After last week’s family friendly post, now we delve into the realm of adult pleasures: alcohol tastings! On Wednesday, Steven and I were lucky enough to get tickets to a “Raise the Macallan” whisky tasting in Downtown LA. We got the tickets through DrinksLA.com…let me tell you, it pays off to subscribe to their newsletter!

There w as a long line to get in, but Steven was able to get us reservation cards. The tasting was held at Majestic Halls on Spring St. The hall had two bars, one on the right and one on the far left, serving water, ginger ale, and of course whisky. Steven and I found a table to stand at, and after taking our reservation card, a waitress handed us full blown large shots of Macallan Fine Oak 10 whiskey.

I’m no scotch connoisseur, but I will say that I found the first shot a bit rough, especially since I am still recovering from a cold. We also sampled roasted potato and smoked salmon, chicken mango salsa, rustic potato and goat cheese, and seared fillet. I especially enjoyed the chicken mango salsa. Steven and I took a rather amusing picture with the whiskey bottles in the photo area, and then we moved on to the main room.

In the main room, there were a bunch of tables with water, nuts and three shots of whiskey for each seating. There a Scottish guy named Eden pitched the whiskey, telling us about its rich history in Scotland, and so forth. He sold Steven and me on taking a trip to Scotland, for sure, but I know we wouldn’t go just to visit whiskey refinery. He made a few quips about how expensive the whiskey is and how they donate much of the money to children’s charity.

Then, we drank sips of whiskey “for the children.” The first whiskey in the room was 12 year, which had hints of vanilla and caramel and very easy to drink. The 15 year was a little bit more spicy, citrusy and chocolately. Steven and I enjoyed the 17 year one the most, as it had a woody, smokey taste. The last taste was the 18 year, which is apparently worth $460,000. It was well-balanced, but after all the tastings, I realized that whiskey isn’t really my drink of choice…I prefer a fruity rum or tequila. 🙂

The best part was that everything that night was FREE. I highly recommend you attend this event with some friends for some free booze and some education about single malt scotch. Below are some thumbnails of all the pictures we took that night.

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We have tons more events to blog about, so stay tuned! Don’t forget to change your clock today!

Until next time,

Golda