Whisky Clubs Group opens first dedicated whisky bar in Birmingham – Scotch Whisky News
Whisky Clubs Group opens first dedicated whisky bar in Birmingham
Whisky Clubs Group owners of The Birmingham Whisky Club, The Birmingham Whisky Festival and The Bristol Whisky Festival is opening its first venue in Birmingham’s Jewellery Quarter.
Situated inside The Museum of the Jewellery Quarter the bar will list over 300 different whiskies.
The whisky list has been careful curated with a focus on interesting whiskies that have not been poured in the city before, underpinned with a range of everyday drinking whiskies at affordable prices.
Tasting flights will be available each telling a tale through whisky. The ‘Whisky Story’ tasting flights include ‘Amateur Dramatics’ a beginner’s guide with four specially chosen drams; ‘Under the Cherry Blossom Tree’ a journey through Japanese whisky. The ‘stories’ will be presented at the table with a written guide for drinkers to taste through at their leisure.
There will also be a small selection of premium spirits, wines and beers that reflect the whisky story – barrel aged beer, gins from whisky distillers and aged gins.
Speaking about the concept Amy Seton, founder of Whisky Clubs Group, said: “I set up my first whisky club back in 2011, since then it’s gone from strength to strength with our festivals selling out in a matter of weeks. Setting up a permanent home for our members felt like the next natural step.
The bar is designed to be a home from home for whisky lovers and we want to bring new people into the category. The bar will cater for everyone from the whisky aficionado looking for a rare dram to the complete novice who’s just starting their whisky journey.”
Throughout the year The Birmingham Whisky Club bar will be working with brands to bring some unique tasting events to the city. “We’re taking a different approach to brand activation” commented Amy, “since setting up the whisky club six years ago we’ve developed great relationships with brands and we now want to take that to the next level.
We’re working with some interesting brands who will get a dedicated month at our bar and we will work with them to create a bespoke package of events and content driven marketing. This will offer brands an opportunity to really get under the skin of the Birmingham whisky scene, speak directly to our growing database of whisky lovers and introduce new drinkers to the category.”
Ahead of the official opening there will be a Burns Bar pop-up on January 27th – 28th.
The bar will be open to everyone who wants to get a preview before the refurb is fully complete. A free dram for whisky lovers on arrival and there will be a good selection of beers, wines and spirits for non-whisky drinkers.
The Birmingham Whisky Club bar will open to the public on February 14th opening times are Wednesday to Sunday 12pm – 12pm.
Although not exclusively a member’s bar memberships are available which give access to special events and discounts.
Ardbeg doles out occasional limited releases for their avid fans, but for nearly a decade the core range consisted of just three whiskies: 10 year old, Uigeadail, and Corryvreckan. The addition of An Oa, matured in a combination of virgin oak, Pedro Ximénez sherry, and bourbon barrels, and married in a French oak ‘gathering vat’ prior to bottling, marks a reason to celebrate. An Oa is a more approachable Ardbeg. It lacks some of the typical oiliness, but flavor and complexity abound with hot peat, black tea, and peppery cloves. Die-hard Ardbeg fans should have no complaints, and new converts have a real treat in store. *Top 20 Whiskies of 2017* (GS) 
(12/2017)
