates. So what you do is, take a bite of the chocolate, and then take a sip of the chilled JW Gold. I liked it better! Reminds of Chocolate Martini, besides JW Gold is smoother and more expensive, like $60 to $70 per bottle.
What I Learned
Some (I’m keeping some) cool things I learned about Scotch, Johnnie Walker Black in particular:
1. Flavors range from Fruity, Rich Fruit to Smoke. Now these could have many sub categories such as Vanilla, Raisin, Coconut, etc.
2. JW Gold is the only Scotch you can put in a freezer or chill without amplifying the smoky flavor, because it is more of a butterscotch/smoother blend.
3. For Irish, there are only two ways of taking Scotch, with a splash of water or more Scotch. Yes, you can add water. Besides, it already has a mix of it. It makes it smoother as well if it is too strong for you.
4. The only ingredients for Scotch are Barley, Water, and Yeast. But of course there are techniques including the cask that comes either from Europe or United States and the location of aging.
5. The longer the Scotch has been aged, the more expensive because 2% of it evaporates every year.
6. That’s it, there are more, but I’d better keep it to myself.
Later
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