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The BeefEater Pink Gin Adventure.

Beefeater Pink Gin hosted a lovely music themed summer event on the 2nd of October 2021 at The Gathering in Kabulonga, Lusaka. The event was slated to start at Three pm and I had invited my cousin to tag along with me to the event. The show was being headlined by different local acts including musicians and djs such as Kuni, Psycho Tash, Kreative Natives & El Mukuka just to mention a few. The main attraction for the event was South African dj and producer Sun el Musician and I have to admit I am a really big fan of his work so this was a bonus to an already exciting event. Getting ready was a bit of a mission for the event as it proved difficult to source a Pink look that I really liked. In the end I decided that I would wear a neutral coloured shift dress and accessorize with a pink bag and air maxes that also had pink details. Made sure my makeup was also in line with the pink theme and this helped me feel more confident about attending the event in a look that was not exactly pink. To be fair they did not really put out a theme but I just went off of the last event that required us to wear pink. Anyway enough about my process finally managed to get to the event right around three thirty and was greeted by the lovely hosts and hostesses. We presented our tickets and were tagged and given tokens which were to be handed to the bar tenders stationed all around the event for a free Gin cocktail. I thought was lovely and planned to use it later on but first we needed to find a place to sit. We took a mini tour if the location to familiarise ourselves with the space and after that decided on the best spot to chill and enjoy the event.

It was a pretty chill set up with the bar placements probably being the most elaborate areas. It was fun to watch your cocktail getting made that was a highlight for me. The cocktails were all of course Gin focused and this allowed attendees of the event to experience the different variations that Gin has to offer personally as a Gin stan I was excited. The different performers had their sets on and it was kicked off by Dj Psycho Tash who had a really fun set. At some point I was socialising so I wasn't paying too much attention to the music but all this led up to the very lovely Gin school which was hosted by the very lovely and bubbly Tanealé where we got to learn more about the beefeater brand . We learnt about the rich history of beefeater which if you did not know was created in 1862 by James Burrough and how their distillery is one of twenty-four in London. Beefeater Gin actually consists of up to nine different botanical s as botanical are a very important part of the flavour profile needed to create an amazing Gin namely juniper, angelica root, angelica seeds, coriander seeds, liquorice, almonds, orris root, seville oranges, and lemon peel. These flavours are brought out depending on the type of Gin and fruit pairing you choose to go with. For example the beefeater Pink Gin went really well with tonic water and fresh strawberry pieces while the Beefeater blood orange went well with orange slices and tonic water. We were able to sample four Beefeater products and create our own mixes that really brought out the best of each Gin. The Gin school was an exciting part of the event because it allowed for consumers to learn more about the brand and how to better enjoy the product. As the night went on I got to enjoy a set by Dj My Boyfriend which dare I say was my favourite set as he played a lot of songs that I really enjoyed. Unfortunately for me I had a bit of a family emergency to attend to so I had to leave the event and deal with that which means I missed the set I wanted to see the most which was the Sun El Musician set but according to everyone who was there it was amazing and I believe them. Hopefully get to catch him one day but the Beefeater Pink Gin event was a lovely experience it was a chilled event allowed for socialising and music made it even more of an experience. Hopefully next time we could just make cash payments directly as the coupon system was a bit of a mission but outside of that again a lovely event.

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A Conversation with Dwight Yorke.

Chivas in partnership with Manchester United presented the press with a lovely opportunity to have a chat with Manchester legend Dwight Yorke concerning all things football.

The press event was held at Latitude 15 and had a variety of press representatives present. I happened to be one of the lucky few. I was tasked with asking two questions to a Manchester United legend and that was a little stressful on my part because firstly what an opportunity, I had so many questions and in trying not to panic I ended up blanking out.

I hoped by the start of the event I would have had my questions all sorted out. It was a lovely afternoon and I was one of the early arrivals which gave me a chance to mingle and interact with the people present. As we enjoyed our welcome whisky high ball cocktails we were ushered into the press room and we were all seated in time for the virtual interview.

We had our opening remarks from Lifa the brand manager for Chivas Africa and he solidified the importance of the brand and it's relationship with Manchester United. The Chivas brand made sure with it's sports related activation would bring both whisky and football lovers alike.

