Singleton and Oban make NHL Fan Fest Power Play

Jul. 24, 2017

June saw the arrival of the NHL Coaches Association and NHL Fan Fest in Chicago, all part of the NHL Draft festivities. Our partners at Diageo capitalized on the weeks’ activities with two high-profile activation events. Ketel One Vodka and Don Julio Tequila served up drinks at the NHL Fan Fest, interacting with thousands of area consumers. The Don Julio truck made a special appearance, reinforcing the Don Julio brand imagery.

 

At a more exclusive event the night before, members of the NHL Coaches Association were treated to a special Scotch tasting event hosted by Diageo and featuring several popular expressions. Before the event got under way, we sat down with Diageo Reserve’s own Alastair Menzies to learn a bit more about the Diageo Reserve portfolio.

 

Tell us a bit about who you are and what brings you to Chicago.

Alastair Menzies: I'm the national educator for Scotch Whisky for Diageo Reserve, and tonight we have a party for the NHL coaches. For them, we are going to be pouring four single malts, Oban 14 Year, and three expressions from the Singleton of Glendullan: 12 Year, 15 Year and 18 Year.

 

What makes these so special?

Oban 14 year is one of our best-selling whiskys in the United States. It's a beautiful balance of light, smoke, zest, and spice with a delicious sea salt finish. It's beautiful.

 

And the Singleton of Glendullan is a Speyside single malt. They're un-peated whiskeys. They're light, refreshing and sweet. Quite fruity. Very nice.

 

For you, ice or no ice?

When tasting whisky I would recommend no ice. When drinking whisky, it’s a personal preference, whether you want ice or no ice. When you apply ice during a tasting, you're going to close down a lot of the aromas and make it harder to smell and appreciate the whisky. But, when you're drinking whisky socially, then you can add water, ice, mix it, put it in a cocktail, whatever you prefer.

Scotch in a cocktail?

That's right. It isn’t entirely traditional, but a lot of new cocktails are coming out with single malts. And yes that's what tonight's about. It is not only pouring these beautiful single malts, but also educating and explaining to people, talking about these whiskys.

 

And winning over some NHL coaches at the same time.

Well, if we can do that, that'd be great.