Huffington Post Revisited Part 3 - Think You Know How To Taste Whisky? Think Again ...

Matt of Whisky For Everyone has been writing on the Huffington Post UK since being invited as a contributor to the blogging site in 2012.  His posts in the Lifestyle section are increasingly popular, so we thought we would publish the most-read articles in case you have not seen them before.  This week we will show three posts on Whisky For Everyone for the first time.  This one about an innovative brand launch changed how Matt viewed whisky tastings and opened his mind to experience more.

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Think You Know How To Taste Whisky?  Think Again ...
Posted on HuffPostUK on 23/9/15 - click here to view the original article.

As a London-based whisky commentator I get regularly invited to whisky tastings and brand launches. Most follow tried and trusted routines. Nothing wrong with that, but they can seem formulaic sometimes. Sometimes something changes your thoughts, opening both eyes and mind. For me, this came at the recent launch of a new Chivas Regal whisky.

The words 'Experimental Chef' and 'Exploration Lab' on the invitation filled me with a slight sense of dread. I pictured a gimmicky tasting, albeit in a cool venue, that would push food and whisky pairing. Quickly I discovered just how wrong those initial feelings would be ...

Have just tried – Glen Moray 10 years old Chardonnay Cask and 8 years old Chenin Blanc Cask

Glen Moray distillery is located in the Speyside region of Scotland, sitting on the outskirts of the town of Elgin on the banks of the River Lossie. The distillery started life as a brewery, founded in 1828, which was later converted to become the Glen Moray whisky distillery in 1897.

It is currently owned by French drinks company La Martiniquaise, who took control in 2008 after buying the distillery from Moet Hennessey. Whisky produced and matured at Glen Moray is used for a number of La Martiniquaise's own blended and vatted whiskies that are popular in France, namely Label 5 and Glen Turner, as well as an expanding range of single malts. The main market for Glen Moray single malts is the UK as one of the top 5 for total UK single malt sales in 2010.

For more information on Glen Moray, have a look at the blog post about our visits to the distillery in 2009 and in 2011.

Part of Glen Moray's expanding range includes some rather interesting experiments with maturation of their whisky in wine casks. Back in the late 90s, Ed Dodson, the distillery manager at that time, undertook a program of experiments using non-conventional casks to mature his spirit. The resulting flavour (of the now suitably matured whisky) has impressed the current distillery manager, Graham Coull, so much that he has chosen to bottle these whiskies as limited releases. Have a look at our tasting notes of previous examples of wine cask from Glen Moray - the 8 years old Red Wine Cask and the 13 years old Port Wood finished.

We have been lucky enough to get our hands on samples of two of the latest unique whiskies matured in different white wine casks. The first we shall look at is the 10 years old French Chardonnay Cask matured, the second is the 8 years old Chenin Blanc Cask. The Chardonnay Cask was released in July 2011 and the Chenin Blanc in April 2012.

Our tasting notes - 10 years old Chardonnay Cask 
This 40% ABV whisky is golden yellow with a sweet nose of white fruit (pears and apples), toffee, sultana grapes and buttery yeastiness mixed with some warm nutmeg-type spice which makes us think of biscuits. On the palate the sweetness comes through with velvety and creamy softness that coats your mouth. The fruitiness of apples, pears and grapes plus the sweetness of butterscotch and honey from the nose are also delivered upfront. The finish however turns drier and spicier with more woodiness and a touch of white pepper. This stops the whisky feeling to overly sweet, adds needed depth and complexity and lingers for long enough to leave your mouth watering.

