Single Malt Whisky Tasting Experiences in Sheffield 2023

October 27, 2022daviddistilled Leave a comment

Join Distilled Events for an Exclusive Whisky Tasting in Sheffield

We would love to see you at one of our exclusive single malt whisky tasting experiences at Picture House Social, Abbeydale Road in Sheffield in 2023. We regularly hold whisky tasting events in Sheffield and we have initially selected 4 dates for our events in Sheffield for 2023.

If you join one of our tastings your host will be David Wood. David was distillery manager at his favourite distillery, the mighty Caol Ila on the Isle of Islay in the Hebrides. Your tasting will take place in the cinema room at Picture House Social where you will learn all about the history of Scotch and how it makes the journey from field to table. As part of the experience you will be taken on a virtual tour of a distillery, the perfect opportunity to ask questions and to learn all about what life is like living and working at a remote Hebridean malt whisky distillery.

During the tasting you will enjoy 6 classic single malt whiskies from around Scotland. You will learn a little about each of the distilleries that has produced the beautiful single malt whiskies that you are tasting and David will talk you through his tasting notes for each dram. There are no right or wrong answers, it is all personal, if you are tasting bananas in the whisky, bananas it is!

Buy Tickets for a Whisky Tasting in Sheffield

If you would like to purchase tickets for one of our whisky tastings in 2023, please scroll down this page and you will find links to Eventbrite. Tickets for our whisky tastings make perfect gifts for birthdays, Father’s Day, Mother’s Day or just for a night out with your friends. If you have any questions at all please don’t hesitate to call David on 07875 405 980.

Purchase Your Whisky Tasting Tickets Here!

Single Malt Whisky Tasting Experience – Picture House Social, Sheffield. 3pm Saturday 18th February 2023.

Single Malt Whisky Tasting Experience – Picture House Social, Sheffield. 3pm Saturday 15th April 2023.

Single Malt Whisky Tasting Experience – Picture House Social, Sheffield. 3pm Saturday 24th June 2023.

Single Malt Whisky Tasting Experience – Picture House Social, Sheffield. 3pm 14th October 2023.

All of the above tasting events will take place at the following address:

Picture House Social, 383 Abbeydale Road, Sheffield. S71 FS

What 3 words: ///nation.whips.large

S7 1FS

Whisky Tastings In Sheffield

March 4, 2018July 23, 2023daviddistilled Leave a comment

Private Whisky Tasting in Sheffield

We host private whisky tastings in Sheffield and anywhere in the UK. Whether you are looking for a whisky tasting at home, at your office, in your holiday rental for a special occasion for maybe for a birthday or a stag party, contact us today to discuss a bespoke whisky tasting event. We worked for many years at the coal face of whisky production on the Isle of Islay in Scotland so our tastings are authentic as well as fun!

Whisky Tasting Venue in Sheffield

As well as private whisky tastings in Sheffield, we regularly hosted ticketed events at awesome venues like Picture House Social on Abbeydale Road. If you are looking for a venue where your tasting in Sheffield can be hosted, Picture House Social has a huge cocktail bar, pizza bar and even ping pong and so makes the perfect venue for your get together. This venue also has a private cinema where our tastings usually take place.

Whether you’d like a whisky tasting at your birthday celebration, at your corporate event or even for your stag do, call David on 07875 405 980 for more information or fill in the contact form below and we’ll get back to you very quickly.

Scroll down for more information on our Sheffield whisky tastings.

Contact Us About Whisky Tastings in Sheffield

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What Are Our Whisky Tastings Like

We host whisky tasting events and masterclasses all over the UK and can arrange a private tasting for any group size at your home, party venue or business address. Our whisky tastings take many formats from regional whisky tastings to rare whisky tastings and we also host whisky dinners.

Your hosts David and Leonie Wood have worked in the whisky industry for many years, recently working at Lagavulin, Caol Ila and Kilchoman distilleries on the Isle of Islay. More recently, David was distillery manager at Caol Ila Distillery. Our tastings are as authentic as can be. Whilst most whisky tastings are hosted by sales reps or brand ambassadors or even people who have never visited a malt whisky distillery, we have worked at the coal face of whisky production making us ideal and extremely knowledgeable hosts for your guests.

Our tastings are fun and informative, they are suitable for the newcomer to the wonderful world of single malt whisky and for the seasoned enthusiast.

Regional Whisky Tasting

Our regional whisky tastings are an imbibing journey around the whisky producing regions of Scotland. Guests enjoy a whisky from the regions of Highlands, Speyside, Lowlands, Islands, Campbeltown and Islay. During this tasting we demonstrate the diversity in whisky profiles produced by many distilleries in Scotland.

As part of the regional malt whisky tasting, guests will learn how single malt whisky makes the special journey from field to table. We often take guests on a virtual distillery tour so that we can offer an in-depth explanation about the whisky making process.

