A taste of Johnnie Walker’s whisky legacy
Nov 14, 2010
IT was last Thursday evening at Boda Boda restaurant and bar, Garden City. As guest after another got ushered into the restaurant side of the hangout, you would think a high profile charity dinner was brewing.
By Michael Kanaabi
IT was last Thursday evening at Boda Boda restaurant and bar, Garden City. As guest after another got ushered into the restaurant side of the hangout, you would think a high profile charity dinner was brewing.
The occasion turned out to be a whisky tasting event - Johnnie Walker at that, bringing onto the night’s menu a variety of whiskies that are 200 years old and more.
By 8:00pm, most of the guests, a select of Kampala’s corporate in the know of the high-end whisky brand, had already taken their seats and were clearing their throats as they waited to water them.
Then the emcee, Kenya-based Mawenu Njoroge, the in-charge of East African Breweries’ mentorship programmes for Johnnie Walker, kicked off the event on a high-horse note.
The casual-smart guy first assured us how he earns a living globe-trotting on behalf of Johnnie Walker, the most widely distributed brand of blended Scotch whisky in the world, sold in almost every country with yearly sales of over 130 million bottles.
But he was funny, nonetheless, in his enthusiastic talk about the whisky, a brand that is a legacy left by John ‘Johnnie’ Walker after he started selling whisky in his grocer’s shop in Ayrshire, Scotland and die later in 1857.
Basically, the talk all evening was whisky – how to drink it responsibly, mixing it to make great cocktails, the 200 year history of whiskies like Johnnie Walker Red Label, Black Label, Green, Gold and the newly introduced double back, among others. The dude’s lecture finally ended, and the eagerly waiting guests started tasting shots of various whiskies and giving their observations. Some were first-timers, others hardcore whisk takers.
They made cocktails with ingredients like ice cubes, Coca cola and Sprite, and were tasked to differentiate between the taste of the nit or plain whisky and the cocktails they had mixed. No that there was a definite correct answer the examiner (emcee) needed.
It was basically a fun evening of interacting, eating lots of food and tasting whisky. Thereafter, you judged the taste in your opinion– no wrong answers whatsoever.
Some three guests got lucky and their business cards got picked from the bowl in a lucky draw that was made at the end of the event. Each carried home a bottle of Johnnie Walker.
IT was last Thursday evening at Boda Boda restaurant and bar, Garden City. As guest after another got ushered into the restaurant side of the hangout, you would think a high profile charity dinner was brewing.
The occasion turned out to be a whisky tasting event - Johnnie Walker at that, bringing onto the night’s menu a variety of whiskies that are 200 years old and more.
By 8:00pm, most of the guests, a select of Kampala’s corporate in the know of the high-end whisky brand, had already taken their seats and were clearing their throats as they waited to water them.
Then the emcee, Kenya-based Mawenu Njoroge, the in-charge of East African Breweries’ mentorship programmes for Johnnie Walker, kicked off the event on a high-horse note.
The casual-smart guy first assured us how he earns a living globe-trotting on behalf of Johnnie Walker, the most widely distributed brand of blended Scotch whisky in the world, sold in almost every country with yearly sales of over 130 million bottles.
But he was funny, nonetheless, in his enthusiastic talk about the whisky, a brand that is a legacy left by John ‘Johnnie’ Walker after he started selling whisky in his grocer’s shop in Ayrshire, Scotland and die later in 1857.
Basically, the talk all evening was whisky – how to drink it responsibly, mixing it to make great cocktails, the 200 year history of whiskies like Johnnie Walker Red Label, Black Label, Green, Gold and the newly introduced double back, among others. The dude’s lecture finally ended, and the eagerly waiting guests started tasting shots of various whiskies and giving their observations. Some were first-timers, others hardcore whisk takers.
They made cocktails with ingredients like ice cubes, Coca cola and Sprite, and were tasked to differentiate between the taste of the nit or plain whisky and the cocktails they had mixed. No that there was a definite correct answer the examiner (emcee) needed.
It was basically a fun evening of interacting, eating lots of food and tasting whisky. Thereafter, you judged the taste in your opinion– no wrong answers whatsoever.
Some three guests got lucky and their business cards got picked from the bowl in a lucky draw that was made at the end of the event. Each carried home a bottle of Johnnie Walker.