Tasting Dinners – The Perfect Celebration

November 6, 2017November 14, 2017daviddistilled Leave a comment

Christmas is just around the corner! Our town centre festive lights are going up and it will only be a week or so before they are switched on! We are hosting more and more tasting dinners where we are working with chefs to pair whiskies and gins with food. If you are planning a celebration, a Christmas party or a dinner for your business or corporate event, we’ll host a special tasting for you and your guests, expertly pairing drinks with each course of your meal.

Whisky with Food

Whisky is great with food. Pairing whiskies with food can often change people’s mind on Scotch, it can help them enjoy those peaty or smokey drams that they thought they didn’t like. It is hard to not love haggis when paired with lightly peated whiskies such as Talisker Single Malt Whisky from the Isle of Skye or to dislike Lagavulin Islay single malt whisky when you pair the pedro ximenez Distiller’s Edition (kept in the freezer along with the glasses for a minimum of 24 hours, served in the frozen glasses after having observed it pour like treacle) with red hot sticky toffee pudding. All this is making my mouth water at the thought. Staying with Lagavulin, try it with roquefort cheese, a match made in heaven.

Pics above courtesy of Make It Matte Black.

Pic courtesy of One Little Daisy.

Whisky and Seafood

Islay whiskies, particularly peaty and smokey whiskies from the whisky capital of the world, go perfectly with seafood, particularly shellfish. The fishing industry on Islay is largely focussed on shellfish so for it to be great with Islay whisky makes it another perfect pairing.

Whisky Tasting Dinner

I hosted a whisky tasting dinner in Nottingham last week at Alea Casino. The dinner took place in the private dining room in the Marco Pierre White Steak House restaurant. The food and service was fantastic and our guests had a wonderful evening. Everyone enjoyed the whisky pairings as well as the food, here is what we enjoyed:

Scottish smoked salmon with caper berry salad and black rye bread with Lagavulin 16 year old Islay Single Malt Whisky

Roast sirloin of beef with yorkshire pudding and jus served with seasonal vegetables and potatoes with Tamnavulin Double Cask Speyside Single Malt Whisky

Sticky Toffee Pudding with frozen Singleton of Dufftown 12 year old Speyside Single Malt Whisky served in frozen glasses

During the evening we also enjoyed three other drams. There were independent bottlings of Caol Ila, Bruichladdich and Glenlossie on show too, all of which were very much enjoyed by our guests.

If you are interested in us hosting a whisky dinner for you and your guests, whether at a private party or at a corporate event, please call David on 07875 405 980 or send a message via our contact page.

Scheduled Whisky Tasting Dinners

We have a number of scheduled whisky tasting dinners taking place at various venues in the weeks leading up to Christmas 2018. We will be hosting whisky tasting dinners in Nottingham, Stoke on Trent, Stafford, Sheffield, Buxton and in the Peak District. Here are some of the events we have planned so far, please click the link for more information or if you would like to enquire about tickets.

Single Malt Whisky and Food Pairing – 6th December, South 16, Buxton.

Whiskies of the World and Nibbles Tasting – 8th December, Picture House Social, Sheffield.

Whisky Tasting Dinner – 11th December, The Moat House, Acton Trussell, Stafford.

The Moat House is selling vouchers for each of their whisky tasting dinners, we think this makes the perfect Christmas gift for the whisky lover in your life. Click here to enquire about whisky tasting dinner vouchers.

We also have whisky dinners taking place at The Moat House at Acton Trussell in January and February. We are hosting lots of private dinner events before Christmas, and many around Burn’s Night in January.

Gin Tastings With Food

We regularly host gin tastings with G&Ts paired with tapas or canapes. We recently hosted a gin and tapas evening at South 16 in Buxton which was a great success. if you would like us to host a gin tasting for you, please don’t hesitate to get in touch!

Forthcoming Events – Whisky & Gin Tastings Near You!

September 28, 2017November 29, 2017daviddistilled Leave a comment

We have a busy few weeks here at Distilled Events! We have scheduled plentiful whisky tastings and gin tasting events all over the UK as well as hosting a few private tasting events in between. If you would like us to host a whisky tasting for you at your private party or corporate event, or if you would like us to contact a local venue that you think may be interested in hosting an event with us, please contact us here.

Forthcoming Tasting Events

We would love to see you at one of or forthcoming tasting events. We host regular whisky tastings and gin tastings in our home town of Leek in Staffordshire but most of our tastings are further afield within the UK and next year we’ll be travelling outwith the UK. Below is a list of the events we currently have scheduled. We’ll be adding more so please keep an eye on our Facebook page or on our Forthcoming Tasting & Events page on the Distilled Events website.

