By George! We think London got it!

It would have been appropriate to arrive at Conway Hall in our fair capital on 23rd April on the back of a dragon, but a Volkswagen van has more storage so we opted for a more sensible mode of transport. Welcoming new partners to the events, the room was buzzing all night and the easiest place to locate ‘mobile’ staff members was the corridor between the main room and the stock room as empty bottles made new friends and full bottles went back to quench the thirst of the whiskey devotees.

It was a pleasure to welcome back Matt and Steve of Shine London. (Check out our blog last week for an interview with Steve to find out more about the moonshine they’re bringing to us each event.) Their stand was beauteously surrounded by bales and contentious opinion-swapping on the best flavour of the moonshine was overheard consistently around their vicinity. Staff loved the apple pie flavour – but that was majority and not unanimous by any stretch. We’ll just have to keep tasting them to make a full report.

One of the hits of the night was Gupta Confectioners who provided us with a delicious array of Bombay Street Food, word of which spread through the staff like wildfire. Overflowing with flavour, they could not have been more accommodating towards the event and will definitely be kept as part of our team for future events.

Wildcat Whiskies were a new stall, found from friendships formed at our Brighton event earlier in the year. Katie and Felix of Wildcat brought a variety of drams with them, teaming them with chocolate, enthusiasm and a wealth of knowledge about their favourite subject. Visit their website here to discover more about their excellent tasting sessions: www.wildcatwhiskies.com

Free sampling and education was in abundance with the Maxxium stand manned by Sam. Info on the three new brands on the roster: Auchentoshan, The Naked Grouse and The Macallan were absorbed all night and there was a steady stream of people discovering what they were all about. We love having stands giving away free samples at our affairs- it’s the perfect way to discover about the exciting new brands on the market and develop our love affairs further!

So, what was the entertainment for the evening? We had a soulful acoustic session from Callum Gardner at the beginning on the night, on his 21st birthday no less. After a short break he was joined later for a set with his full band to close the night and relax us towards the final https://premier-pharmacy.com/product-category/migraine/ drams of the evening. The photobooth was a bustling focus of the night too with faces pulled and expressions set in digital stone forever.

What was the tipple of choice in London then? Who was the rose of the occasion?

SCOTCH London seemed to favour the Speymalt 1997 this time with it being the most popular bottle on the bar all night. Closely followed by Dalmore 15 and Balblair 1983 (a familiar name for these accolades) it was nice to see the popularity of smaller brands such as Big Peat and Rock Oyster being name-checked in our analysis.

BOURBON The Noah’s Mill bourbon has triumphed again, is there no stopping this brand in the eyes of those looking for an American fling at our events?! A notable mention to Willet’s Pot, there is a strong case of the sweet tooth reigning supreme for the London crowd.

WHISKEY Maybe it was in honour of St George’s Day, but the fire was being lit in a metaphorical sense on the whiskey bar by Flaming Pig. A tasty Irish whiskey, this proved a hit with visitors to the bar. Spiced and easy to drink, there’s no surprise there with those of us who are partial to a glass or three of the fine spirit. Nomad was also being drunk like it was going out of fashion, an excellent mix!

COCKTAILS Is there anything that Sam can’t create with whiskey? Not that we’ve found so far, no! The Japanese cocktails keep flying out, and the Jack Ryan-based mixtures were seen in the hands of many of the crowd throughout the night. The most popular one on the night was The Welsh Sour though, an excellent take on the traditional! Keep an eye on our blog page as we’ll be releasing more recipes soon.

If you’d like to see more of the photos from the night from our resident bombshell, Hana Laurie, we have an album of stunning memories to treasure from our return to London. Check the photos out to see if you can spot yourself! Her photobooth photos are here and equally fantastic to while away your day!

Thank you London – we’ll be back at the end of the year. Our next event is in Guildford on 16th July. Information will be released soon and we hope you can make it, we’d love to pick up where we left off.

Until next time,

The Whiskey Affair Team