iBartend

Sanlam Whisk(e)y Dinner and Masterclass Mix’off™

On Wednesday the 14th of March, Sanlam (Life Insurance & financial solutions) hosted all their brokers, clients and colleges in the Colony Room at Suncoast Casino for a night of fun and rewards. The evening started off with welcome drinks and snacks which then went into a formal whisk(e)y presentation and tasting hosted by myself. I took the delegates through some important heritage about the category and then finished with a tasting of Johnnie Walker® Gold Label™ and Bushmills© 10yr Malt. I had some amazing feedback and comments about these two brands, mostly about how the similarities outweigh the differences. This is interesting to hear especially when their origins are separated by the North Channel of the Irish Sea! It just goes to show that Irish and Scotch Whisk(e)y can be very far apart or extremely close, depending on the distillers expectation of the finished liquid. These two whiskies are by far my favourite that I have tasted so far, and it was my absolute pleasure in presenting them.

The evening then took a slight turn towards something very different. It was the prototype of a new experience of which I call The Corporate Masterclass Mixx’off™. This new idea is a collection of interactive challenges that educate and inspire delegates to work as a team using cocktail mixology as the platform.This is how it works;

• All the delegates were seated at tables of equal amounts
• Each table had a collection of cocktail tools that you would find in all cocktail bars
• Each table had a selection of fresh ingredients including syrups, bitters, herbs, etc.
• Each table had to submit a cocktail making use of 25ml of base spirit which was Smirnoff Triple Distilled Vodka
• Each Table had to select a team leader to name the team and the cocktail recipe
• Each table had 15 minutes to execute the challenge

The winning team received a hamper consisting of a bottle of Johnnie Walker Red Label, a small gift and some bar tools.

The Idea worked fantastically, and really brought the members of the team to work together.