How to find someone to run a scotch tasting?

[marvelous_marvin]

Hi,

I represent a wine- and spirit-oriented club that is aiming to put on a scotch or whisky/whiskey tasting event for our members. What I'm trying to do now is find some qualified person with the knowledge and experience to guide the tasting.

How would eGulleters approach this problem? How likely is it we could get a distillery or distributor to sponsor the event? Where does one look for these kinds of people? We are affiliated with an educational institution, so we have a finite budget. I have considered doing a "communal" tasting event, where everyone brings a bottle or something, but I think our group would really benefit from some guidance.

This would be in Brooklyn, NYC, and our group is about 300 young professionals interested in wine & spirits. I expect we could easily get 50+ to attend the event if I got everything hashed out.

Edited July 23, 2007 by marvelous_marvin (log)

[TBoner]

Hi,

I represent a wine- and spirit-oriented club that is aiming to put on a scotch or whisky/whiskey tasting event for our members.  What I'm trying to do now is find some qualified person with the knowledge and experience to guide the tasting.

How would eGulleters approach this problem?  How likely is it we could get a distillery or distributor to sponsor the event?  Where does one look for these kinds of people?  We are affiliated with an educational institution, so we have a finite budget.  I have considered doing a "communal" tasting event, where everyone brings a bottle or something, but I think our group would really benefit from some guidance.

This would be in Brooklyn, NYC, and our group is about 300 young professionals interested in wine & spirits.  I expect we could easily get 50+ to attend the event if I got everything hashed out.

←

Marvin,

I would say a good place to start might be by contacting the Scotch Malt Whiskey Society of America. They can probably point you to people in your area who are experienced or knowledgeable enough to lead a tasting. Heck, with the size group you're talking about, they may in fact put together a tasting for you and/or set you up with a nearby tasting.

I'm not sure how likely it is that a distillery would sponsor your tasting, but even if you find one to do so, it's likely that you'll only be tasting products from that one company. This is not necessarily a problem, since multiple distilleries are often owned by one company, but it does limit what your group can taste. It might also be on the expensive side.

Getting someone who has no particular affiliation is a crapshoot, I would say. I have no professional knowledge or experience with beer, but I have run beer tastings. My knowledge is based on reading, homebrewing, tastings I've attended, and lots of drinking. I'm articulate, and I teach people for a living. I felt like I did a good job with the tastings (and the group invited me back to do more), but it was not an ideal experience for me or the group (pacing was tough, providing the appropriate amount of knowledge was difficult - I felt I vascillated between saying too much and saying too little, etc). I would guess this would be true with any spirit or beverage. So finding someone with experience and/or affiliation with a group like SMWSA would help a great deal.

[donbert]

Hi,

I represent a wine- and spirit-oriented club that is aiming to put on a scotch or whisky/whiskey tasting event for our members.  What I'm trying to do now is find some qualified person with the knowledge and experience to guide the tasting.

How would eGulleters approach this problem?  How likely is it we could get a distillery or distributor to sponsor the event?  Where does one look for these kinds of people?  We are affiliated with an educational institution, so we have a finite budget.  I have considered doing a "communal" tasting event, where everyone brings a bottle or something, but I think our group would really benefit from some guidance.

This would be in Brooklyn, NYC, and our group is about 300 young professionals interested in wine & spirits.  I expect we could easily get 50+ to attend the event if I got everything hashed out.

You might want to try contacting a retailer like LeNell who regularly holds off site tasting events like her Bourbon Class.

Also you might want to try contacting Reidel to see if they'd be willing to partner with you and let you use their glasses. I was fortunate enough to attend a tasting they had to show the difference the glass makes and it was shocking. Trying a scotch in a whiskey vs tequila vs brandy glass really had a huge effect on your experience.