Mittwoch, 23 August 2017

Ice Whisky tasting evening

It has taken us a while to come up with a review for ICE’s first own event, but there is a reason for that which we will reveal a bit further down, so take a few minutes and follow us through this wrapup – we promise you won’t regret it!

The idea for a Whiskey Tasting was born spontaneously. The ICE team were discussing ideas to develop the project, do a fundraiser for the site’s setup and running cost (ICE is providing free advertisement for non-commercial event organisers, something that we would like to keep free of charge also in the future), bring the community closer together and, of course, have lots of craic in the process. The team figured that an evening full of malts and Whiskey stories would meet all of these criteria, and off they went and were soon caught up in getting the project off the ground.

They soon realised that partners with space, whiskey competence and… well, whiskey would be needed and were lucky enough to find them in spite of short notice in Murphy’s Irish Pub Berlin, Robert Dunst, whiskey connoisseur and fellow enthusiast, and a local business with the amazing name ‘Geistreich und benebelt’. All of them contributed to making June 8 a memorable night – while the team were battling renitent ticketing systems, visions vs. budget/reality and a general reluctance of the average Berliner to indulge in a night with a raised blood alcohol level in the middle of the week.

And this, folks, is why you, the lovely people who eventually came for ICE’s maiden event, deserve the biggest thank you of all: you were willing to face a tired day at work on June 9 to check out a new event, to taste malts, ask questions and share opinions, and you helped ICE to add a SOLD OUT!! DEBUT EVENT to its brief but intense history.

We dare say the evening was a success, because that’s what you told us: we all learned some new and fun facts about Whiskey, added some Irish/Scottish gaelic vocabulary to our knowledge and exchanged associations covering a range from vanilla and lemons to burned car tyre and stuff we can’t repeat because we’d be in trouble with our Moms. In the tasting were: Glenmorangie (10y), Kilbeggan, Green Spot, Glendronach (8y), Highland Park (10y) and Connemara, a nice selection of three Irish Whiskeys and three Scotches. And while tastes are different, the final voting revealed Green Spot, a single pot still with “hints of peppermint, malt, sweet barley, sugary porridge, creamy vanilla, papaya and citrus” fêted by critics as the night’s winner.

Were you not going to reveal something else, you’re asking? Will you ever get down to bloody business, you’re wondering? Yes, we will, and thank you for following the review and ICE until here. You’ve probably guessed it: we liked the evening so much, we can’t wait to see you again and have ANOTHER! The VENUE WILL CHANGE, so this time we hope to see you at a venue to be confirmed with live music. Spread the word, grab a ticket and JOIN US once more for malts & music!

Before we’ll let you enjoy what’s left of your summer break, we want to give you a big warm thank you for being ICE’s community, for supporting, encouraging, liking and sharing our posts and for “keeping the green momentum going” after the launch for St. Patrick’s Day. We are very excited about how quickly this project developed from a web platform to an “Irish Event” in itself and are looking forward to continue this journey together with you in October. Wir sehen uns dann, meanwhile enjoy the summer while it lasts, and if you attend any cool Irish events in Berlin, make sure to mail, message, facebook, twitter, instagram or whatever us, we will be happy to see & share what you’re up to and keep painting the town green. Sláinte and see you!

Danny ist ein irischer Musiker, dem es nicht nur gelungen ist, sich Berlin als zweite Heimat zu erobern, sondern sogar das rätselhafte System des öffentlichen Nahverkehrs der Stadt zu entschlüsseln. Wer könnte also geeigneter sein, den Großstadtdschungel und seine unglaublichen Möglichkeiten zu erschließen? Als “irischer Berliner” kennt Danny die angesagtesten Orte und die besten Angebote, und weil er sich bei seinen zahlreichen Live-Auftritten oft und gern mit Konzertbesuchern unterhält, die aus Irland kommen oder sich für das irische Kulturleben interessieren, weiß er auch genau, was sie wollen. Seine Stärke: Rockstar-Einsichten ins irische Leben Berlins!