Issue link: https://digital.copcomm.com/i/687399
june 2016 / the tasting panel / 69 hen you have a whiskey portfolio like Beam Suntory's, owning an entire week and declaring it #WhiskeyWeek is par for the course. So when Beam Suntory came to Los Angeles in mid-March with a bevy of Brand Ambassadors in tow, we couldn't wait to meet up and see what sort of whiskey wonders were afoot. Whiskey was in the air as everyone from all areas of the spirits industry gathered at the Lombardi House in Los Angeles to celebrate the beginning of Beam Suntory's Whiskey Week, full of classes and events that celebrated their expansive and varied whiskey portfolio, from Basil Hayden to Booker's, Maker's Mark to Hibiki. The large Lombardi House was the perfect setting for the elegant but casual event, which featured wonderfully quirky touches like a living statue who poured Knob Creek into a fountain, customized leather baggage tags and DIY Auchentoshan-branded screenprinting, also available to those who attended the classes and seminars the following day. Attendees played cornhole, shuffle- board and Connect Four, and there was an entire roasted pig and delicious accoutrements to snack on. Brand Ambassadors were there in abundance; we spotted Bour-Bon Vivant Adam Harris and whiskey connoisseur Simon Brooking and Midori's Paul Zahn. Bartenders and media alike sipped on delicious cocktails like a Knob Creek Old Fashioned, polished off with a smoke gun and wood chips before our eyes, imbuing the cocktail with a rich, smoky finish. The Scotch portfolio was on hand as well, with tastings available of Laphroaig, Bowmore and Auchentoshan. Beam Suntory's non-whiskey brands also got in on the fun, with cocktail stations featuring Hornitos Tequila and Effen Vodka. It was a great start to Whiskey Week and a harbinger of the fun events to come! —Jesse Hom-Dawson BEAM SUNTORY BRINGS WHISKEY TO LIFE IN LOS ANGELES Week PHOTO: SAM SCHNEIDER Women in the industry from all over Los Angeles gathered for the Women in Whiskey brunch as part of Beam Suntory's Whiskey Week. PHOTO: CAL BINGHAM Jeremy Lake, owner of Lost Property Bar in Los Angeles.