Hosting Another Private Tasting

One way to really get into whisky is by attending a tasting. Here in Switzerland you have a lot of possibilities because there are lot of tastings being offered either at whisky events or by whisky shops. At whisky Neumarkt, the shop where I am employed we offer private tastings for groups of 4-8 persons. Normally my boss is hosting the tastings but two month ago I got the chance to lead a tasting for the first time ( read all about it here). We had a lot of fun there and tried some fantastic whisky so one of the attendants promised me to come back with another group of friends. He stood to his word and he booked another tasting. Because he asked my boss if it would be possible if I hosted the tasting again I got another chance to gain some experience. I felt really honoured that they asked if I could be the host for their evening and so I decided to give them some really fantastic stuff.





The first whisky that we poured was a Glen Keith, distilled in the year 1993 (which is my birthyear), bottled by Cooper's Choice. This whisky was matured in a hogshead for 19 years and was bottled at 46% ABV. This is a really lovely whisky that has a very fruity character and some delicious vanilla notes aswell. The perfect start for this evening.

Some Fantastic Douglas Laing Whiskies

As I scrolled through the pictures of my phone I saw this one that was made at the Whisky Ship in Lucerne. This picture shows me with Rick Drysdale who works for Douglas Laing (as the fast thinking ones among you may have already noticed).

Rick and me posing with some Douglas Laing Remarkable Malt Whiskies

 I totally forgot that I had this picture taken by my mate Pascal who attended the festival with me but as I saw it it instantly brought back good memories. We went to the Douglas Laing stand after attending a "Whisky Meets Wine" masterclass. We stopped there because I wanted to taste the recently released Rock Oyster Cask Strength which is a blended malt and belongs to a range called the Remarkable Regional Malts.

A blended malt or vatted malt as it was formerly known is a whisky that contains malt whisky (whisky that is made from malted barley) from different distilleries as opposed to a single malt which can only contain malt whisky from one single distillery. Douglas Laing created 4 blended malts which should all represent the typical style of a different whisky region. There is the Scallywag from the Speyside, the Timorous Beastie from the Highlands, Big Peat from Islay and Rock Oyster for the Islands.

Hosting My First Whisky Tasting

Last saturday I had the chance to get a unique experience on my whisky adventure. My boss couldn't work this Saturday so I had to work friday and saturday. On friday morning as I was on my way to work I got a call from my boss. He got a request to host a private tasting on saturday afternoon in the shop and asked me if I was willing to host it. Of course I was very excited and quickly agreed. I thought it would be very interesting but I was a little bit nervous because this would be the first time I would

The guests were a group of 4 Germans. One of them recently moved to Zurich and his 3 friends came here to visit him. They weren't really experienced with whisky but they told me that they frequently went to wine tastings. They were really nice and they made it easy for me because they were very interested in all the steps of the whisky making process, different types of casks and the different styles of Scotch and whisky from all over the world.

Here are the whiskies that we tasted:

- Benrinnes 1998-2013 Old Malt Cask bottled by Douglas Laing, 14 yo, cask no. 9631, 50% ABV, matured in a refill sherry cask
-Tomintoul 1989-2005 bottled by Scott's Selection, 56.9% ABV
-Edradour 1998-2014 Sherry Decanter, 14yo, cask no. 2124, 58.2% ABV
-Balmenach 1988.2015, bottled by Signatory Vintage for Helvetian Selection, 27 yo, cask no. 3240, 49.6% ABV, matured in a hogshead
-Glenturret 1986-2015. bottled by Signatory Vintage for Helvetian Selection, 29yo, cask no.302, 49.1% ABV, matured in a hogshead
-Cask Islay by A.D. Rattray, 46% ABV
-Laphroaig 1998-2014 Signatory Vintage unchillfiltered collection, cask no. 700357, 46% ABV, matured in a Sherry Butt


The Balmenach and the Glenturret were bottled exclusively for our shop by Signatory Vintage. I will thell you mor about them in another article.

The guests genuinely enjoyed all of them with the Glenturret being the unanimous favourite.

It has been a fantastic evening and I enjoyed it very much.  Thanks to my guests and a special thank to my boss marcel for all the trust he always puts in me.

Cheers, U