When I was little, I always dreamed of having all the candy I wanted but of course my parents would have none of that. As I’ve grown older, my tastes have shifted that I now desire to try out every drink that I get my hands on. You can say that I am on an adventure to have a taste of some of the best drinks in the world. This is what you call growth. You can imagine the excitement that filled me when I received my invite to this year’s Nairobi Cocktail Festival.
The Nairobi Cocktail Festival is an annual event organized by Eat Out Kenya in conjunction with Baraka Events that brings together multiple drink brands to provide the ultimate tasting experience for the Nairobi alcohol connoisseur. This year’s Secret Garden Edition was held from Friday, November 29, 2019 through Sunday, December 1, 2019. The event was carried out in two phases, beginning with a private media launch on Friday between 1400H to 1600H, thereafter opened to the public from 1700H onwards.
As StyleNerds Journal, we arrived at DARI Restaurant at approximately 1500H after battling the crazy Nairobi afternoon traffic. Arriving on location, we were greeted by a group of men adorned in leaves making it feel like we were about to party in the wild. Walking into the garden location, the garden view was mesmerizing to say the least. We walked by a giant gold-plated board that read ‘Nairobi Cocktail Festival’ in giant letters, and there were swings covered in leaves and twigs where we of course had to capture some pics, you know, for the gram. The beautiful green location was filled with tents for each of the different brands and a wooden sternum post with arrows giving directions to the particular brands.
First stop, Monkey Shoulder. The vendors treated us to a taste of the smooth distilled malt scotch whiskey, a perfect start to a perfect day. After, we walked to the Hendrick’s Gin vendors to imbibe on some gin and take photos in a branded bathtub they had. Chic!
We then proceeded to the Jack Daniels’ tent for a VVIP Masterclass. Unique to other vendors, Jack Daniels had a large dining table where we all sat for a learning and tasting session. Hosted by David Mwangi, the Jack Daniel’s East Africa Ambassador, we began by unfolding the history and come-up of the now massively successful whiskey brand. Now, here comes the fun part, food pairing. With a plate of the different food samples and a garnishing syringe in hand, it was time to eat. For the first round we paired the Jack Daniel’s Old No.7 with some Tennessee Barbecued Pork Bhan Bao with Sweet Tea Glaze noted with cinnamon, honey and almonds. The only way to explain the feeling in our mouths at that moment is that it was like that feeling you get when you are sitting on the beach, listening to old school RnB music and letting the breeze hit your face. In other words, magical. This round was the winner. For the second round, we paired the Gentleman’s Jack with Chicken Satay with Green Apple in Babygem Lettuce Cups noted with mint, peanut and apple. Lastly, we had the Jack Daniel’s Single Barrel paired with a 14-day Smoked Beef Fillet with Slow Roast Cherry Tomatoes, Basil Pesto and Parmesan Shavings, noted with nutmeg, brown sugar and nuts. This tantalizing experience was followed by a virtual reality history tour of Jack Daniel’s and finally a taste of their 50% alcohol level (yes, you read that right!)Sour Mash Whiskey. The buzz one shot gives you is enough for a pre-gaming session before a night out.
Thereafter, we visited the EABL tent for a Gin Masterclass courtesy of the Diageo Reserve Brand Ambassador Melvin Rukunga, where we were challenged to blindly taste and identify three gins; Gordon’s Gin and Tanqueray No. 10 and Original Tanqueray. But the tasting just didn’t start like that; Melvin took us through an introduction to the Gin World. He gave us insight on the taste nodes, the flavors and the origins of the three gins. The one thing that really stood out for us was one fun fact about Tanqueray No. 10. Did you know that “Tanqueray No.10 doesn’t age”? This question got us confused. Why? Because this whole time we thought the name was contributed from its aging. But actually the name “number 10″ originates from the number of stills from which it is made from and oftenly referred to as “Tiny ten”. No wonder the Tanqueray No.10 gin was undoubtedly the best drink of the three. Not only did its taste excite us the most but so did our new understanding of its name.
Finally, with so much knowledge acquired and fun, we decided to spend the rest of the night interacting with other attendees and visiting several other tents including The Berry Company, Kenyan Originals, Campari, Bacardi, Don Julio, Pernod Ricard – Absolut Vodka, Country Lane among others.
To top of the night, a group of musicians dressed in leaves and masked in green played a series of refreshing violin and cello tunes, sort of opera in the wild. And then came the fireworks! A perfect end to a perfect day. At approximately 2300H, we headed home knowing quite well that the coming days would be spent hydrating and hating ourselves for drinking too much. Regardless, we cannot wait to do it all over again next year.
Written by: Tony Ngige
Pictures courtesy of: Mark Arnold Wanjohi
