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Spreading the Word of Walsh Whiskey Distillery around Europe

Carlow, Ireland

I finished off the month of March in London at Bord Bia’s Spirit of Sharing event. It took took place in the Irish Embassy and it was a great opportunity to represent Irish spirits in England. It was great to chat with the attendees and the other Irish brands in the drinks industry!

I hit the ground running in April, where my first stop was the Vilnius Whiskey Festival in Lithuania. I met with our distributors and gave them a masterclass on our range of The Irishman and Writers’ Tears whiskey. It’s always enjoyable to meet the people representing our brand around the world. I had an evening free after the masterclass so I had the opportunity to explore the beautiful city of Vilnius. The city is full of bars and tourist attractions. The main attraction was gorgeous bell tower that turned my legs to jelly as I ascended the wooden ladder!

The following morning was an early start for the Vilnius Whiskey Festival. There were over 800 enthusiastic whiskey drinkers in attendance. We were tasting the range of The Irishman whiskeys and also Writers’ Tears 2017 Cask Strength. After the fair all the Brand Ambassadors got together to relax and discuss all the various whiskeys sampled on the day.

The following weekend I was off to Warsaw, Poland for the Whiskey and Friends Festival. This event took place in a hotel attached to the major Warsaw airport, which makes travel so easy – if you go to that airport! (Note to self: check all airports in a city rather than assuming there is only one!). This event was organised by our distributors in Poland. The attendees were all very excited about the whiskeys on offer. I held a masterclass at this whiskey festival, it’s always great to get the opportunity to hold a masterclass. It allows me to tell the story of Walsh Whiskey Distillery and its brands, and also speak about the history of Irish whiskey.

The final trade show for April took place in Limburg just outside Frankfurt, Germany, for the Limburg Whisky Fair. This time I wasn’t alone as I was joined by Nicholina, who is another Brand Ambassador for Walsh Whiskey Distillery. We set off for Limburg for the two-day whiskey festival. I met some of the biggest whiskey enthusiasts over the two days, who were all there to buy the latest whiskeys on the market. We managed to squeeze in a bit of fun the evening between trade shows. All the Brand Ambassadors flocked to the Irish Pub to dance the night away despite our sore feet!

Even though the trade shows took place over the weekend, my weekdays were just as hectic! We launched the Writers’ Tears Cask Strength 2018 edition in April. To celebrate this, I hosted a pre-launch party with the Kilkenny Whiskey Guild at the Hibernian Hotel in Kilkenny. We sampled some of our most exclusive whiskeys – The Irishman 17-Year-Old, The Irishman Founder’s Reserve Marsala Cask Finish and of course the latest Writers’ Tears Cask Strength! The chefs at The Hibernian Hotel did an outstanding job creating food pairings for each of the whiskeys.

Aviators Whiskey Event

Following the pre-launch event, we officially launched the Writers’ Tears Cask Strength 2018 Edition with the Aviators Whiskey Society at Kealys Bar near Dublin Airport. To mark the occasion, we tasted the whole range of The Irishman including the latest batch of our exclusive The Irishman 17-Year-Old Single Malt. We then tasted the Writers’ Tears range finishing off with the star of the show – Writers’ Tears Cask Strength 2018 Edition. It was an amazing night and great fun was had by all!

Next month I am heading back Stateside. I’ll be visiting Washington DC, Boston and New York. I’m looking forward to getting back to the US and working with our US team to spread the word of Walsh Whiskey Distillery, The Irishman and Writers’ Tears.

‘Til next time.

Stuart at Limburg Whiskey Festival

– 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.

Writers’ Tears 2018 Cast Strength Whiskey: http://walshwhiskey.com/2018/04/2018-writers-tears-cask-strength-whiskey-2/