Lamppost poster

Did you end up at the DSK Basar? What did you think?

Drayman's Single Malt Whisky

Drayman’s (micro) Distillery, perhaps better known for it’s brewing of beer, opened it’s doors in 2006. Moritz Kallmeyer (distiller, owner, and the guy in the photo) started his small distillery by blending various Scottish whiskys to make Drayman’s Solera Whisky. It was naturally only possible for him to start selling his own single malt (seen in the photo) a couple of years thereafter – apparently whisky takes at least 3 to 5 years to mature.

I guess distilling whisky’s not exactly the job for an impatient sole as myself.

Jack Daniel's Single Barrel Malt

We arrived at the doors at about 18h30 and spent the evening walking from booth to booth sipping an array of whiskeys far too complex for either of our pallets.

I’ll fill you in a little more about the festival in my next post, but for now – if you enjoy whiskey (or the ridiculousely beautiful ladies serving the drinks) make your way to the CTICC asap. Note that time is short – Friday 5 November is the last Cape Town day. If you miss this one you’ll have to fly to Jozi next week!

Remember to be safe – don’t drink too much and then think it’s okay to drive home. It’s way cooler to have your mom fetch you than to be locked up your local police station for the night.

Sazerac Rye Whiskey

Mandy from brainwavez.org invited me along to the opening of the 3-day Whisky Live Festival at the CTICC on Wednesday evening.

Although there were plenty of people at the festival it wasn’t uncomfortably crowded. There were plenty of whiskeys (and whiskies) to taste, and even a few other bits and pieces like lovely dark chocolate and Lynchburg Lemonade (at the Jack Daniel’s stand).

Mandy and I sat in on a whisky appreciation class with a master distiller from Glenmorangie, took the tour through the Jack Daniel’s truck, drank plenty of whiskey, and sat down for a breather in the FNB VIP lounge (where we ordered virgin cocktails from Liquidchefs, just to help clear the mind a little).

If you missed the festival you could still catch it in Johannesburg from 11 to 14 November, and since Cape Town’s weather is so grey and rainy, perhaps it wouldn’t be such a bad idea to skip our lovely part of the world next week in favour of the warmer weather in Jozi.

And Mandy took a notebook and pen along, so visit brainwavez.org for the full details about our evening at the festival.

Oktoberfest

Oktoberfest, a 16-day (sometimes 17-day) festival held in a (super) large field in Germany is celebrated in many countries, including South Africa, with plenty of beer, all kinds of traditional German food, a traditional-style band and plenty of dancing.

Stellenberg High School (which Kerry-Anne attended for 5 long years) held their first Oktoberfest celebration this year as a fund-raising event. Given that it was the first time they’ve attempted this, we’ll forgive them for the tiny selection of Bavarian food, solitary brew of beer, and lack of beautiful woman dressed in traditional German beer-lady attire (and yes ladies, the lack of handsome young lads in traditional weird long-shorts and braces too).

But seriously, the event seemed to have huge support from the community and everyone there seemed to be having an awesome time. I have a feeling that next year’s Oktoberfest is going to be a rocking event. Best make sure that you get there!