Tag: event

  • Absolut Lime Launch Party : My Recap [VIDEOS] #absolutlime

    Absolut Lime Launch Party : My Recap [VIDEOS] #absolutlime

    Pause the music…

    Atlantic City, NJ

     

    Premier Night Club

     

    January 23, 2017

    I was there…

    I was at the launch for Absolut Lime Vodka and I had sooooo much fun!

    If you were following my Instagram Story you would have felt like you were there, forreal!

    Let me lay it all out for you…

    When I walked in, this is what I saw

     

     

    Absolut Lime Models

    I mean, I expected a lime green atmosphere, but I didn’t expect this! It was so fun to be around and generated the energy I expected, which was the sense of a night where anything is possible.

    As I made my way through the green atmosphere, got a quick pic with the Absolut Lime Models,

    then I made my way to our favorite place, the bar. 😀

    Before I came to this event, I heard about the launch of lime and already had a ton of ideas about the cocktails that one could make with Absolut Lime. I even bet myself (yes, you can do that) that there would be a cosmo on the menu…and ya know what…it was there.

    My First Drink – Absolut Lime & Soda

    I started off with the Absolut Lime and Soda because I really wanted to get a taste to see how intense the taste of lime was in a cocktail. I’m not a big fan of doing shots while I’m out, so for me, trying vodka with soda is perfect for getting the full flavor of flavored vodka. On the first sip, I honestly couldn’t taste the lime too much. It was a subtle texture of lime flavor but it didn’t over do it. As I took my 2nd sip, I could taste it more and a bit more as I continued on with my drink. It was as if the lime flavor was building on top of what I tasted in prior sips but still didn’t overpower the simplicity of vodka, soda and lime.

    My 2nd Drink – Absolut Lime-ito (right) / Absolut Lime Cosmo (left)

    Next I decided to try the Absolut Lime-ito. I figured since lime is a pretty important part of a Mojito, a “Lime-ito” would have to have good attempt to measure up to the classic cocktail, and it did, BUT. (There’s always a but) I think the bartender took away from all the drink really could have been because he didn’t muddle the mint. The cocktail was great, but I was looking forward to really getting that “mint spritz” lol (you know what I’m talking about).
    ​​​
    The Absolut Cosmo pictured is my friend’s cocktail and I opted not to get a full version of that drink. I did, however, try a sip of hers and it was pretty much what I expected from a cosmo. I guess with the lime flavor already in with your vodka, if cosmos are your thing, you don’t have to go the extra step/ingredient to making your Cosmos.

    There was another cocktail that was available to try, but I opted not to for several reasons, the main reason being I didn’t want to drink too much at one time, the other being I didn’t want a super (what i perceived to be) sugary cocktail. That cocktail was the Absolut Cherry Limeade which consists of:

    • Absolut Lime
    • Sprite
    • a splash of grenadine
    • cherry/lime garnish

    But enough about the drinks, you should see the party!!!!!

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    It wouldn’t be a brand launch without a photo booth right?!


     

    Oh and can we talk about how this girl was going AWF on the violin…yes, a violin!!!

     

    Me in front of the Marquee! 😀

     

    I had a ton of fun at this launch, this was definitly one for the NJ launch books!

    Thank you Absolut for the invite.

    I can’t wait until the next one!

  • The Gin Lab: My Recap

    The Gin Lab: My Recap

    Recently, I had the opportunity to attend an event called The Gin Lab. Being that I don’t have much knowledge about gin compared to other spirits, I figured it would be a great event for me to attend and learn a thing or two.

    This event was held at Sbraga in Philadelphia. I had never been there before, but I’ve heard great things about the venue so I was even more excited to attend this event. When I arrived, I was late, but I don’t think I missed too much from the start of the event. I seemed to arrive when the brand rep was explaining the history and process of making gin.

    I learned a lot that I never knew about gin, especially about how essential Juniper is in making Gin. I think its fair to say that its as important as when making whiskey and they types and treatment of the casks that make the spirit as great as it is. I also learned that in making gin your own, there are endless combinations of Juniper and herbs and fruits, in terms of what can be added to it in order to make it something supremely unique.

