For my friends and me, BORCO Marken Import’s annual World of Whisky festival at the museum harbor in Hamburg-Oevelgoenne is a must-visit event every year! After all, the company behind the event is the German importer of many top-notch whisk(e)y brands, including Glengoyne and Tamdhu from Scotland, Teeling from Ireland, Nikka from Japan, or Evan Williams from the United States. But the classy drinks – both neat and mixed – are only half of what makes World of Whisky so much fun. The other half are the colorful, diverting side activities that always promise to be a ton of fun: harbor cruises, live music, street food, free tattoos, and more … all enjoyed in an easy-going atmosphere in a sunny sea-side location! In early June 2023, I visited the event for the fifth time since 2017, having as great a time as ever!

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Upon arrival, my first walk is always the same: I go straight to the cocktail bar at the far-end side of the location. Though I am usually more into straight sipping than mixology, I find events like World of Whisky to be a fantastic opportunity to broaden my horizon in regard to the latter. This year, the rich cocktail selection consisted of four versatile drinks by the HOME Cocktails crew as well as three exclusive creations from Hamburg-based bar icons Andrej Busch (Boilerman Bar), Richi Dührkamp (The Bohemian), and Simon Köster (Uzwei Bar). The drinks ranged from light and fruity to heavy and savory, and everything in between. Enjoying the hell outta these grade-A drinks, I went for a refill more than once.

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Another highlight was the 1-hour “Borco’s Finest” tasting aboard the time-honored tugboat Woltman. While doing our rounds in the port of Hamburg, we savored one helluva whisky trio under the guidance of my pal Gearoid O’Callaghan (AKA The Whisky Jack). The drams he had chosen for us included Glengoyne 21 Years Old from the Highlands, Tamdhu 18 Years Old from Speyside, and Yoichi 10 Years Old from Japan. Needless to say, drinking these rare whiskies was really spectacular – as was being aboard the time-honored, coal-powered ship that was originally built over a hundred years back in 1904! When I think back of it now, I revel in the absolute best of memories, and I already count down the days until next year’s World of Whisky festival by BORCO Marken Import here in my beautiful hometown of Hamburg!

by Tobi

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Borco-Marken-Import: https://www.borco.com/ (Organizer)
Museumshafen Oevelgönne: http://www.museumshafen-oevelgoenne.de/ (Location)

*** I attended the event as a regular visitor,
paying for all drinks and snacks myself (except the stuff
that was generally free, of course). ***