Hi everyone!

Back with another roundup this week, a little shorter than the last but still fun as always. Starting off, we went to the Memorial Day parade…stars and stripes and all! I found a new striped headband to wear along with these cute fruit earrings from J.Crew.

In case you missed it, I became a Lively rep this week! IF you don’t know what Lively is, it’s a new and fun lingerie brand that also sells swim and bodysuits. Stay tuned for more updates on this throughout the year with product launches and such. If you want $10 off your first purchase, use my code: AMB-thehargz. 

This next event was a little outside my comfort zone but I’m so glad I went! After meeting Mari at the Holt’s event a few weeks ago, I got invited to go to a whiskey tasting through her new girl boss collective, M Social, at Prime & Provisions with whiskey from Aberlour.

To start off, we had these awesome Scotch Mules with St. Germaine, lemon (instead of lime), and a mint leaf to bring the flavors out. As a whiskey newbie, I was presently surprised that I liked this. It had a nice burning sensation but still the body of a mule. I will definitely be attempting these at home! Fun fact: Scotch and whiskey are the same thing, the only difference is that whiskey is made in America whereas Scotch is made in Scotland – makes sense right? So when you go to Scotland it’s just called whiskey (like French onion soup is just “onion soup” in France).

We also got to try yummy lobster rolls and chicken bites along with a charcuterie board (!). I was so happy to have a couple snacks to help with the pairing. It’s about to burn, y’all!

Loved these little tiny forks!

Ok so I’m sure most of you (like me) had not heard of Aberlour before. Aberlour is a whiskey company based in Scotland with an emphasis on being light, sweet, and no peat. Peat whiskey is very earthy and smells like leather shoes or tar (even though you’re not supposed to smell whiskey when you taste it) with only 10% of the world’s supply being that way. Since it’s not the most pleasant, they make sure to not include it. They also have their whiskey bottles (like most) represent what their still/spout of the barrel they distill the spirit in looks like. This is why the necks of the bottles look different like long and slender or short and fat.

From left to right: 12 Year, 16 Year, 18 Year, A’bunadh

Now that a few of the fun facts are out of the way, on to the tasting! We tried 4 different varieties, with the weakest being 12 years aged and the last being very aged, not sure of how long but included 60% alcohol. Going in order, the first one burned a lot but not in a bad way! It was very tannic cherry flavor thanks to it’s sherry casing and charring on the oak barrel it was in. Very similar to American aged bourbon. Next up was the 16 year, very earthy like soil and didn’t burn. I didn’t love this one but a lot of the others at my table did. The 18 year was very similar to the 12 but more sherry and less char as well as less of a burning sensation. The final one was a big hit for everyone including me: A’bunadh (aka AH-BOON-AH). This was the strongest of the four and had the highest burning sensation but it was really good. If you need to, you can always add a little water to the whiskey (about a drop or two) to really bring out the flavors and take down the burning a little if it’s too much. According to Scots, the more aged whiskey is the better it is with a minimum of 8 years and 15-17 years being the sweet spot. My favorites were the first and last funny enough so I was happy to learn that I could actually take whiskey and not be coughing up a storm (haha). If you’re looking to expand your palate, definitely try Aberlour. Check out more facts via my Highlights on Instagram if you missed the event on my story!

Before leaving, we got a beautiful little gift of some whiskey snifters with toppers and a decanter (or water holder if you need). For those who don’t know, I love glassware so I was very excited and can’t wait to try these out in the future.

Local Spots I Checked Out: Prime & Provisions

Events I’m Looking Forward To: Co-Optim + Chanel Launch Party, Mom’s Birthday, Fourth of July, Denver Trip + Drake Concert, Create & Cultivate Conference

See you in the next post!