Our tasting notes - 8 years old Chenin Blanc Cask
Available for around £60 only from the distillery shop. This limited release of 260 bottles has a hearty ABV of 60.7%. It is a rich auburn colour with a very feisty nose of that is obviously high ABV. Without water the nose shows spicy, pine/eucalypt oak, sweetness of caramel and citrus oil. With water the spiced apple and cinnamon caramel notes (reminiscent of mulled cider) show through. As for the palate, without water the high ABV hits with alcohol astringency on the palate and is quite overwhelming. The flavours that come through are of caramel, sultanas and honey, and remind us of glaced fruits. With a dash of water it remains the feisty edge but apple and grapefruit notes start to combine with the richer and sweeter fruits. With a hearty splash of water the spiciness pulls back and the whisky takes on a softer creamier feel with apple notes showing through to match with sweet toffee and vanilla oak notes (sweet Madeira wine). Throughout this whisky has a viscous and mouth-coating feel. Without water the finish is dominated by the heat of the alcohol but when water is added the finish is quite sweet and pleasant.

What's the verdict?
While both whiskies are matured in white wine casks, the remarkably different ABV strengths out of the bottle (the Chenin Blanc cask is 50% stronger in the bottle than the Chardonnay cask) lead to the two having characters that are really hard to compare. Adding after adding quite a splash of water to Chenin Blanc cask that you start to compare the two whiskies.

The Chardonnay cask delivers an tasting experience closer to what we expected from a wine cask whisky, while the Chenin Blanc cask reminds more of a sweet wine rather than a whisky. Of the two, for us the Chardonnay cask was the easier drinking of the two and we found that we would happily sit and enjoy a dram of this over a quiet and relaxed evening. The Chenin Blanc cask challenged our concept of what a whisky could offer and for us that made for an exciting experience. We have heard people say that wine finished whiskies are all the same and in this we have a whisky to prove them very wrong. It is good to see Glen Moray releasing these 'innovative and experimental' casks so that we can try, without restrictive expense, the effect that maturation (as well as finishing) in a wine cask provides.

The Chardonnay cask is available for around £25 from selected specialist retailers as well as the distillery shop. The Chenin Blanc cask is available for around £60 only the distillery shop. You will need to get in touch with the shop via phone or the distillery website to purchase either bottling.

Experience a tutored tasting of the 10 years old Chardonnay Cask with Graham Coull at the product launch held in the distillery's visitor centre.

Have just tried – English Whisky Company Diamond Jubilee Whisky

To celebrate the UK's Royal long weekend we decided to try a whisky that certainly marks the event.

This English Whisky Company bottling is to commemorate the Diamond Jubilee of Queen Elizabeth II which celebrates 60 years of her reign. This small batch production whisky is produced from a combination of bourbon cask and red wine cask matured whisky. It is bottled at 46% ABV in a decanter style bottle as a limited edition with 3300 bottles produced and only 1140 bottles available for sale in the UK. To order a bottle (at a cost of £59.99 each plus postage), go to www.englishwhisky.co.uk or check with a British specialist whisky retailer.

St. George's Distillery is operated by The English Whisky Company, which was founded in 2005 by Andrew and James Nelstrop. It was the first whisky distillery to be built and produce whisky in England for almost 200 years. The distillery is located in the heart of East Anglia, close to the town of Roudham in Norfolk (about 2 hours north east of London). The first spirit came off the stills in November 2006 and was overseen by legendary (and retired) whisky maker Iain Henderson, who had previously managed the famous Laphroaig distillery on the island of Islay, amongst others. The role of Distillery Manager now falls to David Fitt, an ex-brewer from Greene King, who was trained by Iain before he retired again.

St. George's spirit is made, where possible, from locally grown Norfolk barley, and the entire process, from milling to bottling, occurs on site. The distillery has already won many plaudits for its innovation and quality.

Our tasting notes
This whisky is a vibrant golden hue that comes from the mixture of casks (no colouring is added) which is a shade that was described at a recent whisky tasting event as a 'classic' whisky colour.

On the nose the first impression is sweet notes of butterscotch, golden syrup and sultanas. This is not over powering, as it is matched by fresh notes of green grass and tangy apples, with woody warming spiciness of cinnamon and nutmeg. With water the whisky shows more pronounced floral notes of rose and honeysuckle with green apple freshness, but certainly doesn't lose the sweetness or spiciness.

