I'll start with the question from the introduction. How does whisky tasting broaden the horizons of an experienced connoisseur?
We try to make sure that each of our tastings includes interesting whiskies that you can't buy at every mall or get at every restaurant. In addition, each of our presentations is paired with stories from the history of the distilleries, describing unique production and aging techniques and introducing tasters to stories associated with the region.
It is always a pleasure to welcome an experienced connoisseur to our tastings, with whom we spend a pleasant evening over glasses of good whisky. Plus, we can have a nice chat and enrich each other's lives.
What about the beginner? What will you enrich him with?
In this case, the greatest benefit will clearly be the opening of the door to the world of whisky itself. We'll show the enormous variety of whiskies, the wide range of flavours and aromas. We will also provide an insight into how whisky is made and the complex journey from the grain of barley to the delicious spirit in the bottle.
It doesn't matter if you are a complete beginner or a connoisseur of good whisky, the aim is to have an enjoyable evening.
At the tasting you present a single malt Scotch whisky. Why this choice?
It has to do with the time when we started the tastings. At that time, in our opinion, single malt Scotch whisky was at the imaginary top of the world of luxury alcohol. And the more we got to know it, the more we became convinced that our choice was the right one.
Recently, however, Irish whiskey has been enjoying an amazing rise. That's why we've also decided to include a new tasting this year, with the working title "The Irish are Back", which is exclusively made up of outstanding new generation Irish whiskeys.
The flavours and aromas of each expression from distilleries across Scotland make for enjoyable discussions in the group. Can you think of any funny/interesting impressions or observations that clients have had during a tasting?
It was a bit of black humour, but it was a great observation from one of our clients. When presenting the Laphroaig whisky, I told the not-so-historically-documented story of the death of the distillery's founder, Donald Johnston, who supposedly drowned in a vat of whisky.
One of the tasting attendees surprised me by asking if I knew what they did with the whisky in which the owner drowned. Whereupon another of the tasters promptly replied that it had been bottled and sold as Founders reserve.
Which whiskies are the most successful at tastings?
That's a really tough question. At each tasting, attendees select the best whisky of the night and we keep statistics on the results. And you won't believe how preferences vary. Generally speaking, one group of our clients love smoky whiskies - and for them, whiskies from the Ardbeg or Talisker distillery often win.
The other group hates smoky whiskies, preferring rather smoother, more flavourful whiskies - e.g. from the Glenmorangie distillery.
And then there's a rather smaller group of clients who have a lot of experience with whisky, and they really choose wisely and based on their experience and preferences, which often messes with our assumptions and statistics.
However, we always stress to all our clients not to give in to the various reviews and recommendations of the "experts", but to drink the whisky that they really like.
Cognac tasting is also your bailiwick. How is it different from sitting down over a whisky?
It's really different. The two drinks are different in terms of the input, whisky is a grain spirit and Cognac is a wine spirit. What both drinks have in common is the precision of processing, the strict regulations and the laws of production that come from a long history. What is also common is the careful and long maturation in unique oak casks.
The truth is that the taste differences are significant. Whiskies have a much wider range of flavours than cognacs, thanks to incredibly creative barrel work and the influence of smoke and peat. Cognacs are more flavourful, the difference between aromatic and flavour sensations across the range of cognacs is not as pronounced. However, even cognacs have their unmistakable charm.
And if you are a lover of luxury wine spirits, Cognac is the obvious choice.
Where in Prague do you organise tastings and why this particular place?
We currently have two tasting venues.
The Grand Cru restaurant lounge in Lodecká Street. Here it is possible to join the tasting with delicious food.
The second place is the lounge in Café Bar Manta in Smíchov, Kořensko Street. In this case it is more of a bistro-bar, where it is possible to order simpler dishes typical of bistros. What appealed to us about this bar is the atmosphere, which reminded us of the bars and clubs where we used to drink whisky in Scotland.
Do you operate elsewhere in the Czech Republic?
We normally organise tastings in Prague, but we are able to organise a tasting anywhere in the Czech Republic in a very flexible composition and format at the client's request. Recently we have done tastings for clients in Pilsen, Děčín, Frymburk, Králíky, Sečská jezera and many other places.
We even did a customized tasting for 2 participants on the occasion of a birthday, or a tasting for a closed group on the occasion of a bachelor party. Various corporate parties and celebrations are no exception.
Can you reveal your plans for the near future?
There's quite a lot to keep up with. We're now reintroducing Irish whiskey tastings, which we'll definitely be expanding and developing, and for Scotch whiskies we want to focus on emerging distilleries and introduce new single distillery profile tastings.
For cognac, we want to expand our portfolio of suppliers from the best of the prestigious Grande Champagne region.
That all sounds great! Thank you, Libor, for taking the time out of your busy schedule to talk to us. Enjoy.
