Whisky writer Hans Offringa becomes Kentucky Colonol

Dutch whisky writer Hans Offringa recently recieved the title of Kentucky Colonel.
Only the Governor of the Commonwealth has the authority to appoint a Kentucky Colonel. The actual certificate, by law, is issued by the Kentucky Secretary of State. There is a formal nomination process.

Hans Offringa was nominated for this title by the Kentucky Distillers Association, based upon his book "Bourbon and Blues" that was published in English and Dutch.
Offringa and his wife Becky currently live in Zwolle, the Netherlands, a city which boast a three star Michelin restaurant as well as its own whisky label (casks picked by Offringa).

With the title of Kentucky Colonel Offringa is in good company. Other people who recieved this title are Muhammad Ali, Winston Churchill, George Clooney and Elvis Presley.
For information on the Honorable Order Of Kentucky Colonels look here: http://kycolonels.org/.
More information about (the works of) Hans Offringa can be found here: http://hansoffringa.com/en/

©Whiskytips 2013

International Whisky Festival in The Hague, Netherlands, 15-17 November 2013

The International Whisky Festival in The Hague is the largest indoor whiskyevent in the Benelux. Venue is the Grand Church in the center of The Hague.
The Hague is a somewhat awkward city: it is the place where the Dutch Parliament resides, along with the Ministries, the King and Queen live there, but it's not the capital of the Netherlands.
As we did for previous editions we made a videoreport. Most of the scenes were shot on the Friday afternoon, which is a special VIP session, with less people around.
Other scenes were taken on the Sunday afternoon, That's the day that you can encounter most whisky specialized retailers.


The festival had numerous masterclasses for beginners as well as for the more experienced connoisseur. In the videoreport you can see an impression of the masterclass by Whiskybase, a company based in Rotterdam, with a virtual and a real life shop.

Dutch Whisky Awards 2013
During the festival, the Dutch Whisky Awards 2013 were presented.
These were the winners:
Best peated single malt Scotch: Laphroaig Triple Wood
Best unpeated single malt Scotch: The Balvenie 14 years old Caribbean Cask
Best Blended Whisky: The Naked Grouse
Best non Scotch whisky: King Car Whisky


Whisky Master of the Year Competition
Another competition is the Dutch Whisky Master of the year.
Victory went to Matthijs Hakfoort, for the highest score on the theory questions, but most of all because of a full score on the blind tasting test. Well done Matthijs!
With his first place he won a trip to the Orkney Islands with a trip to Highland Park included. One can only be jealous.

Whisky documentary
Then there is Gwen Jansen, a filmmaker who is currently preparing for a documentary on the whisky scene in the Netherlands. She is raising money through crowdfunding. By the end of December she will decide on the go/no go, but things are looking well. You can find more info on her website www.nederlandwhiskyland.nl.


Festival bottlings
This year's festival bottling were two peated cask strength Arran's, from two seperate casks. We didn't taste it yet, but hopefully we will in the near future. We got some very positive comments from others.


2014
Meanwhile, the date for the 2014 edition is already set: 14-16 November, Grand Church The Hague. Tickets are on sale already. Hope te see you there. For more info check out the website: www.whiskyfestival.nl

©Whiskytips 2013
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