Islay Whisky Tasting

We have lived on Islay and still work on this beautiful island. There are no less than 8 iconic malt whisky distilleries in production on Islay at the moment with a 9th, Ardnahoe Distillery being built right now and rumours of more in planning process. Islay distilleries produce an incredible array of whisky profiles from rich and sweet drams to smokey, medicinal, phenolic, big peaty monsters. There is a dram for everyone on Islay, the whisky isn’t all about the peat. Given our experience at the coal face of whisky production on Islay, we offer a real insight in to what it is like to live and work on the island and an in-depth look at each distillery and the whiskies made there.

This tasting is a must for anyone who is thinking about visiting the magic Isle of Islay. Like all of our tastings it is fun and informative and suitable for the newcomer to single malt whisky and for the seasoned enthusiast.

Rare Whisky Tasting

Our rare whisky tastings showcase whiskies that are hard to find. They may be drams from distilleries that no longer exist, they might be extremely rare distillery only bottlings or limited editions. Often drams in our rare whisky tastings are from single cask bottlings most of which are bottled at natural cask strength.

Whisky Dinner

If you are planning a dinner for your guests we can match each course with the perfect dram. Usually we will talk about the history of Scotch whisky and how whisky is made before dinner and then will introduce each whisky before each course. We’ll explain why we have paired each whisky to each course before guests enjoy their dram with the food.

Contact Us About Your Whisky Tasting

If you are thinking about having a whisky tasting in Sheffield, at your party, business meeting or corporate event, please call David on 07875 405 980 and he will answer all your questions, recommend a package and discuss costs with you.

Get in touch with us today if you would like us to host a very special whisky tasting in Sheffield. Please click here to send an email and we will be back to you as soon as possible.

Slainte

David

The Islay Whisky Festival

August 1, 2017March 28, 2018daviddistilled 1 Comment

The Islay Whisky Festival

The Islay Whisky Festival comes around once a year and falls on the last week in May. During this fantastic celebration of all things Islay whisky, thousands of excited enthusiasts make their way to the magic Isle of Islay for a week of whisky events, tours, tastings and masterclasses. It is difficult to measure how many extra visitors, and how much extra income, the island gets due to the festival but it is commonly thought the island population rises from 2000 to over 10000 during the Festival week, in no means insignificant for the economy of the island.

Each of the 8 malt whisky distilleries and Jura distillery too, have their own dedicated festival day. There is some overlap, Bowmore day is also Bridgend Square day and Islay Ales and the other businesses there also arrange events and enjoy a busy day of music, drams and general merriment. We love the Islay Whisky Festival and as well as hosting whisky and gin tastings and events in Leek, Staffordshire and throughout the UK, we will always host Islay whisky tastings at the Islay festival in the years to come.

Islay Whisky Festival Distillery Days

Each distillery publishes their festival events and releases tickets a few weeks before the Feis week. Most put on extra tours, special tastings and masterclasses and also other activities such as fast RIB boat rides and special guided water source walks. As the festival has become more and more popular, tickets tend to sell out faster, especially at the Kildalton distilleries of Ardbeg, Lagavulin and Laphroaig, it is not unusual for all tickets to sell out on the first day of release. So if you are looking to attend an event, you’ll need to be quick!

Islay Whisky Festival Bottlings

To celebrate the festival, each distillery has a special, limited release whisky bottling. In recent years, because the festival has become so well attended, these releases are not as small batch as they used to be. Only 5 or 6 years ago, distilleries were able to release single cask bottlings which enthusiasts would snap up and quite often sell at a profit on auction sites. Now distillers have decided to increase the size of the releases in an attempt to ensure that there are enough to satisfy the demand of visitors. There are still a few gems to be discovered though. During Feis Ile 2017 Bunnahabhain released a run of only 1596 bottles.

The peated spirit was distilled in 2004 and matured in American oak and then transferred to port pipes for a short finishing period. The resulting whisky, ‘Bunnahabhain Moine Port Pipe Finish’, as well as being a beautiful dram, was also a real small batch rarity for festival visitors to buy, and very good value at £95.

As well as official distillery bottlings, it is now not uncommon to find festival releases from independent bottlers who arrange events during the festival. Quite often visitors arrive on the island during the festival only to find that all the distillery events are full. The independent bottlers, who only promote Islay whisky during the festival, are often able to accommodate these visitors on their tastings and masterclasses and therefore offer a valuable addition to the Festival.

I became Distillery Manager of Caol Ila Distillery in 2013 but before that, in 2008, I began releasing my own Islay Festival bottlings for the Queen of the Moorlands Single Malt Whisky brand which I owned at the time. The first was this delicious 1982 26 year old Caol Ila single cask whisky, which was to be the first ever independent Islay festival bottling.

Whisky Masterclasses at The Islay Whisky Festival 2017 – Distilled Events

In late Autumn 2015, I decided to leave Caol Ila and to start my own customer facing whisky events company, Distilled Events. This year this gave me the opportunity to arrange my own events at the whisky festival, and with the help of friends on Islay, we held two very well attended masterclasses at the Gaelic College in Bowmore.