On the palate the strength is noticeable and the whisky is less sugary sweet than expected, despite there being definite toffee and sultana characters. The red wine shows here in way of darker red apples and prunes along with plenty of warming spices and oily nuts such as almonds. The finish is short and dry with spiciness and mouth watering tannins. There are lots of wood spices and a touch of red chilli pepper. With water the palate has extra creaminess but maintains sweet notes of toffee and apples. The spiciness is pushed to the back but remains on the finish. All in all we think that this whisky has extra desirable characters when tasted at the higher ABV strength so we are pleased that the decision was taken to bottle at 46% and allow drinkers to add to water to their own taste.

What's the verdict?
This commemorative bottling is a whisky created to be collectable yet remarkably approachable. It is at a price, rarity and strength that make it a good purchase for the occasional whisky drinker who wants something to remember the event by that is more desirable than a collectable teapot. Having said that we don't think that serious whisky collectors would be disappointed either. It is not overly complex but certainly offers fabulous value for money.

This is a remarkably affordable bottling to celebrate the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee, especially when compared to many other less rare 'limited' celebratory releases. While we expect that many people will be buying the bottle to collect we thoroughly suggest that you don’t just leave it on the shelf but do give it a try.

Competition time - Win Whisky Live London tickets with us and The Glenlivet Guardians

We are delighted to announce that we have teamed up with The Glenlivet, the iconic Scottish single malt brand, to offer one of our readers a pair of tickets to this year's Whisky Live event in London.  The Glenlivet are exhibiting at the show and holding regular tasting sessions during the two days. Sadly, we are unable to attend this year's event but this competition means that there will still be a Whisky For Everyone presence at the show!

Whisky Live, London 2012 is again being held in the impressive surroundings of the Honorable Artillery Company on City Road, London EC1Y 2BQ.  The event spans two days and this year's dates are Friday 23 and Saturday 24 March.  The pair of tickets on offer are for the Saturday and includes your own VIP tasting with Ian Logan, The Glenlivet's International Global Ambassador.  This will take place in The Glenlivet Library, a tasting space that is being specially constructed at the show.

The rules are simple. Firstly, you have to be a signed up member of The Glenlivet Guardians - this is The Glenlivet's exclusive whisky club that offers members an array of special offers and events, exclusive entry to their own members Library at the distillery, plus access to a specially created section on the The Glenlivet website.

If you are already signed up then you are good to enter.  If not, then panic not because you can easily sign up at www.theglenlivet.com/guardians and once you have successfully joined then you are free to enter our competition. Secondly, you have to get the question below correct!

Please find our Glenlivet related question below and email your answer to whiskyforeveryone@gmail.com with the subject line of 'Glenlivet Guardians Competition'. If you need any clues, then check out our distillery profile on The Glenlivet on the Whisky For Everyone website.

Question - Which year was The Glenlivet distillery founded and who was the man that founded it?

Good luck and we look forward to receiving your entries -
Karen, Matt, Chris & Matt T.

Terms & conditions
➢ You must be aged 18 years or above to take part.
➢ You must be a signed up member of The Glenlivet Guardians to enter.
➢ Only one entry per email address will be accepted in to the prize draw.
➢ The closing date for the survey is 20:00 GMT on Monday 19 March 2012. Any entries after this time cannot be considered.
➢ The winners will be drawn and notified shortly after the closing time. At this point, the winner will be required to give a postal address for delivery of tickets. If the winner is not a member of The Glenlivet Guardians, then an alternative winner will be drawn.
➢ The decision is final, once the result is drawn.
➢ The winner will receive a pair of tickets to the Whisky Live show in London for Saturday 24 March 2012. This will include entry to the show, welcome bag and all it contains, and a VIP tasting in The Glenlivet Guardians library with Ian Logan.
➢ Transport to and from the venue in London is at the winner's cost.
➢ No cash alternative will be offered as a prize.
➢ Personal information supplied is for the sole purpose of the prize draw.

