Five Things I Learned at The Macallan Scotch Tasting - W New York-Downtown

The Macallan Single Malt Scotch Tasting

When I heard that the W New York - Downtown was hosting a Macallan Scotch tasting through Gilt, I knew I could not miss this opportunity!  With the guidance of Sir Charlie Whitfield--Macallan Brand Ambassador--I took away five key things from the event:

1. Whisky comes from the Gaelic word "Water of Life".
2. There is an expression for EVERY palate--triple cask Fine Oak or Sherry Oak which range from soft and fruity to robust and spicy and yet they are all very smooth.
3. DO NOT swirl when nosing.  Scotch is not wine.
4. Adding water to whisky is like adding air to wine.  If you add a drop or two of water it smooths it out.
5. The Macallan 18 (Sherry Oak) is my absolute favorite! 

My new favorite...my Old Fashioned has been replaced!

The Macallan Sherry Oak 1

The Sherry Oak expressions are matured in European oak casks from Jerez, Spain which previously held sherry.  The Sherry Oak Range includes:

• Sherry Oak 12 Year - "smooth, with rich dried fruit, sherry, balanced with wood smoke and spice"
• Sherry Oak 18 Year (my fave) - "rich, dried fruits, spice, clove, orange and wood smoke"
• Sherry Oak 25 Year - "full and rich, with dried fruit and wood smoke"
• Sherry Oak 30 Year - "smooth, with dried fruit, sherry, orange and wood smoke"

My friends for the night!

The Macallan Fine Oak 2

The Macallan Fine Oak expressions are triple cask matured in oak casks which consists of:

• European Oak casks which held sherry
• American Oak casks which held sherry
• American Oak casks which held bourbon

These expressions are lighter and sweeter than the Macallan Sherry Oak expressions. The Fine Oak range:

• Fine Oak 10 Year - "soft and malty, balanced with oak and fruit"
• Fine Oak 15 Year - "intense rich chocolate, with a hint of orange and raisin"
• Fine Oak 17 Year - "soft and rich, with a hint of citrus, spice and wood smoke"
• Fine Oak 21 Year - "soft, rich and spicy, with a hint of orange and peat"
• Fine Oak 30 Year - "rich, macadamia nut and vanilla, with hints of sandalwood and black cherry"

The Macallan Ice Ball: "Minimum dilution, Maximum Cool"3

I wanted this contraption as soon as I saw it but when I learned that it would cost me a cool $1,000, I quickly changed my mind!  My dear whisky stones will have to suffice.

Regardless of the price, The Macallan Ice Ball Machine is quite impressive because it takes a block of ice and creates a very pretty sphere.  

Why didn't I get this science lesson in school?  What a great science fair project!

Not to get too scientific on you but the following makes this entire concept genius:

1. The "machine" is made of Copper (Cu) which is has very high conductivity and is therefore used as a conductor of heat and electricity.
2. The sphere is perfect for your Macallan Scotch if you take it with ice because a sphere has the smallest surface area of all solids having volume which means that this ice ball will melt SLOWLY!

The W Hotel - Downtown

W Hotel - Downtown

The Living Room Bar & Terrace is now one of my favorite go-to spots downtown.  They have various events and specials throughout the week.  My two favorite things are:

Travel Tuesdays

Every Tuesday join W Insiders for classic films, cocktails and complimentary small plates.  Sign up for W Happenings HERE!

Residential Thursdays

If you are a registered Perk Pass holder you can find out about all types of drink specials and events every Thursday.

The Food

It is very important to eat something before you take the Macallan Scotch journey.  Thankfully, BLT Bar and Grill hooked it up with some very tasty treats.

Delish!

Cheers

If you haven't tried any of the Macallan Single Malt Scotch drinks, then I advise you to do it ASAP.  

I didn't leave a single drop!

Now that I have this new love for Macallan Scotch, I just have to somehow convince Del Frisco's Double Eagle Steakhouse to have a Macallan Dinner and all will be perfect.  
Cheers!

1 & 2. The Macallan. The Single Malt: The Essentials booklet
3. http://www.themacallan.com/home.aspx

Hottest Brunch in Houston - Del Frisco's Grille (Houston)

This past Saturday Del Frisco's Grille (DFG)--the hottest new restaurant in Houston opened up in the West Avenue at River Oaks development.

