Op uitnodiging van Katty van het Centrum voor Volwassenenonderwijs te Landen (een eindje voorbij Tienen en ongemeen dichtbij de plek waar Etienne Bouillon zijn Belgian Owl stookt) gaf ik een initiatietasting aan ‘studenten’ Engels. Nou ja, studenten. Je zou je hier jonge mensen bij voorstellen, maar die waren eerder de uitzondering. De meesten onder hen waren ouder dan ik (en ik begin toch al een beetje grijs te worden). De tasting zou dan ook volledig in het Engels doorgaan.
Afgezien van het feit dat ik het knap vindt dat die mensen zich nog de moeite getroosten een nieuwe taal aan te leren, trokken ze zich ook bijzonder goed uit de slag. Veel heeft wellicht te maken met hun supersympathieke juf Marleen.
Enfin, ik had hen beloofd ook deze blogpost in het Engels te maken, om in de sfeer te blijven. Daar gaan we.
I was literally standing in front of a classroom, but the students were senior citizens. At least most of them. They knew about the existence of whisky (a few were actually quite familiar with the golden liquid), but most were novices. That always makes for a good audience, because the history of whisky is an interesting one – as is the production process.
Our line-up for this introductory tasting session was the following:
- Belgian Owl 4 Year Old
- Greenore 8 Year Old
- Adelphi Private Reserve
- Yoichi 10 Year Old
- Macduff 10 Year Old Cask Strength
- Glen Peat Class 18 Year Old
It was nice to get many interesting questions, which meant they were not only paying close attention to what I was saying (well… most of the time),but also that they understood everything (well… most of it anyway). I never missed a beat, despite the fact that one person in the audience (you know who you are, sweetheart!) got a bit – let’s say intoxicated. But she was so much fun, that it was hard to be angry with her. She lifted her glass of Macduff 2000 and slurred ’this is verrrry gooooood for me, sirrrr!’. The room erupted in well meant and jovial laughter. A good time was had by all.
The Belgian Owl was surprisingly underappreciated by this group, while everybody thought the Macduff was an absolute stunner (I agree wholeheartedly, of course). At the end of the tasting, I asked them to vote for the drams by raising hands. This was their ranking:
- Macduff 10 Year Old (23 points)
- Greenore 8 Year Old (8 points)
- Glen Peat Class (7 points)
- Adelphi Private Reserve (6 points)
- Yoichi 10 Year Old (3 points)
- Belgian Owl 4 Year Old (2 points)
This again goes to show that taste is a very personal thing!
I would like to extend my sincere thanks to the people of the CVO in Landen, who promised to put in a good word with their colleagues for us, much to my happiness.
I’m glad you enjoyed the evening as much as I did and look forward to tasting with you again. Slàinte!