What do blended whisky and tea have in common?

Have you ever been chatting to someone who “knows all about whisky” and is certain that blended whisky is merely made from the lesser quality spirit that is not good enough to be bottled as single malt? We certainly know we have.

Recently we had the opportunity to attend a rather special event held by Johnnie Walker that showed a glimpse into the complex and thoughtful world of whisky blending that threw aside the idea of blended whisky being an inferior product.

We found ourselves in the hard-to-believe situation that the men behind Johnnie Walker, the biggest selling International whisky brand which is currently owned by Diageo, were hosting an education day for a number of influential journalists and bloggers who spend their days talking about whisky and other drinks. Do we all take blended whisky for granted that the extent that we all needed a little reminder as to why it is such a popular drink? The answer appeared to be yes and the way that they approached the day’s lessons were as innovative as the brand’s history.

The day started off in a way that no-one attending would have imagined – a tea tasting by Ed Eisler and the fabulous folk at Jing Tea (jingtea.com). Why tea tasting? The answers to that are simple and thought provoking. Firstly, tea blending shares many of the skills and ideals of whisky blending. There must be a great relationship with the producers, an extensive knowledge of the raw product, a readiness to exclude substandard product and the challenge of producing a consistent taste in the final product when the raw materials will vary widely from day to day. The key to the answer also lies in Johnnie Walker’s history. Thankfully, we had Dr. Nick Morgan, Heritage Director for Diageo Malt Whiskies, on hand to provide all the answers throughout the day.

Johnnie Walker, the man, started his career in 1820 as a grocer. His small shop in Kilmarnock, Ayrshire, Scotland sold various products of which tea and whisky were included. Back then, just as today, most teas were blended and all whisky sold commercially was a blend. Johnnie Walker learnt the skills required to create a commercially successful whisky only after learning the skills to create a commercially successful tea. One lead to the other. In the early days his whisky was made for his local clients and would have been sold in small quantities, not at all dissimilar to many of today’s artisanal whisk(e)y producers around the world. His skills as a blender were key to the success of his product in those early days.

The day then moved onto to some whisky tasting with Jim Beveridge, Master Blender for Johnnie Walker. He explained the cardinal (or core) influences of Scotland’s whiskies that are key to the flavour profile of Johnnie Walker - Highland Malt (for robust savoury notes), Highland Smoke (for complex smokey notes), Islay Smoke (for powerful smokey notes), Grain (for spicy cereal notes), Speyside Fruit (for fresh fruity notes) and Lowland (for fresh malty notes). We tasted a dram of whisky that highlighted each of these influences and had the chance to compare these against a dram created by Jim that was his attempt to recreate the Johnnie Walker 1867 Old Highland style – the whisky style that is now recognised as the ‘original’ Johnnie Walker.

Next came a tasting of the flavour profiles you can expect from Johnnie Walker - Islay Smoke (similar to single malts such as Lagavulin and Caol Ila), Fresh Fruits (Glenkinchie and Dalwhinnie), Rich Fruits (Benrinnes and Mortlach) and Creamy Vanilla (grain whiskies). We tasted a dram of whisky that expressed each of these characteristics against a dram of Johnnie Walker Black Label. Each and every influence was detectable in the finished product.

At this stage, after the tastings and speaking with Jim, the complexity of blending becomes apparent, especially when you realise the skill involved in selecting the correct whisky from the hundreds of thousands of casks available to be included in a blend. Only talent and experiences ensures that each of these influences and flavour profiles is correctly expressed and balanced in the final product while ensuring that each bottle is consistent with the last. The size of challenge is impressive and daunting, and the skill involved in continued success is apparent. After all how many of us can make a simple cup of tea that tastes the same day after day?