    To start with our hands-on portion of the educational process, we sampled 3 different types of gin by Tanqueray. Among the 3 were Tanqueray London Dry (original), Tanqueray 10, and Nolet’s Silver Dry Gin (pictured above). If you can’t see in the picture, (I listed the tasting notes in each) It was a bit hard for me to distinguish exactly what I was tasting in each so I just went with what it felt like to me or what it reminded me of. Tanqueray London Dry, I tasted woody/oak notes and various types of sour/tart fruits. In Tanqueray 10 I picked up scents of floral notes and tasted light hints of juniper, and an essence of some sweet that I couldn’t quite put my finger on. In the Nolet Silver I kept tasting a lot of floral notes and citrus. the scent smelled a biton the sweet side kinda similar to candy and at the same time was “perfumey”. (yes I know that is not a word)

    After tasting the 3 I can say that I preferred the Nolet’s Silver overall mainly because it felt like it finished smoother and seemed to have a fruitier/sweetness to it instead of the spicy notes that I was picking up in the original Tanqueray. Next fav out of the 3 would be the Tanqueray 10 because of the scent that I picked up before it touched my lips. The scent was very floral and almost minty. It was very refreshing and more palatable than the other Tanqueray.

    After that exercise of the tasting I could more so see what it is about each gin that I liked. I obviously prefer the fruit notes of gin, and with our next exercise in the lab, we were able to make our own gin via a whipped cream dispenser.

    yep….a whipped cream dispenser

    So, with the whipped cream dispenser it was totally new to me, but apparently not to a lot of other people, that you could use it for infusing gin with whatever botanicals, fruits, herbs, etc. (mind blown). To do this we were paired with the person that sat across from us and we picked 2 ingredients that we wanted to make our gin with. I selected Jasmine and Lime and my partner selected Thai Chili and Sage (sounds interesting right?!)

    So we went to the foraging table (pictured above) and selected our items and Juniper. Came back to our table to add in our distilled spirit and charged it in our whipped cream dispenser and after straining it into a wine glass… viola!

    Behold, our one of a kind custom made in the the Gin Lab, GIN!

    I loved the way it tastes. Before sipping it, you could smell the Jasmine and the lime. Upon tasting it you could really taste the earthy-ness of the sage and the citrus of the lime. The Thai Chili showed up as a nice spicy finish that made for a more developed taste in my opinion.

    Once we finished sampling our Gin, the true test came when it was included in a gin and tonic cocktail and honestly, I think it held up great. Unfortunately, when added it with ice and tonic, the jasmine scent went away, and the earthy notes from the sage seemed to be less noticeable, but the lime and the chili stayed and made an awesome flavor profile.

    And that was the event in a nutshell!

    Would I consider myself a fan of gin now? No, but I definitely have gained a new appreciation and a lot of knowledge for it. I feel like I can now offer more recommendations to clients of Pour Models and friends who are looking for something new to drink or something with a bit more customization and uniqueness to it compared to the popular spirits. Im currently, in the process of learning more about these whipped cream dispensers so I can get one of my own and start doing some things with other flavor ideas I have for gin. Who knows, I might have to start the process of making my own gin one day!

    Cheers!

  • Elite debuts their WAVY FLEXIN COOL mixtape…and I was there :-) | What I’m Listening To

    Elite debuts their WAVY FLEXIN COOL mixtape…and I was there 🙂 | What I’m Listening To

    Alean-Elston-Elite-Meet-Greet-Step-RepeatWant me to come to your event and blog about it? Let me know! – alean@aleanelston.com

    First off, Its been a few since I’ve been able to blog on the site and I guess that’s a good thing. More gigs, more movement, more great content for the site, right?! Right 😉

    Oh yeah, before I forget, shout out to the members of Elite, Love Logan Productions, Digiwaxx, and Young Jack Thriller for taking care of me at this event. I so appreciated it!

    But last week I was going through my email and I came across an email blast for Elite, a new up and coming hip hop group, I didn’t know anything about these guys but I loved the cover of their mixtape “Wavy Flexin Cool”. Who’s album cover does it remind you of? (pictured above) Don’t worry I’ll wait… If you don’t know, you’re probably not old enough to know.

