Third time’s the charm, right?
World Whisky Day is celebrated on the third Saturday in May, or May 21 this year. It was founded in 2012 by Blair Bowman, a Scottish graduate student at the University of Aberdeen and whisky enthusiast. Now in its fifth year, the event has an estimated 250,000 people at events in over 40 countries. In February 2015, World Whisky Day was sold to drinks magazine Hot Rum Cow. So far at least, the spirit of the day has continued unharmed and benefited from the organizational and creative strength of the magazine company (along with a pretty cool e-newsletter). As if that weren’t good enough, they’re supporting Just A Drop, a charity designed to get the people of a village in Kenya safe access to that most precious of all commodities and without which whisky could not exist: water.
Scotchology is celebrating World Whisky Day for the third year in a row by offering a tasting in Saint Paul, MN. We can’t wait to make this a unique and informative event like previous years. With plenty of snacks and non-alcoholic beverages to keep participants otherwise satiated, everyone can have an enjoyable time with us and still leave safely. This is an RSVP event, so numbers will be small but manageable.
What are we drinking this year? We’re glad you asked. To celebrate the global nature of World Whisky Day, we found quality whiskies from all over the world (a task that seems to get more difficult each year). We spend every other month of the year featuring scotch, so this is an opportune time to try some of the excellent malts being made in countries whose patron is not Saint Andrew. Without further ado, here are the guests of honor and where they hail from:
Teeling Small Batch (Ireland)
Brenne Estate Cask (France)
Aberlour 12 year (Scotland)
Corsair Triple Smoke (United States)
The Belgian Owl (Belgium)
So what can you do if you’re not in the Minneapolis/St. Paul area and unable to attend? Why, try finding an event via the World Whisky Day page to see if there’s a celebration near you (for those in the immediate area, the estimable Merlin’s Rest is hosing their own event that day). Go in together on a bottle or two with some friends or family. Head to your favorite pub or watering hole to explore their whisky menu. Explore a dram you’ve never tried before. Secretly garner malty trivia to impress your friends and confound your enemies. It’s about appreciating the tradition, creativity and craftsmanship that go into making whisky no matter where in the world it takes place, along with appreciating it with friends. The sharing is part of the joy of whisky and one of the points of the event. Please share what you did or plan on doing for World Whisky Day with us on Facebook or Twitter. And, as always, please be sure to drink responsibly. Sláinte!