Bowmore Great Outdoors whisky tasting & photography workshop

We were recently invited to a special evening at the London branch of The Whisky Shop to celebrate an event held by Bowmore single malt whisky to celebrate the launch of the National Geographic UK 2011 International Photography Contest. The competition asks budding photographers to enter their favourite photograph for the chance to be featured in a future issue of UK National Geographic magazine and to win a trip to the isle of Islay, the home of Bowmore.

The evening was hosted by Colin Prior, renowned landscape and travel photographer. The event was an inspiring mix of photography workshop and informal whisky tasting. Throughout the evening we tasted Bowmore 12 years old, 15 years old 'Darkest' and the 18 years old.

We were handed a glass of each expression of Bowmore single malt whisky which Colin tasted with us in a refreshingly informal manner. He then got serious and ran us through a number of collections of his work while the crowd supped on their drams. All throughout the presentation Colin was imparting valuable tips and tricks to make any novice photographer get that bit more out of any holiday photos. Colin provided us with an insight into his choice of subjects, a few tales of his adventures while trying to get the 'perfect shot' and more than our fair share of helpful photography tips. we thought the best way we could pass on the experience was to pass on a few of his easy but intelligent photography tips and tricks.

Colin's Tips and Tricks
- Consider the background of any image. A simple plain background will work best for many posed images, however when the location is the key to the image ensure that you include a few key carefully positioned items in the background. Never make the background too cluttered.
- When the subject of the image is a person, make sure that their eyes are sharply in focus, as you will always look at the sharpest part of the image.
- Morning and dusk are ideal times of the day to take landscapes as the soft warm light helps bring out depth in the image making the composition feel more three dimensional.
- Use points of reference for scale. An object of know size can help give a larger object real scale and drama.
- Understand your camera's ISO. This feature is on almost all cameras and can really help you exploit the light available to you. A low ISO will suit bright sunlight and avoid images being 'washed out' while a high ISO will stop low light images being 'murky' and dull.

Have a look at some of Colin's inspiring images at www.colinprior.co.uk.
To enter the competition visit the National Geographic website. Don't dawdle. Closing date Monday 31st October 2011.

Tasting whisky with Grant's Master Blender

We are delighted to be able to offer you a new video that has recently been recorded for the famous William Grant & Sons whisky company. This is a further extension of the wonderful visit that we had earlier in the year to the company’s Ailsa Bay and Girvan distilleries in Ayrshire. Our host for that trip was Ludo Ducrocq, the Global Brand Ambassador for the Grant’s range of blended whiskies. In this video, Brian Kinsman – the Master Blender for William Grant & Sons explains about how to get the most out of your whisky tasting experience, using Grant's whisky as an example, including the topics of what type of whisky glass to use, nosing the whisky and adding water or ice to whisky.



The Grant's whisky range is amongst the best selling in the world. The main markets are the UK (where the brand stands in 4th place behind Bell's, Famous Grouse and High Commissioner), France (who are the world leaders in whisky consumption with a staggering 48 million litres each year) and South America (especially Ecuador and Venezuela). Sales in other growing markets such as eastern Europe, Taiwan and the travel retail/Duty Free sector are increasing rapidly. The Grant's brand sits comfortably in the world's top five for the sales of blended whisky and is predicted to shortly take third place for the first time (the other brands in the top five as of 2009 were Johnnie Walker, Ballantine's, J&B and Chivas Regal). Overall, the range sells a staggering 20 million bottles of whisky a year!

The current range of Grant's blended whiskies consist of the best selling Family Reserve, the Ale Cask and Sherry Cask which have been matured in ex-beer and ex-sherry casks respectively and three whiskies carrying an age statement – the 12, 18 and 25 year olds. For our full tasting notes and a comparison between each of the whiskies – click here.

