New Brisbane

Being what I like to call a Professional Blogger has some benefits, you get invites togo to things and they are usually free and come with all the perks. However, invites only extend as far as Restaurants, Festivals, Bars, Nightclubs and the odd event here and there. Last week though, the New Brisbane crew were guests of Lion Nathan, the guys who make XXXX. I wouldn’t usually write about something like this had they not put so much effort into the whole event. Before I start, lets get the facts out there first, the whole night was setup to promote the new McKenna Bourbon (pictured) brand being launched QLD wide in the next week or so.

Having arrived at the venue, I was a little baffled. Here I was, on the corner of Breakfast Creek Road and Montpelier road in the Valley wondering why on earth the event was hosted there given that I and most people there had never been there before. Why is that? Because there is nothing there! Its like an abandoned warehouse that Lion Nathan had converted into a nightclub just for that night! Everything from Spotlights searching the sky to the McKenna girls wondering around, the whole place was alive with the media (and by Media I mean fairfax and news corp). And then, there was us.

Having included bloggers as part of the Media, Lion Nathan was on the right track, with free alcohol flowing through out the night, I was a little pesimistic at first. I am not one to get bought out, the only reason I even said yes to coming to the whole event was because Paul Mac was the main DJ. Yes, Paul Mac was playing in Brisbane last Thursday! You missed it? So did 99% of Brisbane clubbers who had no idea. There was some word going around through out the night that Lion Nathan had spent upwards of $75,000 for the event. They must really have high hopes for McKenna.

So after some deliberation, I decided to try the McKenna Bourbon. Being a very no-bourbon type person, I wasn’t exactly looking to be impressed, and other XXXX owned beers were also available for those with a faint heart. Unlike my girlfriend who had decided to take it on herself to drink some 10 bottles of McKenna plus shots, I was taking it a little easier (driving and all). However I really have to admit, and this almost hurts me to say it, the McKenna Bourbon, the premixed bottle that I have a photo of here, was simply fantastic. I have to hand it to Lion Nathan for filling that gap for guys who don’t really want to drink Smirnoff Blacks but are just a little sick of the old Beer.

As far as the Pure McKenna Bourbon goes, mixed with coke, it was still horrible, It really didn’t matter what it tasted like though, I simply hate Bourbon, and after a little while I simply switched back to the premixed McKenna Bourbon bottles which are a lot different to what you’d expect. Lion Nathan says that the brand is being launched initially only in QLD but I’ll say given some time it will find its way around the nation.

Apart from the Bourbon, Paul Mac was awesome. You can always expect someone like Paul Mac to bring out the best of the night. The whole stage they had setup for Paul Mac was great, I don’t know who owns that warehouse but if it was mine, I would turn it into a nightclub because heck, if Lion Nathan can do what they did for McKenna, that venue deserves to join the Brisbane Nightlife scene.

Unfortunately, given that the whole event was on a Thursday, I didn’t have too much time to stick around and goto the after party at Alhambra (next to family), nevertheless for the time that I was there, I have to hand it to Lion Nathan for being awesome hosts, I guess with the Alcohol industry being a multi-billion dollar business, an event like this is meaningless in the wrong. Nevertheless this isn’t a promotional plug, but if you see McKenna (Labelled as McK) on the shelves in the coming weeks don’t take my word for it, give it a go, let me know what you think!