As we got on a call with Dwight Yorke, each of us were given a chance to ask about two questions but due to time constraints it was chopped down to one question. You would think this would be less pressure but actually I now had to rethink my question. It was almost my time to speak and what came to mind was asking him on his experience and difficulties faced as a football player coming from the islands of Trinidad and Tobago to play football in England. His response was adjusting to the weather and the change in lifestyle but his main advice touched on discipline as a player, one had to be committed to their craft. That was a lovely takeaway as it applied to any aspiring football players within the African continent.

The conversations with Dwight Yorke were very insightful and positive as he spoke on not only his personal thoughts on the beautiful game of football but also how the collaboration between Chivas and Manchester United was beneficial and an uplifting venture for Africa as a whole. It was nice to hear what someone who actually played for the club thought on the prospects and future of African football.

Chivas once again managed to deliver an experience that gave myself and everyone present more insight into understanding the brand as well as it's collaboration with Manchester United. We were all able to ask our questions and learn more about not only Dwight Yorke but football in general.

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A night with Chivas was, for sure, a memorable night from start to finish.  Held on a fairly warm, Thursday evening at Latitude 15. Thankfully this made it easier to pull together a comfortable yet stylish look, as the invite had stipulated that the dress code would be trendy chic. As the invite had promised, it was a very eventful night. From the whiskey tasting, to a lovely dinner, all capped off with an exclusive look at a capsule collection collaborative by one of Zambia’s most prolific fashion designers, Chiza Ngulube of Esnoko. 

The event was scheduled to start around five thirty in the evening, and I arrived slightly after, due to a considerable amount of outfit changes. The fact that I was not too sure I could trust the Lusaka weather for that day did not help, but I managed to get myself there in good time. Upon arrival I was greeted by two lovely hostesses and a photographer who was capturing the guests as they arrived. I quickly posed for my picture and walked down the red carpet to the official entry point into the event.

I confirmed my credentials, and thereafter I was ushered into the event, before being handed an interesting welcome drink that happened to be a champagne and Chivas whiskey cocktail, from what I could tell. Needless to say, it was pretty good, and helped with calming my nerves. The initial vibe as I was shown around where everything would be held was very chill but vibrant. The décor was centred around highlighting the Chivas brand colours, as well as incorporating African print designs which truly brought to life the Afro Blend aesthetic. 

After a bit of light hearted banter with a few familiar faces, it was time for the dinner to start, and we were asked to move to the dining area. Once everyone was seated, we had opening remarks from the songstress Wezi, one of the local brand ambassadors for Chivas, alongside Macky 2 and Peter Mwansa, who were also present that evening. 

 While we waited on our starters, we got introduced to Mini the South African Brand ambassador, who gave us the story of how the scotch whisky we were celebrating came to be. She was going to guide us through the night and educate us on how to smell, as well as pair our drinks with our meals. Fun fact; to better identify the notes in your whisky, it was better to place it under your chin, one of the more interesting things I took away from that evening.

I was lucky enough to catch up with Mini for a short interview, and she spoke about how she had enjoyed her stay in Lusaka and that we as a people were very warm and welcoming. We also somehow spoke about Kanye West, who happens to be her favourite artist. Back on topic about Chivas, her recommended personal favourite (which was a tough choice for a would-be Chivas drinker) had to be the twenty-five. 

As the festivities progressed, the cocktails were flowing, conversations were peak, and just like that we had gone through our main courses. Soon after, it was time for what would be a fitting closing event of the night, which was the highly anticipated fashion showcase by Chiza of Esnoko. 

We were introduced to the collection with a speech and short video from the designer, elaborating on his brand and the journey to create what we were about to see. The collaboration between Chivas and Esnoko was one that would deliver a very luxe, athleisure capsule collection. I caught up with Chiza, and asked him a couple of questions to better understand his collection and creative process. It shockingly took them two months to create, and the end result was a collection that was impressive and perfectly represented both brands. The collection was assembled in Zambia, and included bomber jackets, track bottoms, bucket hats, poor boy caps (which I might mention are a must have and a fashion staple for the designer), and a variety of other athleisure pieces. The collection showcase allowed the guests to get a closer look at the garments, and everyone was thoroughly impressed. 

The evening ended on a high note, with everyone taking in the collection and discussing what pieces they wanted to own from the limited edition while enjoying dessert (which I unfortunately missed. 🙁) Regardless, it was still an amazing night. All the guests were gifted a goodie bag that contained some of the merch we had just seen from the collection, a very pleasant reminder of the evening that was two brands coming together to give us a truly, Afro Blend night.  

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Chivas x Esnoko

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A night with Chivas in Colour