Explain about ... Hosting your own whisky tasting

The idea of holding your own whisky tasting can be a daunting one. Here, we aim to show that with a few basic tips your event can be a successful and enjoyable for both you and the people you have invited. From our experience, a bit of research and attention to detail goes a long way to getting you off on the right footing. We believe that anyone can host their own whisky tasting event by considering a few simple steps. So, where do you start?

1 - Selecting the whiskies
This is the most important aspect of your tasting, as the whiskies are the stars of the show! This may seem obvious but the correct selection of whiskies can instantly make your tasting more interesting and diverse. The first thing is not to choose too many whiskies – 4 or 5 is a good number, otherwise everyone’s palates will start to struggle. But how do you choose correctly? The important questions are whether you want a theme and what do you want to portray within the tasting? Do you want different styles of whisky (this could be from different regions of Scotland or different whisky producing countries) or whiskies of same style (for example, all smoky whiskies). Do you want all well-known brands or lesser known ones?

One idea that works well for us is to pick whiskies that demonstrate the different core characteristics and barrel types of whisky – for example, choose 4 whiskies with one that has been matured in ex-bourbon casks, one in ex-sherry, one in a mixture of casks and then one smoky –this will show the typical flavour profiles of each style to your audience. If you are not sure or feel that you lack the knowledge to make the choices, then visit a specialist retailers either online or in a shop.

2 - Get interesting facts
Once you have selected your 4-5 whiskies, a good idea is to do some distillery research on those that you have chosen. This adds a further level of interest to your tasting. We are not just talking about a bit of history or information about the bottling (although this is useful especially with limited or single cask releases) but titbits of interesting related information. We call them the ‘pub quiz facts’ and your guests will leave knowing about other things than just whisky. One such example is that the golf course next to the Balvenie distillery has the highest hole of any golf course in the UK at 1000ft/305m!

There are many whisky blogs and websites where you can find such information and our interest in related facts led to us developing the ‘Did you know?’ section on each distillery profile page in our website whiskyforeveryone.com. It may help to prepare bullet pointed notes of these.

3 - Consider other accompaniments
The tasting is not just about the whisky. You will need some or all of the following items to help aid your tasting smoothly. The first is water – this is for both cleansing the palate between drams and diluting the whiskies if and when required. Filtered tap water is perfectly fine, although some insist you must have bottled water. Make sure that it is not carbonated and is at room temperature rather than chilled, which will inhibit the aromas and flavours of your whiskies. Another thing that helps to cleanse the palate between samples are oatcakes.

You may wish to include other food snacks during the tasting and discuss food and whisky matching. This is a current hot topic in the whisky world and information can be found on numerous websites. A spittoon or similar vessel is also a good idea, as some of your guests may not wish to swallow all of their whisky. Having said that, we have never seen anyone ever use one at any of the tastings that we have taken!


4 - Tasting the whiskies correctly
The physical process of tasting whisky is simple and is about preparing your senses properly in order to get the most out of each whisky (ie - the aromas on nose and the flavours on palate and finish). The first consideration is the type of glassware that you use. Ideally, you need a tulip shaped glass with a tapered rim. These are similar to a wine tasting glass and do the same job – they hold in the aromas and maximise the effects of the nose. A wider rimmed tumbler style of glass allows a lot of the aroma to dissipate away from your nostrils. When sampling your selection of whiskies, then start with the lightest, freshest one and move through to the heaviest, sweetest or strongest one. This is the same as in a wine tasting, where you start with the whites before moving to the reds and then dessert wines. If you do it the other way around, the stronger flavours will taint the palate and the subtleties of the lighter whiskies are in danger of being lost.

The most important step is to get to the whisky! It is easy to procrastinate about this or that or the other, but most of your crowd will just want to try the stuff and see what it is like. Whisky tasting is different from a wine tasting as the alcohol levels of what is in the glass are much stronger. To help with this, it is an idea to get your tasters to prepare their senses properly for what they are about to do to them, especially if they are not used to spirits. Get them to smell the whisky two or three times and as their noses get more used to it, then they should start to pick up more and more characteristics. The same will happen on the palate – the more they hold the whisky in their mouths, the more flavours they will find. You should also talk about the effects of adding water and ice, as someone WILL always ask about it!

