A week or so ago, I was invited to an exclusive night out with Crown Royal XO and the New Orleans Pelicans. The VIP experience was held at Smoothie King Center (formerly New Orleans Arena) where Crown Royal treated a select group of guests to a number of extraordinary experiences inside the Owner’s Bunker Suite in the Chairman’s Club. There was also a private whisky tasting and Q&A, cocktails with special guests from the Pelicans organization, and other Crown Royal swag which lead up to a viewing of the Pelicans vs Clippers game from an exclusive suite.
I was treated very exclusively, if I do say so myself. Parking passes, being escorted to Mr. Benson’s Suite, cocktails overflowing throughout the night, the option to watch the game from ANYwhere in the arena (I chose the suite, of course) — it was everything! Not to mention the best part, receiving my personally embroidered Crown Royal XO bag (It’ll go well with my ANS embroidered original Crown Royal bag that served as party favors for my CR happy hour last year).
There were three superb cocktails featured throughout the night: The Jump Shot, Alley-Oop, and Triple Double. I’m a sucker for good whisky and ginger (particularly beer), so I was very partial to the Alley-Oop all night. If you’d like to put your mixology skills to the test, try one of these delish recipes at home!
The Jump Shot
· 1.5oz Crown Deluxe
· .5oz Sour Mix
· .25oz Grenadine
· Soda Water to top
Preparation: Combine all ingredients in the glass with ice, gently stir and serve.
Alley-Oop
· 1.5oz Crown XO
· Top with Ginger Ale
Preparation: Garnish with lime
Triple Double
· 1.5oz Crown Royal Black
· .75oz Simple Syrup
· .75oz Fresh Lemon Juice
Preparation: Combine all ingredients in a shaker with ice, shake well and strain into the glass. Garnish and serve.
Shake it, stir it, sip it! Have a blast and drink responsibly, loves.
Special thanks to Kelly G, Christina K and the Taylor crew for inviting me to such a fab night out.
Check out some of the profesh photos from the night (below), including a few from my private (IG) collection.
Crown Royal XO is an ultra-premium, elegant whisky deliciously balanced with hints of vanilla, spice and rich dried fruit closing with an impeccably smooth finish. It is best enjoyed neat, on the rocks or as the key ingredient in a number of classic cocktail recipes.