Rare Single Malt Whisky Masterclass – Sheffield – 13.10.17 – Picture House Social

Join us at Picture House Social for an evening tasting rare whiskies. This intimate tasting will be for a group of maximum 14 guests. During the tasting you’ll taste 6 whiskies, all cask strength, and all limited editions. You will be tasting whiskies that are only available at the distillery and some will be single cask whiskies. The perfect tasting for the whisky enthusiast.

Buy tickets for the Rare Single Malt Whisky Masterclass here.

Gin Tasting Experience – Leek – 31.10.17 – Spout Brew House

Once again we’ll be at the delightful Spout Brew House showing a range of awesome gins.

Guests will taste 6 craft gins neat before mixing the perfect serve G&T as suggested by each distiller. A great opportunity to learn about the history of gin and how it makes the journey from field to tableThis fun and informative event is suitable for those new to the world of gin and for the seasoned enthusiast!

Buy tickets for the Gin Tasting Experience here.

Gin & Tapas Tasting Experience – Buxton – 01/11/17 – South 16

We’ve been invited back to South 16 in Buxton in the heart of the Peak District National Park to host a Gin & Tapas Tasting Experience. Guests will first taste 6 craft gins neat before mixing the perfect G&Ts with garnishes as suggested by each distiller. Guests will then enjoy tasty tapas perfectly paired with the G&Ts. This fun and informative event is suitable for those new to the world of gin and for the seasoned enthusiast!

Buy tickets for the Gin & Tapas Tasting Experience here.

Whisky Tasting Dinner – Nottingham – 03/11/17 – Alea Casino

We are hoping to host regular tasting events at Alea Casino Nottingham and this will be the first of them. During this fantastic whisky tasting, guests will taste six drams from all around Scotland, three of which will be perfectly paired with a mouth watering three course meal, each course specially selected by chef and David to compliment each whisky. This fun and informative event is perfect for the newcomer to the world of whisky or for the seasoned enthusiast!

Buy tickets for the Whisky Tasting Dinner here.

Gin & Canapes Tasting Experience – Nottingham – 09/11/17 – Alea Casino

We’ve been invited to Alea Casino Nottingham to host a Gin & Canapes Tasting Experience. Guests will first taste 6 craft gins neat before mixing the perfect G&Ts with garnishes as suggested by each distiller. Guests will then enjoy tasty canapes perfectly paired with the G&Ts. This fun and informative event is suitable for those new to the world of gin and for the seasoned enthusiast!

Buy tickets for the Gin & Canapes Tasting Experience here.

Single Malt Whisky Tasting Masterclass – Brighton – 11/11/17 – The Southern Belle

We can’t wait to host our first whisky tasting by the sea in Brighton, we are hoping it is the first of many. During this exclusive event, David will be taking guests on an imbibing tour of the whisky regions of Scotland. He’ll be giving an in-depth explanation of the whisky production process and guests will be taken on a virtual tour of a large malt whisky distillery in Scotland. Oh yeah, there will be 6 awesome drams to enjoy too!

Buy tickets for the Single Malt Whisky Tasting Masterclass here.

More Info?

Please don’t hesitate to contact David on 07875 405 980 if you would like any further information about any of the above events or if you would like to enquire about having a tasting event at your party, corporate event or if you would like to recommend a venue where you think it would be good for us to host a tasting. Please click here to contact us and we will be back to you as soon as possible.

Slainte and happy drams!

Whisky Tastings For Special Birthdays – With Distilled Events

August 8, 2017July 23, 2023daviddistilled Leave a comment

Whisky Tastings for Special Occasions

If you are looking for a very special gift for your whisky loving partner, maybe for their 40th birthday celebration or a 50th birthday party, what better way to celebrate than with a whisky tasting masterclass for your guests?

Private Whisky Tastings

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 host, David Wood has worked in the whisky industry for many years, recently he worked at both Lagavulin and Caol Ila distilleries on the Isle of Islay and more recently was distillery manager at Caol Ila Distillery. David’s 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, David has worked at the coal face of whisky production making an ideal and extremely knowledgeable host 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 David demonstrates 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. David often takes guests on a virtual distillery tour so that he 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 David will talk about the history of Scotch whisky and how whisky is made before dinner and then will introduce each whisky before each course. David will explain why he has paired that whisky to that particular course before guests enjoy their dram with the

Contact Us About Your Whisky Tasting

If you are thinking about having a whisky tasting 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 at your event.

Slainte

David

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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