I was incredibly surprised and pleased at the support that my friends in the whisky industry were willing to give me. Guests were treated to ‘As We Get It Islay’ from Ian Macleod Distillers, an incredible pair of drams from Wm Cadenheads in the form of a 26 year old single cask Caol Ila and a 16 year old single cask Bowmore. Port Askaig Malts supplied us with a great young peaty dram, Port Askaig 8 year old, and just like ‘As We Get It’ the cat was really amongst the pigeons with guests arguing about the provenance of these tasty whiskies. From Chorlton Whisky we had an awesome 23 year old single cask Bunnahabhain which, just like all the other drams on show, went down a treat with our guests.

Islay Whisky Festival 2018

We are already making plans for our events at the Islay Whisky Festival 2018, the months will slip away and before we know it we will be enjoying festivities once again on Islay. Keep an eye on our tastings and events page and also on our Distilled Events Facebook page and you will then be able to buy tickets online once they are released.

We also arrange bespoke Guided Islay Distillery Experiences throughout the year, taking groups of enthusiasts to Islay on 5 or 7 day whisky trips packed with tours, tastings and masterclasses and enjoying all that Islay has to offer. If you are interested in joining us on a trip or if you would like more info about our bespoke Guided Islay Distillery Experiences, please click here.

Here are some pics from our events at the Islay Whisky Festival 2017. Enjoy.

Slainte

David

Islay – An Incredible Experience

November 1, 2016August 8, 2017daviddistilled Leave a comment

We’ve been lucky enough to live and work on the magical Hebridean Isle of Islay. After owning and managing our own busy Wine Shop in Leek, Staffordshire, and after launching our own brand of Single Malt Whisky, I was given the opportunity of managing the visitor centre experiences at Lagavulin and Caol Ila Distilleries and later of managing Caol Ila itself.

Our home was the old Exciseman’s house at Caol Ila Distillery, on summer days the view along the Sound of Islay (Caol Ila) was breathtaking, on winter days one storm followed another up the Sound. The scenery and wildlife was incredible. Seeing white tailed sea eagle, golden eagle and otter was almost a daily occurrence.

As well as my love for the breathtaking Islay scenery, the great whiskies and wonderful people, I also fell in love with the fishing. There can’t be many places in Europe or maybe even the world where the keen angler has such ease of access to so many different species of fish such as brown trout, salmon, bass and my favourite, the elsewhere ellusive sea trout.

My love of Islay began in the late 1990s. There’s a fantastic pub in Leek called The Earl Grey Inn, under its current ownership it is famed for its many real and craft ales, service and friendliness. In the 90’s it was famous for its peculiar interior, its toilets, its rather eccentric clientelle and its extensive range of single malt whiskies thanks to the landlord’s enthusiasm for the product. I had only recently tasted single malts and didn’t think I liked them, I thought they all tasted the same, I thought they all tasted like whisky. Until one evening when John thrust a glass of Caol Ila 12 year old into my hand and instructed me to taste it. I will never forget that moment and it was a life changing one.

The Isle of Islay introduced herself to me through that glass of Caol Ila 12 year old. The intense, smokey aromas and flavours told me about where this incredibly complex whisky had been made, it told me about Islay, and I had to visit.

In the coming years at The Wine Shop, we began to bottle whisky, lots of it, and most of it from Islay. We bottled everything, Caol Ila, Bowmore, Bunnahabhain, Laphroaig, Ardbeg, Lagavulin, Bruichladdich and even Port Ellen. We were lucky enough to get the chance to bottle some incredible whiskies, and this in turn took us to Islay, exhibiting our single cask bottlings each year at the Islay Festival of Malt and Music and delivering them to shops and bars on the island so that they could be enjoyed by many visiting enthusiasts.

In June 2012, I was given the chance to work at Lagavulin and Caol Ila Distilleries and I jumped at the chance. 8 months later I was joined by Leonie and Heather, once the Wine Shop had been sold. Leonie joined Kilchoman Distillery where she managed the busy visitor centre and Heather enrolled at the local primary school with circa 25 other pupils.

We had an incredible time on Islay and met and worked with lots of wonderful people. The experience we had will never be forgotten and was truly life changing. As a whisky enthusiast, to end up working at the distillery where your favourite whisky is produced is absolutely Living The Dream.

Islay is the true whisky Isle and there are currently 8 working distilleries on the island with advanced plans for at least 2 more to be built in the next couple of years.

Islay is often thought of as the island that produces the heavily peated drams, but actually, it is the array of different spirit characters produced by each of the distilleries which makes it so diverse and therefore of such interest to the whisky enthusiast. Anyone who has tasted Bunnahabhain 12 year old and then compared it to Laphroaig 10 year old or Lagavulin 16 year old will understand that.

Because of my love for Islay, my tastings will always have an element of Islay bias. We are however hosting a series tasting events in the near future that feature single malt whiskies exclusively from Islay. During the tasting, as well as experiencing many whiskies from the Isle of Islay, I’ll be talking about whisky production and maturation, and give an overview of each of the distilleries on Islay. I’ll also be touching on controversial issues such as the dreaded question about water, ice and other additives!

It would be great to see you at one of our future events and to share a dram with you. Please click on the links below if you would like to find out more about our Islay Malt Whisky Tastings or to buy tickets.

Click here for our upcoming events.

Slainte

David