An Evening with the Blenders

blendersThe Whisky Boys were delighted to receive an invite from The Scotch Whisky Experience in Edinburgh to attend on Wednesday 29th April “An Evening with the Blenders” .

The evening involved in meeting distinguished blenders from all over the globe, who would be on hand to have a one to one chat and letting the guests taste some of their finest drams. These blenders are fresh from judging in excess of 400 Whiskies as part of the prestigious International Spirits Challenge.

Below is the list of the esteemed blenders, and now doubt you will all have heard or spoken to them in the past, a great line up.

The Master Blenders & International Spirits Challenge Judging Panel

  • John Ramsay; The Edrington Group;  Scotch
  • David Stewart; William Grants; Scotch
  • Gordon Motion; The Edrington Group; Scotch
  • Richard Paterson; Whyte & Mackay; Scotch
  • Caroline Martin; Diageo; Scotch
  • Ian MacMillan; Burn Stewart; Scotch
  • Shinji Fukoyo; Suntory; Japanese
  • Tadashi Sakuma; Nikka; Japanese
  • Billy Leighton; Irish Distillers; Irish
  • Angela D’Orazio; Mackmyra Distillery; Swedish

 

Both Nicola and I were delighted to have a chat with all the Master Blenders and taste some of their outstanding drams which included:-

  • Balvenie 17 Year Old Doublewood
  • Cutty Sark 33
  • Dalmore 15 Year Old
  • Yamasaki 18 Year Old
  • Nikka
  • Mackmyra Summer
  • Haig Club

The evening ended with all the guests going upstairs to the newly refurbished suite with all the Master Blenders hosting a question and answer session which also included some anecdotes and tales that delighted the whole audience.

The other benefit on the night was that Nicola and I met many old and new friends. The most unusual sight of the evening was seeing Richard Paterson without his collar and tie, he was sporting a polo shirt and looked quite uncomfortable – but he was smiling ;-).

This event is a “must go to” for all Whisky lovers. Tickets for this event were a steal at only £25, here’s hoping it comes back year after year.

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