Spirits Guide
Taste, smell & enjoy whisky!
Whisky museums
Whisky & Spirits Tasting Events in Europe
Whisky tasting enthusiasts can take advantage of landmark events to experience and meet spirits enthusiasts. This event is one of the major whisky tasting events in Europe. It is an unmissable event for enthusiasts of rums, malts and various categories of spirits and mixology. Visitors will be able to meet hundreds of exhibitors, taste fine whisky and spirits, discover new products and attend masterclasses.
Whisky Guide
Raw materials & manufacturing process
To make whisky, you need to gather some basic ingredients such as a cereal like corn or rye, yeast and a lot of water. To build a distillery, you need a budget of at least a few million euros. Several installations are needed to distil, ferment and age the alcohol.
Tequila: a strong symbol of Mexico’s identity!
Tequila is an alcoholic drink made from a fat plant, the blue agave. It takes 6 to 8 years for this plant to reach maturity. The heart of the plant, called piña, is harvested by hand. This spirit produced in Mexico has been protected since 1974 by an AOC.
There are several ranges of tequila: blanco, which is an alcohol that does not need to undergo an ageing process, reposado, which is a product that undergoes an ageing process lasting between 2 months and 1 year. During this phase, the liquor is stored in an oak barrel. Añejo is a tequila that is more than one year old, while extra añejo is more than three years old.
Focus on Gin: a popular spirit turned chic
Gin is an alcohol similar to its ancestor genever, and is a traditional drink of the Netherlands and parts of Belgium. Gin production began in the Spanish Netherlands at the end of the 17th century, before it was sold internationally.
This spirit is rarely drunk neat, as ordinary gin is a dry spirit. It is mainly used in many cocktails. It can also be bought in a pre-flavoured version. The main gin producing countries are England and the Netherlands.
The art of whisky tasting!
95% of national whisky consumption is consumed during cocktails or at discos. these thirst-quenching whiskies are generally accompanied by sparkling water or ice. most of them are kentucky bourbons or Scottish blends.
Food & whisky pairing
Inventing authentic pairings
To enhance the taste of Gouda cheese, there is nothing better than to accompany it with cognac. After finishing the petit fours, starters and main course, open a bottle of red wine to accompany the cheese. Spirits are flavour enhancers that can turn cheese platters into a festive platter. While bread and wine are classic allies of cheese, there are strong spirits that represent possible pairings.
Spirits lover
Whisky VS Rum: what to choose?
Rum and whisky are deeply rooted in French customs. There is a huge gap between single malt enthusiasts and Atlantic enthusiasts. The disagreement between these two worlds has a touch of snobbery about it. However, the prohibitive prices of rum allow its amateurs to gradually become interested in whisky.