5 - Make it interactive
The whisky tasting must be a combination of fun, informative and interactive. Encourage your guests to ask questions, make comments and discuss the whiskies between themselves. It is also good to get people to come up with own tasting notes and think about what they are tasting, rather than you telling and dictating to them what aromas or flavours that they should be finding. This will make it more interesting for you and your tasters and get them thinking more about the whiskies. If it is a bit slow to get going then don’t worry - after a couple of drams they will start to loosen up! Most importantly, is that you and your guests enjoy the event and the whiskies. Good luck!

We thank Stephen Smith from Minneapolis, USA for the idea for this post. Steve won our recent 2nd birthday competition, where we asked for ideas for interesting articles that people would like to see.

If you are holding your own whisky tasting event, then we would love to hear how it went – just add your comment in the section below.

News ... whisky tasting on 29 July

The London branch of The Whisky Shop chain has just announced a new whisky tasting entitled 'Summer Whiskies'. The event will be held at the shop (7 Queen's Head Passage, London EC4M 7DY. Nearest tube is St. Paul's) on the evening of Wednesday 29 July, starting at 6.30pm. The cost will be £32.50 a head and places are limited, so booking in advance is essential.

The aim of the evening is to demonstrate the versatility of whisky as a summer drink either taken neat, with water or ice or as part of a cocktail. A majority of people have the perception that whisky is just a winter drink but we aim to show otherwise. During the evening, the subjects of how whisky is made, the history of whisky and how to taste whisky will also be covered before trying some fine single malts. History and interesting facts of the featured distilleries form part of the tasting, as does a selection of light snacks, which lead us to talk about food and whisky matching. The branch is also available for private corporate tastings on request.

Book your place NOW
Contact Matt or Chris on 020-73295117 or london@thewhiskyshop.net

News ... Whisky tastings at The Whisky Shop, London

The London branch of The Whisky Shop chain has just announced its new Spring whisky tasting programme. During each evening, the subjects of how whisky is made, the history of whisky and how to taste whisky are covered before trying a diverse selection of fine single malts. The exciting new series of events cover three of the current hot topics within the whisky world - independent bottlers, cask strength whisky and the rise of Japanese whisky. The branch is also available for private corporate tastings on request.

Independent Bottling Companies
Wednesday 11 March @ 6.30pm £45 each
The evening will begin with a look at the history of whisky and how the spirit is made. The focus will then shift to the independent bottling companies, their history and what they contribute to the industry. We will then concentrate on the work of the Douglas Laing company and have selected five bottlings to taste from across their range, with the emphasis on championing lesser known distilleries.

Japanese Whisky
Wednesday 8 April @ 6.30pm £40 each
The popularity of Japanese whisky is growing rapidly following the winning of a number of high profile awards. Here, we plan to bring the flavours of Japan to a wider audience and explain how they are pushing the traditional boundaries of whisky making. We will look at the history of the industry in Japan and then taste four of the best whiskies that are exported to this country. Come along to try something different and see what all the fuss is about!

GlenKeir Treasures Cask Strength Range
Wednesday 22 April @ 6.30pm £50 each
The GlenKeir Treasures series is exclusive to The Whisky Shop chain. The whiskies are specially selected and those in the Cask Strength range are the premium available. Just one cask of each is released, making them extremely desirable and limited. Each whisky is bottled at the strength that it comes out of the cask to ensure maximum flavour and quality. For this evening, we will taste four whiskies from this series, including a 40 year old, giving further background about each of the featured distilleries.

Book your place NOW
Contact 020-73295117 or london@thewhiskyshop.net