The newest addition to the family located at Kirby & Westheimer

Del Frisco's Grille is the newest addition to the family of restaurants in the Del Frisco's Group family.  I like to think of her as the "Wild Child".  You can have some of your favorite menu items from her big sisters--Del Frisco's Double Eagle Steakhouse and Sullivan's Steakhouse--in this high energy and sexy cosmopolitan venue.  Starting March 23rd they will be open for Brunch and I am going to just put it out there that this will be the hottest brunch in Houston!

What's For Brunch?

DFG Houston Brunch Menu

 Del Frisco's Grille offers lunch & dinner Monday through Friday and brunch & dinner Saturday and Sunday.  I had the chance to sneak taste some of the brunch selections and the following are the dishes I am still daydreaming about:

Red Velvet Belgian Waffle

These pretty things are just as good as they look.  The whipped vanilla bean-spiked cream cheese is good enough to lick off your finger after you swipe it off the plate!  You don't even need the syrup.

Heaven on a plate

Crabcake Benedict

OMG for DFG's Crabcake Benedict!  You have never had poached eggs like this.

OMG!

Chilaquiles

This traditional Mexican dish is filling and delicious.  

Tex-Mex!

Chicken-Fried Steak & Eggs

Nothing screams Texas like a good old fashioned chicken-fried steak.  How about one for breakfast?  It is so worth it!  The egg typically comes over-easy but you can request the egg any way you want it.

Delicious biscuit to sop up the gravy

Sip or Share

A brunch just isn't a brunch without a cocktail.  You can order any of these by the glass or a carafe:

• Build-Your-Own Bloody Mary
• Mimosa
• White Sangria
• Screwdriver

I don't see the need to share!

There are even more tempting cocktails on the  regular menu which might interest you as well.   My favorites are the VIP and the Apt. 5D.

The VIP

Meat Up and Drink Up at the Hottest Brunch in Houston and when you are done go Shop Up.  

$250 ALMOND CAKE = #PRICELESS - STRØM BISTRO (Montreal, QC)

If I could create a storyboard for one of the MasterCard Priceless commercials it would go something like this:

•  Car service to STRØM Spa: $30
• Bathing suit since you forgot yours: $80
• Outdoor Thermal Experience in negative 12 degrees Celsius weather: $38 and very cold!
• 60-minute Signature STRØM Massage: $94
• Herbal Chai Tea to warm you up: $3
• Best almond cake which made the entire experience worth it: $5 (in our eyes $250)

Our PRICELESS experience centered around $250 Almond Cake!1

You and one of your best friends having an unforgettable and well deserved time in Montreal: PRICELESS!

1.  Massage bed photo courtesy of Massage Secrets

STRØM Spa Nordique
1001 Boulevard de la Foret
Verndun, QC H3E1X9, Canada

Lunch in Narnia - Restaurant de Glace Pommery at the Snow Village (Montreal, QC)

Coolest thing EVER!

Restaurant de Glace Pommery is part of the Snow Village in Montreal and is "the first and only ice restaurant of its kind in North America."1  Executive Chef Matthieu Saunier from Osco! at Intercontinental Montreal is the creator of our lunch in Narnia!

LOVE THIS!

Amazing how they built this all out of snow and ice

As we walked through those big wooden doors in the igloo I felt like Mr. Tumnus should greet us and take us to our table!  Once seated, I kept looking over my shoulder to see if the White Witch was going to show up and offer us a hot drink and some Turkish Delight.

Not necessarily the wardrobe but pretty close

Narnia

We had the option of lunch or dinner and opted for the former since it was 9 degrees Fahrenheit--that is minus 12.77 in Centigrade!  In other words, it was cold as hell--although hell is probably the opposite of cold!  I digress, the main point is that we chose lunch since this was the "warmest" time to experience the Ice Restaurant. 

I cannot imagine what it is like to eat there at night.  I was so cold I ate my food double-time because I was scared it would get cold AND because my behind was FREEZING!  Our waiter "Mr. Tumnus" a.k.a "Passing Through" had to bring me extra padding for my seat.

