[News]

Havana Club Launches Union Rum in Malaysia

 

Cuban rum house Havana Club launched its latest ultra premium rum in Malaysia on 17 November 2017 at the Bridge Bar, GTower in Kuala Lumpur, graced by the Ambassador of Cuba to Malaysia, Her Excellency Mrs. Ibete Fernandez. The Havana Club Unión is part of its “Icónica collection”, and is the first rum ever that has been made expressly to perfectly match with a Cuban cigar, namely the Cohiba Siglo VI; an equal marriage in flavour, texture and strength. Unión is the result of a collaboration between big names of two of the most emblematic Cuba industries: Havana Club’s “Maestro Ronero” Asbel Morales, and esteemed Cuban cigar sommelier, Fernando Fernández.

Havana Club Unión was Inspired by tobacco leaves, and crafted by Maestro Morales by carefully combining two naturally aged bases: Base Oro, a strong dry-aged base with notes of cocoa and dark chocolate that provide Unión with its body and strength; and Base Centenario, aged in Havana Club’s oldest barrels, providing a rich complexity of flavours such as tobacco, vanilla, caramel, and more. This assemblage gives a smooth, rich, and powerfully aromatic rum that pairs perfectly with the full-bodied flavour of the Cohiba Siglo VI cigar.

Rum and cigars are Cuba’s two iconic products, expressing the excellence of Cuban craftsmanship. This shared heritage and know-how make the Havana Club/Cohiba collaboration a natural partnership, and is a national treasure and pride for the people of Cuba.

There are currently only 21 bottles of Havana Club Union available at selected outlets in Malaysia, though another limited quantity will be made available at the beginning of 2018. The estimated retail price of the Union is RM1,800.

 

Tasting Notes – Havana Club Unión

Colour: An impressively deep amber glow as testament to its long natural ageing

Nose: An intense and rich aroma that balances the oak and smoke with citrus, coconut and dried fruits and coffee

Taste: A soft wood flavor accented with vanilla, chocolate and dried fruit

Finish: A very rich, aromatic finish

 

 

For more info, head over to https://havana-club.com/ en-ww/rum/iconica-collection/union

 

Nicki Minaj Stars in H&M’s Magical Holiday Film

 

H&M announced that their 2017 (Christmas) holiday campaign film will star Nicki Minaj alongside Jesse Williams and John Turturro. The film is directed by Johan Renck, and tells a story of a parallel fantasy world filled with memorable characters and a universal message of caring for one another.

The film is a modern take on the classic fairytale, and centres around a heroic little girl who tracks down the evil brother of Santa Claus in order to save the holiday season from his selfishness. Nicki Minaj stars as the mother of the little girl as well as the fabulous fairy named the Wisest Thingy, while Jesse Williams plays the dual role of the father and the supernatural Fastest Fairy, and John Turturro takes on the part of both Santa Claus and the evil brother of Santa Claus. 

“I love the film’s over all empowering message. I love seeing this young girl become the champion that lives in all of us. There’s always magic in the air during the Holidays,” says Nicki Minaj 

“It’s exciting to see our festive designs come to life together with such inspirational talents. They definitely added some extra magic to the film and we hope that our customers will love how the fashion is presented throughout the holiday season at H&M,” says Pernilla Wohlfahrt, H&M’s Head of Design and Creative Director. 

A wide range of festive fashion for the whole family and selected garments seen in the film will be available in stores and online at hm.com during the (Christmas 2017) Holiday campaign period, which starts 9 November 2017. The campaign images featured in the same setting was also photographed by iconic visionary photographer Tim Walker.

The full version of the Holiday film will go live on hm.com on 28 November 2017.

 

Men’s Collection (click to view a larger version)

 

Women’s Collection (click to view a larger version)

 

[Update – 28 November 2017]

And here’s the video!

 

Xiaomi Announces Two New Smartphones and Opens Second Authorized Mi Store at KLCC

 

Xiaomi officially opened its second Authorized Mi Store at Suria KLCC in partnership with CG Computers Sdn Bhd. on 3 November 2017. At the event, it also announced that it is bringing two of its latest smartphones to Malaysia — Mi MIX 2, an evolution of the Mi MIX unveiled a year ago, as well as the entry-level Redmi Note 5A Prime.

With its move into the heart of KL at KLCC, Xiaomi reinforces its commitment to providing more Malaysian customers with greater accessibility to its range of products. The Authorized Mi Store allows customers to not only experience a rich array of Xiaomi’s smartphones and Mi Ecosystem products including Mi Band 2, Mi Power Bank, Mi Bluetooth Speaker and more, but also purchase them directly.

Steven Shi, Head of Xiaomi South Pacific Region, said: “The opening of another Authorized Mi Store in KLCC proves that we have great expectations for Xiaomi’s growth in Malaysia. We feel that the Malaysian market has great potential and we are also very excited to be announcing two new smartphones today that showcase Xiaomi’s commitment to being at the forefront of technological innovation while making these innovations affordable to the widest possible range of consumers.”

Winson Wong, General Manager of CG Computers Sdn Bhd, said: “We are very excited and proud to have the opportunity to partner with Xiaomi. We hope that through the presence of more Authorized Mi Stores in Malaysia, users can enjoy a better shopping experience. We look forward to working with Xiaomi to provide our Malaysian users with more of Xiaomi’s products.”

 

Mi MIX 2

 

The Mi MIX 2 is the evolution of Mi MIX, the concept phone unveiled a year ago. Introduced as a concept device last October, Mi MIX heralded a turning point in the design of smartphones and pioneered the trend of full screen display smartphones.

The Mi MIX 2 is available in Malaysia for RM 2,199, building on the foundation of the original concept. It is 11.9% smaller than Mi MIX, and has a 5.99-inch screen with a 18:9 full screen display, which delivers a minimal bezel appearance with the screen almost entirely filling up the front surface.

Jointly designed with world-renowned designer Philippe Starck, Mi MIX 2 represents Xiaomi’s efforts in pushing ahead with the use of ceramic, with a ceramic back, which features a four-sided curved design that transitions smoothly into the aluminum frame. 

The pre-orders for Mi MIX 2 start on 11 November 2017 through a series of online and offline channels including Lazada and Authorized Mi Stores, and the first sale will take place on 16 November 2017.

 

Redmi Note 5A Prime

The Redmi Note 5A Prime is Xiaomi’s first phone to include a Selfie-light, and when paired with a 16-megapixel front-facing camera, ensures selfies come out bright and clear even in challenging lighting conditions.

At its core, Redmi Note 5A Prime features an octa-core Qualcomm® Snapdragon™ 435, along with 3GB of RAM and 32GB of on-board storage. The Redmi Note 5A Prime has a 2+1 card slot, which has a dedicated microSD card slot, as well as dual-SIM (nano+nano) capabilities. At the back is a fingerprint sensor, for added security. The Redmi Note 5A Prime is priced at RM699 and is available in Gold and Gray in Malaysia from 11 November 2017 at online and offline channels including Lazada and Authorized Mi Stores. 

.