Whisky Lounge – Newcastle
Whisky Lounge – Saturday February 11th 2012, 12.00pm. Civic Centre, Newcastle Upon Tyne
At the start of the year Jim and myself sat down and drafted a list of all the Whisky events we would like to attend in 2012, we wanted to include a few new ones.
1st outing of the year was WhiskyLounge Newcastle.
So… train tickets bought, hotel booked, a friend and trusted fellow Whisky drinker enlisted (Helen Stewart) check… Jim, Jacqueline ( Jim’s wife ) Helen and myself got ourselves down to Newcastle for the event.
We arrived on an early train, got checked in to our hotel and headed to the Civic Centre in Newcastle.
WOW… the crowd were enthusiastic, clearly a well regarded and attended Whisky Festival. Once inside it was apparent the calibre of the exhibitors was outstanding, Ardbeg, Bladnoch, Balvenie, Inverhouse, Laphroaig to name a few, and the buzz in the room was deafening. I also noticed a few local Glasgow whisky drinkers had also made the trip down, good sign. 😉
All three of us went from stand to stand chatting about some of exceptional drams on offer to taste, some of the distillery’s had brought a few new drams to sample. A few that stood out from me were Balvenie PortWood, the Laphroaig Triple Wood and WhiskyBrokers own bottling of Royal Lochnagar for the Queens Jubilee… delicious.
At the event there was plenty of food on offer, a well stocked shop, and numerous master classes. Helen and myself opted for Balvenie’s Masterclass hosted by Dr. Andrew Forrester. This was the last event of the day, kicking of at 4.15pm, so bear in mind most whisky drinkers had been exposed to copious amounts of the good stuff for over 4 hours… and it was obvious a few in attendance at Andrew’s masterclass were fit for bed. However, they did provide a laugh, with one of the attendees raising his hand and asking Andrew “when do you know… (long pause) when a product is a product (hic)”… Andrew was very professional and answered the best he could… 😉 The Balvenie masterclass was very informative, enlightening and Andrew was extremely enthusiastic talking about a Whisky and a company he clearly is VERY proud of.
The verdict of this new Whisky Event was first class, we all had a great day, the event was very well organise and attended, it is a must for any whisky drinker.
I chatted and enjoyed whisky the entire 5 hours, and had a VERY hoarse throat by 5pm to show for my efforts.. well done Eddie and Amanda, can’t wait for the next one…
The next day Helen was booked on an earlier train… but look what happened when Jim and I headed home…
[EDIT] Watch the video of the event here, I have already scoured the footage for glimpses of ME, I can be seen at 0:37, 1:15 & 1:49 if you’re interested – enjoy …
