We were thrilled to be invited to Whisky Live's Boston event this past week, and now - after hours of drinking and eating - we can't wait to incorporate more whisky into our lives!
It was an amazing tasting event at the beautiful Park Plaza Castle.
Jesse is looking super suave with his crystal tasting glass and press badge.
Our first stop was Lagavulin. Jesse had the 16, I believe.
It was delightfully smokey - so yes, the peatiness was apparent. I loved that they brought along a little "Peat" with them.
We then tried the Oban 14.
We were told to take a sip and then take a bite of the ginger candy. This was, in fact, a genius suggestion, as the gingery sweetness really brought out the flavor of the whisky.
Our favorite stop was the Hudson whisky stop. We loved the bottles, the single malt, and the man in charge was most awesome.
He's a like a whisky superhero.
I also loved the Old Ipswich stand, because of these four words: golden marsh spiced rum.
It smelled heavenly before I even tasted it. At first sip, you immediately think of a crisp fall evening... the hints of nutmeg and cinnamon were to die for.
We were also intrigued by Japanese whisky.
I tried the Hakushu, which was pleasantly earthy and had a lightness to it.
Throughout the event, we were treated to entertainment on high from bagpipers.
Too awesome? Indeed.
The event organizers realized that limitless whisky without some grub would be a dangerous combo. And so, behold, there was a delicious buffet before us.
There was an amazing beef dish, butternut squash ravioli, all kinds of tapenades, and lots of other things I didn't eat because I was too focused on the aforementioned.
I ate three different versions of this plate. (Y'know, going back and forth between more rounds of whisky-tasting. 'Twas only necessary.)
That. butternut. squash. ravioli. Thank you,
The Catered Affair, for catering this magical dinner!
But yes, back to whisky. We also tried Parker's Heritage Collection bourbon - a limited edition. We loved that $20 of each $90 bottle will go toward ALS research.
The label includes the phrase "Promise of Hope." Just lovely.
My absolute favorite drink of the evening came next at the Koval stand.
The ginger liqueur was absolutely divine. It tasted so fresh, so gingery... I could taste all the 60 pounds of ginger that the nice lady said they peel for every bottle. Just perfect. Koval also happened to have the best swag of the evening, but we missed out! Next time, next time.
Our last stop was The Balvenie. I asked, "Which one is the most delicious?" And within .5 milliseconds, the guy poured me a sample of the 21 year single malt. (Which was, in fact, delicious.)
If you drink The Balvenie, you'll be able to rock a kilt like this guy.
We couldn't leave without grabbing some swag of our own.
Thanks for the droppers, Glenfiddich!
We also couldn't leave without snapping a shot of the awesome live band.
Made me want to get up, clap, and dance! (It could have also been the whisky...)
We had a glorious time at Whisky Live Boston, and hopefully we'll see everyone there next year!
Park Plaza Castle
130 Dartmouth St.
Boston, MA 02116
