The whisky company, by the way, tricked out the entire mansion and grounds, sparing no expense in building walls, fashioning a large copper bar, branding the pool, and even constructing a hidden club room where bespoke cocktails were made based on each guest's taste preferences.
This spare-no-expenses shindig was to introduce Miami to Haig Club, a single grain Scotch packaged in a distinctive blue bottle by Haig Whisky in Cameronbridge Scotland. Haig Club is the trendy, aspirational newcomer to this distillery that's been around since 1824.
Haig Club, the first whisky to be introduced by the Scottish distillery, now owned by Diageo, in over 30 years. The smooth Scotch is meant to be an introduction to whisky for many vodka and gin drinkers who can be turned off by the intense peat and smoke in many Scotches. To further the brand, British entrepreneur Simon Fuller and global megastar David Beckham were tapped as the faces of the spirit. Last fall, Haig Club was introduced in Europe and is finally making its splashy debut. While one may think the fanfare was because of Beckham's Miami ties, it was
With the power of Diageo behind the blue bottle, no expenses were spared for the South Florida launch, with a former mob king's famed estate transformed into a Haig Club pop-up dinner party. Michelle Bernstein created the menus and Lindsay Autry executed them, which Julio Cabrera fashioned Haig Club cocktails. The only thing that outshone the cobalt blue bottles was the star power of the celebrities that turned out to drink whisky with David Beckham.
Julio Cabrera created some innovative cocktails with the Scotch, including a take on a mojito.
Chef Lindsay Autry introduced the menu items, which featured Bernstein's famous short rib.
Food and cocktail pairings included a Florida shrimp ceviche with popcorn, paired with a true shrimp cocktail — a Haig Club liquid tiradito.
The banana tres leches pudding with Haig-soaked cake, Haig jello and corn flakes, paired with a Haig Club Brose was the highlight of the evening.
After dinner, guests were invited to shake their own cocktails, learn more about the making of the whisky, and have a bespoke Old Fashioned made for them by the master of whisky, Gerry Graham.
Guests also strolled the impressive grounds where Al Capone spent the last years of his life.
Al Capone, who loved a good party, and turned his cell at Eastern State Penitentiary into a lounge to make his time served a little more pleasant, would have approved of the whisky launch in his former home.
