drinking : chivas regal tasting event review

Good God.

Last night fellow alcohol enthusiast Glenn and I went to the Chivas Regal tasting event at the Magnolia Hotel here in Denver.

To say it was spectacular would be a huge understatement for me, so to give you some insight I’ve decided to compare and contrast the experience with that of a Johnnie Walker event I attended earlier in the year.

LOCATION / CHECK IN

The Chivas Life event was held at the Magnolia Hotel, in an incredibly intimate, lavishly decorated, warm and inviting lobby area at the bottom of this sweeping curved marble staircase. The room had nooks, crannies, sofas, comfy chairs and tables, a bar, and even a zen like ‘waterfall’ in the back.

The JW event was held in convention space @ a mixed use retail area known as Belmar.

Edge: Chivas Regal

AVAILABILITY OF BOOZE

At the JW event, I received a ‘drink token’ which could be taken to the pre-show bar and exchanged for a JW Black cocktail.

At the Chivas event, there were waiters everywhere handing out “Sour Apple Martinis” as well as an OPEN Chivas Bar at which you could order as many Chivas cocktails (made with Chivas 12 year) as you liked. There was typically a short line, but I never waited more than perhaps 10 minutes for my Chivas, which I took neat and enjoyed profusely. Several times.

At the JW event, the ‘main event’ included a sampling of the entire JW line, including Blue. These samples came in small plastic cups. At the Chivas event, the same size plastic cups were used, but the tasting was held in an intimate table area with only 5 people at a time being entertained and educated by the CR Scotch rep. The JW event had the Scotch rep speaking over a PA to the entire group of perhaps 300 attendees.

Edge: Chivas Regal

SCHWAG

At the JW event, we were given a small “Walking man” (or is it “Striding Man”?) pin. At the CR event, I received a black embroidered CR polo shirt, 5 really cool chrome key rings, as well as two Chivas tea light holders. Okay, these I more or less ‘borrowed’ to show some ladies what a rapscallion I was, but still, they were there for the taking.

Edge: Chivas Regal

SOCIALIZING

At the JW event, it seemed like everyone there was either guys or couples. At this event, there was a wide range of people, guys, girls, couples, groups, you name it, they were there, and eventually talked to by me. I try to be social and meet new people no matter where I am, but something about the vibe of the event, fun, upscale, and intimate made it even easier that usual. One of the biggest surprises was the number of beautiful women there, many without dates. Rowr. Kudos to the CR guest list for this.

(Genie- your number.. by God WHERE is your number. If you’re reading this be sure to drop me a line. )

Edge - Genie. I mean Chivas Regal
PRESENTATION

At the Chivas event, the presentation about the line was done on a 42″ ol’ skool huge ass television that had been rolled into the room. We could barely see, let alone hear it. At the JW event, the presentation about the line was done on 4 gigantic (maybe 20×40 FEET) screens which surrounded the audience and was accompanied by a high energy 5.1 soundtrack.

Edge: Johnnie Walker

CONCLUSION

Overall, I have to concede that JW’s Scotch is better than CR’s, at least once you get into the Gold/Blue level vs let’s say the 18/25yr level of CR. Still, the CR event was one of the most enjoyable nights I’ve had in a long, long time, and believe me, I’m no stranger to fun.

Massive props to Chivas Regal, all the lovely ladies I spoke with last night, and Glenn for putting up with my antics.

I will certainly be buying some Chivas to support these fine folks in the near future.