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Bringing the Irish Charm to America for St. Patrick’s Week

Carlow, Ireland

Stuart on St. Patrick's Day

Days before St. Patrick’ s Day I jetted off to Los Angeles, to help the Americans celebrate St. Patrick’s Day the Walsh Whiskey Distillery way! I had a busy week ahead of me, as I was to visit four states in seven days! My first day on the ground in L.A. was spent visiting the bars who were involved in a St. Patrick’s Day bar crawl that I was hosting, to speak with them about our whiskeys and see what cocktails they had created for the event.

Stuart watching Ireland match on St. Patrick's DayOn St. Patrick’s Day I woke up early for one very important reason, to support the lads in green. The Irish rugby team started off my St. Patrick’s Day celebrations by winning the Six Nations, the Grand Slam and Triple Crown! The party continued when the bar crawl began. We welcomed fifty guests and hit eight bars in just over five hours. There were buskers, cocktails, trad music and plenty of whiskey to help us dance our way through the streets of Hollywood!

 

The day after St. Patrick’s Day I flew to Detroit, Michigan. A city I had never seen before! I got the chance to meet a lot of bars and restaurants who stock Walsh Whiskey Distillery brands. Detroit’s bar industry is on the rise and I was able to give a number of staff trainings to amazing bars around the city. The following day was exciting as I was hosting a whiskey tasting for members of the Bartenders Guild, bar owners and managers. I brought them through our range of The Irishman and Writers’ Tears whiskeys. Writers’ Tears tends to be a winner when it comes to bartender’s choice! A complimentary Writers’ Tears cocktail welcomed the guests and it was a very successful and enjoyable day all round.

Stuart and Alejandro at Trade ShowOn Wednesday I flew to Chicago to meet with Alejandro, our new US Trade Marketing Manager. I was away on a market visit when he was in Ireland so this was our first meeting. We met in an Irish bar (of course) and swapped stories and got to know each other over a few glasses of The Irishman and Writers’ Tears. The following day Alejandro and I attended a trade show at Binny’s Liquor Store. We spent the day pouring The Irishman and Writers’ Tears for people in the trade and enthusiastic buyers alike! I went straight from the trade show to the airport to catch my flight to Minneapolis.

This was the final stop on my week-long adventure. I met with our distributors on Friday morning to hold a round robin, very similar to speed dating with alcohol! I would hold a tasting of our range of whiskeys in just ten minutes, then it was on to the next group. Thank god I talk fast but even this was a challenge for me! After the event I had the afternoon off, so I did what any tourist would do and headed straight to the Mall of America. I got some shopping done and of course rode the roller-coaster! Now April is full of trips around Europe, where will my next destination be?

Stuart at Round Robin– Stuart

Stuart Caffrey, from Drogheda, is a Brand Ambassador for Walsh Whiskey Distillery. Stuart’s background in the drinks and his previous knowledge of the Irish Whiskey category give him an excellent foundation for travelling the world educating trade and consumers on all things Irish whiskey and Walsh Whiskey related.