There is this beautiful distillery in South Africa, called the James Sedgwick distillery, home of proud distillery manager Andy Watts. We already had the pleasure to meet Andy in 2014 when he was here from South Africa for a cricket tournament in the Netherlands – nothing to do with whisky, but nonetheless, we decided…
Category: tours and visits
In conversation with Andrew Hart
We had the pleasure of meeting Andrew “Andy” Hart for a couple of times at festivals with the stand of Whisky Import Nederland. Andy is always ready to answer your most difficult questions about his products with a big smile on his face. Every time it is great to meet again and have a chat…
Fledglings
/ˈflɛdʒlɪŋ/ noun: fledgling; plural noun: fledglings; noun: fledgeling; plural noun: fledgelings ~ , a young bird that just has its feathers and is learning to fly. ~ , a person or organization that is immature, inexperienced, or underdeveloped. ~ , a spirit that has not been matured fully, and is on its way to…
Whisky Weekend Amsterdam 2015
The time has come. The first festival of the year is here again. For us, this was to be a new festival to explore in the Netherlands. Whisky Weekend Amsterdam. The Netherlands has a good spread of different festivals during the year, from small to massive events, so we are spoiled for choice. At the…
Knockdhu: A modern Tradition
After the Spirit of Speyside Festival earlier in 2014 was over, we stayed another week and visited the Knockdhu Distillery where we met distillery manager Gordon Bruce and his right hand Alistair “Ally” Reid. After this great day Alistair accepted our request to send some questions over to get some more information on this…
"Better blends then, compared to most single malts now"
Every self-respecting Dutch whisky connoisseur knows of the existence of van Wees‘ shop in Amersfoort, their different lines of independent bottlings and their relationship with the industry in and outside of Scotland. Responsible for the fame and success of this business is Mr. Han van Wees, born in 1931 and still going strong. On November…
Whisky in the Jarr – part three: Going to church
After having been introduced into the world of Jim Beam and being directed into drinking some rare old XXL niceties on the Saturday afternoon, the Saturday evening was open for us to step into the church and browse the tables, shake some hands, hug some friends and share a dram with people we just met…
Whisky in the Jarr – part two: XXL tasting with the Director
In part one of our visit to Whisky Live Holland in the Hague, we already told about Hans Offringa’s masterclass about American Whisky – especially the Jim Beam expressions. Like other masterclasses during the festival, it lasted 45 minutes, so there was little time for chitchat and making elaborate tasting notes. Time was deliberately kept…
Whisky in the Jarr – part one: American Whiskey
Half-way in this year’s whisky-season, the time has come for the largest festival in the Netherlands; Whisky Live Holland in the Hague. The biggest festival automatically means the largest number of people, and sadly – the most expensive one. Both the number of people and the prices for the entrance and extras during the time…
Day 4: Tom in a Towel
The day before we had to go home again had arrived, and was once more planned with great events. When the breakfast was devoured again, it was time to get everybody in the van on time to drive from Dufftown to Tomintoul following the B9008 and the B9136. Not having visited, we trusted the GPS…
Day 3 – after lunch: the Balvenie
So, after spending the morning at the Glenfiddich distillery, the group had to get back into the car to drive the half mile or so to the Balvenie distillery. We took the car, because we were out of time (big lunch) and crossing the terrain without high-visibility vests and a tour-guide, is simply not allowed….
Day 3 – before lunch: Glenfiddich
Thursday-morning, the weather was a bit grey and misty when we woke up. After a sturdy breakfast, we drove the small one and a half mile from the cottage to Balvenie Castle. It turned out the van had wipers, and we actually needed to turn them them on to keep our eyes on the road. Sadly,…
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