Scotch Appreciation Session

Hotel Annapurna hosted an event to introduce Chivas 18 Blended Scotch Whiskey for the first time in Nepal on June 16 in their Banquet Hall

An evening to celebrate and showcase the masterfully blended scotch whiskey Chivas 18 on June 16 was held at Hotel Annapurna's Banquet Hall. The guests included diplomats, dignitaries, shareholders of corporate houses, stakeholders of travel agencies and media.

The event was an indulgent evening with smooth scotch and a spread of nachos, dips and bread sticks as well as various accompaniments laid out on tables across the banquet hall. Of course with Chivas 18 flowing from the bar the guests were certainly appreciating the scotch. With a glass in hand the guests were networking and enjoying the good food and drink.

The CEO of Hotel Annapurna, Raju Brikram Shah said, "Hotel Annapurna always believes in bringing something new to our clientele and invited today’s guests to enjoy Chivas 18 with food to complement."

It was followed by an insightful speech from the Brand Ambassador of Chivas Brothers for Gulf Region, Joseph Shields on the roots of where this marvelous brand of scotch came from. He also gave a short video presentation on how Chivas distills and blends its various scotches.

The event then proceeded to a hearty dinner of both seafood and vegetarian Paella, Lasagna with a few other dishes. A delectable selection of after-dinner delights such as Crème Brûlée, Cheesecake, Mango Custard, assorted short cakes were served.

A glass of scotch with Joseph Shields

Before the Scotch Appreciation Session, Tejan Shrestha from Nepal Traveller catches up with the Brand Ambassador of Chivas Brothers to Gulf Region, Joseph Shields

A brief on what Scotch Appreciation Session is about.

This evening's event is all about the appreciation of Chivas Regal 18, a fantastic 18-year old blended scotch that was overseen by our custodian Master Blender Colin Scott. Each drop of Chivas 18 has 85 different flavour notes which is part of why it is such a fantastically popular worldwide blend.

How did Chivas Regal come to be? What is its origin story?

Chivas Regal has a very rich and diverse history starting with the brothers, James and John back in their store in the city of Aberdeen in the northeast of Scotland. Surviving Prohibition (1920s), the duo launched Chivas Regal 25 year old through the creation of Charles Horward, our first Master Blender. Since then, Chivas Regal has had five men protect the legacy. More men have been to the moon than have been master blenders of Chivas Regal, leading us all the way up to our current custodian Master Blender Colin Scott, the man who saw today’s focus drink Chivas Regal 18 year old.

What other blends does Chivas Regal produce?

Chivas Regal is very fortunate to have a very diverse family of drinks. Beyond Chivas Regal 12 which was first launched in 1938, we have a number of other expressions reaching all the way up to our 25-year old Blended Scotch, modelled after the original Chivas Regal from 1909. We also very recently launched Chivas Regal XV, a 15-year old blend selectively finished in ex-cognac casks from the Champagne region.

The story about your journey to becoming the Brand Ambassador.

The way that I came to be the Brand Ambassador is an odd story to say the least. I was studying in university, realised that I wasn't a huge fan of what I was studying and started to look elsewhere. Being Scotish I always had a fantastic appreciation of scotch, and when I saw this opportunity online, I just couldn’t say no.