    ANYWAY

    I checked out their 2 videos on YouTube and I liked it and its some quality stuff, looks like it can go the distance. Especially since they are being lead by Kay Gee of Naughty By Nature, success breeds success, know what I mean?! As I was writing this post, I lucked out and found a new video. Go on over to their YouTube channel and check it out, AFTER you finish reading this post of course 😀 At the time that I got their email, I wasn’t going to go because I wasn’t already going to be in NYC. My thing is, I rarely travel and/or go to events unless there is money to be made, connections I really want or need, or to support friends and family. So when I got booked to do a filming for that day in the city and it was in the same area as the meet and greet/release,  I decided  that there was no reason why I shouldn’t be at this event, and I quickly made my way to RSVP for the event.

    Turns out I made a great decision. When I arrived at LQ, it was packed in there. It was a real cool vibe just a lot of people who turned out for this event. To me that speaks VOLUMES! I can’t tell you how many mixtape releases, launches, etc parties that I have gone to and no one shows up but their momma and 3 cousins. The fact that is was packed says to me that this group has a strong following and is definitely a group to keep an eye on.

    After I hung around for a lil bit I got to meet the group. When I tell you they are so nice… They are so nice! lol They were very energetic and excited about the success of their event.  Of which they should be. I didn’t get to hear too much from the mixtape at the party (maybe thats cause I arrived late lol) but from what I’ve heard, its definitely cool. I recently downloaded the mixtape, WAVY FLEXIN COOL, and it wasn’t what I expected in a good way. These guys have something here…something that no one mainstream right now has. I can’t put my finger on it but when I can define it I’ll let you know. I feel like as I watch development of this group in the near future, it’ll become more apparent to me.

    Download their mixtape and let me know what you think – Download it here

    Elite-Music-Meet-Greet-Alean-Elston

    and oh yea, look who else I met. Young Jack Thriller from thisis50.com! Great host and had a great conversation with him as well.

    Jack-Thriller-Alean-Elston

    I guess needless to say, I had a great time at this event, and if you havent checked out these guys you need to. Follow them on twitter  @WeRELITE3@ChazEliteMack@KO_ofELITE,@BOXIEisELITE and tell them you saw this write up on AleanElston.com

  • *TEAM BRADLEY* Making Strides For Breast Cancer Fundraiser [EVENT]

    Saturday October 8th , 2011

    9pm

    Sam’s Bar & Grill
    18 South Main Street
    Pleasantville, NJ 08232

    Come out & join Team Bradley for a night of fun. We will have various raffles but the top raffle prize is a basket that includes a Mens black Movato watch! Tickets are $20 and will be on sale up until the night of the raffle Contact Nakyia

    Donations are accepted & greatly appreciated…all proceeds will be donated to Breast Cancer Research in the fight to find a cure.

     

    Are you having an event or doing something in support of Breast Cancer Awareness month? Let me know about it. Either leave the details in the comment area or email it directly to me at alean@aleanelston.com

  • Divas in the City invites you to an Exclusive Shopping Soiree (NYC)

    If you are in the NYC area be sure to join Divas in the City for an exclusive after-hours shopping party!

    The fabulous Divas of Kurvacious and Marliyn’s Boutique in Harlem, are closing their store just for Divas in the City members and their fab guest to shop exclusively on Friday, August 5th from 6:30pm – 9:30pm.

    Grab a few of your favorite Divas and enjoy a girl’s night out while participating in a fashion styling segment by Kimberly Edwards of Chique Chix, sipping bubbly, shopping, winning fab prizes and did we mention SHOPPING.  The boutiques carry sizes 4 – 28, so there is something haute for every Diva!

    Come shop, sip, mix and mingle!

    • Save 20% on all purchases made that evening!
    • Enjoy Diva-licious drinks!
    • Nosh on yummy appetizers!
    • We will be raffling off Fab giveaways AND;
    • Special prizes will be given to members with Social Diva or Diva on the Move membership package

    Visit the members-only area to RSVP NOW.  You MUST be logged in to RSVP.