Hi All,

At last the days are getting longer, the birds are coming back and I feel like a mole emerging from a very cold, dark tunnel!

Unlike a mole, however, I have been beavering away (sorry!) sorting out events for the first half of 2011. I am just about there now, with the next four months taken care of.

So without further ado, I give you the Whisky Lounge Calendar for February, March, April and May – so far!..

Independent’s Day? – Blind
£22 per person
Series looking at three malt distilleries, and tasting two whiskies from each – one from the distilling company and one from a top independent bottler. A chance to see how the two work slightly differently and how different whiskies from the same distillery can be…Already heavily subscribed, but some tickets remain at most venues.

Friday 11th February – Britons Protection, Manchester SOLD OUT
Friday 18th February – Blackfriars, Newcastle Upon Tyne, TICKETS AVAILABLE
Saturday 26th February – The Grand Hotel, York TICKETS AVAILABLE
Friday 4th March – Mint Hotel (formally City Inn), Leeds TICKETS AVAILABLE

Creative Whisky Company
£22 per person
Join us for a mini-series of tastings from this exciting and ambitious independent bottler. David Stirk, the companies Creator and Director, introduces some of his latest and greatest whiskies for your delectation. You are sure to enjoy this rare opportunity to enjoy the company of David who is a well-known and sometimes controversial figure in the whisky industry…

Friday 11th March – Britons Protection, Manchester
Saturday 12th March – Blackfriars, Newcastle Upon Tyne

Pernod Ricard – Glenlivet et all
£22 per person
Phil Huckle, the Chivas UK Brand Ambassador, guides us through a tasting of some of his favourite whiskies from their more than impressive range. Whiskies from Glenlivet, Aberlour, Scapa and Longmorn are expected – along with a few other lesser-seen and unexpected little beauties. This should be a fantastic and delicious series!

Friday 8th April – Britons Protection, Manchester
Tuesday 12th April – Red Lion, Crown Passage, London, SW1
Friday 15th April – Blackfriars, Newcastle Upon Tyne
Saturday 16th April – The Grand Hotel, York
Friday 13th May – Mint Hotel, Granary Wharf, Leeds

Look out, it’s the…

Newcastle Whisky Festival
Saturday 7th May 2011
The Civic Centre, Barras Bridge, Newcastle Upon Tyne
12pm-5pm
£18 per person

Yes it is already that time of year! Our third festival in ‘Toon’ takes place a little earlier this year and is already looking like being as bit as good as previous years, with exhibitors already flocking to stampeding to get involved!
Confirmed we already have…

Amrut
Ardbeg/Glenmorangie
Diageo
Berry Brothers & Rudd
Whyte & Mackay (Jura, Dalmore)
Cooley
The Square Whisky Barrel Co.
Springbank
An Cnoc
Old Pulteney
Balblair
Glenfiddich
Balvenie
Gordon & MacPhail
Compass Box
Duncan Taylor

…and there’s many more to come!

Tickets are available from the website already and are selling fast – keep checking back for masterclasses and more details of exhibitors.

I think that’s quite enough for just now so I will leave you to digest all of this and I look forward to seeing many of you very soon…

Slainte!
Eddie

Eddie Ludlow
Whisky Evangelist

thewhiskylounge
www.thewhiskylounge.com
eddie@thewhiskylounge.com
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01904 466227
07515 854210

IWSC Spirit Panel Judge 2009-present