The Art of Drinks 2022

What a weekend! To say I had a lot of great tastings would be an understatement because this weekend was just incredible. Organised in Amsterdam The Art of Drinks was held at the Gashouder the in the west of the city and brought together some of the greatest brands in the spirits industry. I was invited by De Monnik Dranken to spend the day among them and try out some of their delicious offerings.

The Gashouder itself is a large cylindrical container in which natural gas was stored, hence the layout of the event. In the heart of the hall you had seating areas and an option for eating. On the other side of the wall there were two seminar areas where I followed several great tasting sessions!

Built around the centre area were circles of stands where brands such as Douglas Laing, Filliers, Glengoyne, Glancadam, Edinburgh Gin, The Stillery and so many more distillers showcased what they had on offer. Bringing their best! The event itself is divided into three days: Saturday is for consumers, Sunday and Monday is dedicated to B2B. This is the same as last year and what I noticed was that the Saturday was very busy and on the Sunday I had more time to really chat and get some great stories and tastings.

What did I drink?

I don't even know where to start, there's been so much! Every dram has been such a pleasure and I am sorry I didn't take even more notes but... over the next few weeks I will be adding my tasting notes for the different sessions that I attended. On the Saturday I enjoyed (among many others) Waterford, a great selection of Douglas Laing and several cocktails. On the Sunday I managed to squeeze in three other sessions as well with Starward & Stauning, The Whistler, Loch Lomond and Glengoyne. I will be working on my notes and giving you ideas of what I tasted, how I enjoyed it and which was my favourite as each session.

Who did I see?

I was really happy that I got to spend the day with great company and friends. These include people such as Confessions of a Whisky Freak, Words of Whisky and Single Malt Snob.

I added a few pictures to this particular blog post to give you an idea of what the event was like. I hope that you will enjoy the blogs that will be following and perhaps I will see you next year!