Whiskey and Serendipity: Teeling Tasting at Warehouse Liquors (Drammers Club), Dinner at Cherry Circle Room

Liz and I had an early date night planned today. Earlier in the week, we got an email notification, a kind of last minute invite to a Drammers event at Warehouse Liquors: a tasting event featuring Teeling whiskey. And a chance to sample tastes from two 30+ year old bottles!

Liz and I decided on turning this into an early date night because the event was from 3-5PM. So we figured on making our way over to the Cherry Circle Room – a place we visited briefly, but never dined at.

Well, we had a bit of excitement about an hour before the event was slated to start. Liz was making her way back from the suburbs (and was cutting it close, in terms of arriving home in time for our Lyft ride downtown). En route, she got a call from Kirt and Anne… who were driving to Midway, to drop the Ford kids off for their return flight home to Georgia.

As luck would have it, Kirt and Anne would be in the area… and on finding out what we were up to, decided to join us for the tasting. Apparently, Teeling is one of Kirt’s favorite whiskies… and the distillery was one of their stops, when they visited Ireland not more than a week or two ago.

Waiting outside Warehouse Liquors. The store is to the left, but the door to the upstairs event area is slightly separate, to the right.

Upstairs, looking at the drams before us.

The drams relocated, to reveal some of the casks involved.

Looking behind the counter, at the various bottles for the event.

A display of the various drams we would be trying out. Liz and I were seated near the front, and at several turns… Liz helped reach over to grab a random bottle for someone who needed a refill.

Me and Liz, photo courtesy of Anne.

A view of the room, during a brief intermission. At the bottom left is Elhan Orhan, whom Liz and I met through the SMWSA tastings at the Franklin Room (an event he hosts). Elhan is also part of the Chicago chapter of Drammers, and it’s through him that we found out about this event.

While we’re talking about people – this particular tasting involved two Teeling reps: Alex Brick (the Chicago Teeling Ambassador) and Rob Caldwell (Teeling’s Global Brand Ambassador).

A brief photo of Liz and Kirt, at the close of the event. I think Kirt really enjoyed the tasting, and he and Anne were talking to Elhan… trying to figure out how they might start a Drammers chapter in Detroit.

A bit later on, with the four of us grabbing a drink at the bar, before our dinner reservations.

Fun bit of trivia: we’ve been to the Chicago Athletic Association a good deal, lately. We came here to the Game Room with the Holders back in December. Then we stopped by the Game Room again with the Ford kids.

While we planned on this being a date night kind of event, we really lucked out that Kirt and Anne were in the area… and able to join us for not one, but both events. A fun time, made more enjoyable with family present. Lucky all around.

Related:
Franklin Room: Scotch Malt Whisky Society, June 2023 Outturn
Birthday Outing: Secret Stash, Museum of Illusions, Drinks at Cherry Circle Room, Dinner at Chicago Firehouse
Warehouse Liquors: Glenrothes Tasting