Take a load off

2-Course Lunch Menu

The meal is technically 3 courses unless they consider the soup/appetizer selection to be an amuse bouche and do not want to count it.  It is more than a bite size and it is quite filling!  For just $22.50 (Canadian dollars) a person you get the 2/3 Course lunch depending on whose counting which consists of:

• Soup du jour OR Appetizer du jour
• Pulled Pork Burger OR Cajun Salmon Naan OR Grilled Chicken Wrap OR Risotto Osco!
• Chocolate Fondant 

Soup du jour

We had the Carrot Soup and it was so good.  I had my concerns about the temperature since it was a bit chilly but it was nice and hot which helped warm me up from the inside out.

Definitely NOT Campbell's Soup

Main Course

This was a very difficult decision because all of the options sounded fab but I think we made the right choice.

• Pulled Pork Burger with Cranberry, Granny Smith Apple and Barbecue Sauce
• Cajun Salmon Naan Bread with Lemoned Avocado and Crunchy Romaine
• Grilled Chicken Wrap with Spicy Mayo, Sweet Pepper and Melted Swiss Cheese Piperade
• Risotto a la Osco! with Mushrooms and Parmesan

Pulled Pork was ridiculous

No words...I tore this up!

Dessert

Chocolate Fondant with Chestnut English Cream.  Need I say more? 

I am a chocoholic!

Other Things to Note

We found our overall experience to be quite enjoyable but there are a few things to note:

•  It really is cold so you need to make sure you bundle up and WEAR GLOVES.
• For lunch you have to pay for Snow Village admission in addition to your meal.
• There is a 50% deposit when you make your reservation.
• There is a $16 children's menu
• Children don't be worried, Chef Saunier captured the White Witch and put her in the prison at the restaurant!

Jadis the White Witch can't harm you

You too can visit Narnia as well and you better hurry before it melts!  Restaurant de Glace Pommery a.k.a Narnia is open Thursday through Monday for both Lunch (11 a.m. - 3 p.m.) and Dinner (5 p.m. - 12 a.m.).  

Narnia IS a magical place

1 Snow Village Canada Montreal's Ice Restaurant

Restaurant de Glace Pommery

130 Chemin du Tour

Montreal, QC H3C438, Canada

M Bar & Lounge's High Tea - High Fashion Afternoon Tea Look Book (Boston, MA)

With the Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week just ending we had to take a look back at one of our favorite collections.

M Bar & Lounge Lookbook

M Bar & Lounge 2012 Lookbook from Boston's Fashion Week 

The Mandarin Oriental is known for beauty and elegance and during Boston's Fashion Week they showed a new avant-garde collection: M Bar & Lounge's High Tea - High Fashion Afternoon Tea.  It was such a great spin on afternoon tea and it really raised the bar for MO New York's Fashion Tea!  Here is a quick peek:

TEA

Brought to you by Tea Forte.  There are several options:

• Ceylon Gold
• Lavender Citrus
• Pomegranate Blackberry
• Raspberry Nectar
• White Ginger Pear

Love the High Fashion Iced Tea...White Ginger Pear is Superbe!

SAVORY

All lined up and ready to wreck the runway

The "Savory" Line is quite enticing.  I had to snag the Unagi Toast immediately!  

Yuzu Oyster...delish

Unagi Toast...snagged it straight off the runway

Summer Tomato Salad

Lobster Roll:  One of the hottest trends in New England and not going anywhere!

SWEET

Aerial view of the Sweet lineup on the  runway

No need to worry about your waistlines with this petite "Sweet" Line.  This is the perfect amount of sweet to fill your sweet tooth.  And yes, those are the new "Red Tops" everyone has been raving about!

Lemongrass Gelee & Chai Tapioca Verrine.  All designers have that one piece everyone questions!

Introducing the new Strawberry Pistachio Tart...Christian Louboutin eat your heart out!

Chocolate Raspberry Macaroon...Tasty!

Passion Fruit & Coconut Profiterole...quite elegant with a little bling!

LIBATIONS

The Pin-Tuck was our showstopper!  This is created from:

• Farmers Gin
• St. Germain
• Prosecco

Our Grand Finale!

This High-Fashion Tea gets two pinkies up from us!  We can't wait to see what next season's designs are going to be.



M Bar & Lounge
776 Boylston St.
Boston, MA 02116