Glenlivet Nights of Passage

Terrible waste of time…
I’ve been to numerous pop-​up tastings in SF/​US for the past few years (e.g. Macallan, Balvenie, Dewar’s, etc), and this small one hosted inside of the Van Ness BevMo was by far the most lackluster and underwhelming event I have ever experienced.
Food: A Safeway Cheese & Cracker Party Platter… really? If that wasn’t laughable enough. Those attending the 2^nd session had to pick around the platter leftover from the 1^st session
Drink: 12÷15÷18 Glenlivet — These pours were so stingy, they were comical. The «Master of Scotch» asking us to divide each taste into 3 sips to experience it in different ways was like asking us to divide a tic tac.
Gift: Flyers all over the store and marketing emails lured unsuspecting patrons with the promise of a «Glenlivet Glass Gift Set», but do you know what everyone went home with? A $ 5 off $ 50 BevMo coupon and a loss of respect for the Speyside distillery’s marketing department.

WHAT?:
A pop-​up, invitation-​only whisky tasting event sponsored by Glenlivet and moderated by the hippest hipster in hiptown (who was also quite approachable) along with assistance from friendly hostesses straight out of Robert Palmer’s «Addicted to Love» video circa 1987.
WHY?: Free whisky, duh.
WHERE?: This 2-​hour event with passed appetizer starters was held in Dogpatch Studios, a very nice place, beautifully outfitted, but damn was it hot in there.
COMPARISONS: Amsterdam has The Heineken Experience which costs upwards of $ 20 and where one partakes in a lot of silly activities all in the guise of landing some «free» beer. Besides being free the product offered here was more up-​market (we sampled 12, 15, and 18-​year old single malt Glenlivet whisky) and the presentation more informative. I actually learned some things like:
* The difference between bourbon and whisky;
* How and where bourbon is made;
* How and where whisky is made; and
* What is meant by «single malt» whisky.
I also learned how to taste whisky, how to detect its flavorings, how much water to add, and that the alcohol content goes up as a whisky ages.
I did not learn why some places spell whisky with an «e» and others do not but that’s why we have google (
).
AMUSING: The singleton who sat beside me and guzzled 2 of his 3 whiskys before the moderator even began to speak. He then turned to me halfway through: «I wasn’t supposed to drink them?» he wondered.
FINALLY: If an opportunity comes your way I’d suggest you seize it, especially if you have any interest in learning about whisky and seeing the way Glenlivet is trying to brand itself (as a lifestyle). From the type of people they’ve brought in to the elegant set-​up at each seat to the gold, silk pocket square they distributed as we exited, Glenlivet is making a valiant effort to introduce their product to the next generation.
You can garner invitations to Glenlivet whisky events and tastings (wherever you live) by «joining» the Guardians of Glenlivet (
), a club whose only requirement appears to be that you meet the legal drinking age… my kind of club.

Positives: Free Glenfiddich
This Glenlivet sponsored pop-​up will only be around for the next week so if you want to go, hurry!
Generous Glenlivet whiskey tastings, little bites, and an informational show centered around the single-​malt. This was a pretty fun, relaxing, spacious event. They tasted the 12, 15, and 18 years. This tasting event was aimed towards whiskey novices. They had four little scent tins which exemplified the «main notes» of the scotches and they highly encouraged breathing all the goodness from the tins.
I wish they had tasted the 30 year. *fingers crossed* Maybe next time!