And my Hanse Spirit 2023 recap continues … as you might have seen, “Part One” of my two-bit event summary focused on the Scotch, Irish Whiskey, and Bourbon I drank at the fair. If you have not yet read it, just click here and check it out. (more…)
Hanse Spirit
Hanse Spirit 2023 in Hamburg – Part One (Fair)
From 26 to 28 January 2023, Hanse Spirit returned to my hometown of Hamburg. With a colorful roster of exhibitors, the popular whisky and spirits fair made a strong bounce-back from its two-year break. As compared to the last installments (more…)
Carlos I Brandy: “Matured in the best of the best sherry casks” (Interview)
In the week before Christmas, I met my pal Michael “Jerry” Lutz, whom some of you might know under his alias Herr Lutz, for a chat over a couple of drams. A few weeks before, he had taken a new job at Grupo Osborne. During our conversation, he told me that he will (more…)
Hanse Spirit 2019 – The Whisky & Spirit Fair in Hamburg (Fair)
Let me cut straight to the chase: This year’s Hanse Spirit was a blast! Organizer Chris Rickert and his team managed to keep all of last year’s benefits (such as the beautiful location and the excellent line-up), while simultaneously improving everything that still left room for embetterment (more…)
Hanse Spirit 2018 – Explore the Liquid Life (Event)
This year’s Hanse Spirit is over. So now it is time for me to reminisce the events of the last two days once more; an undertaking that is easier said than done considering the sheer flood of impressions and sensations that rained down on me over the course of the weekend. (more…)
“Douglas Laing’s Best Bottlings” Tasting at Hanse Spirit 2018 (Event)
Although I met Douglas Laing’s Global Brand Ambassador Jan Beckers quite a few times in the last years, I never got to attend one of his tastings. So when I saw that he would not only man the booth of the company’s German importer Bremer Spirituosen Contor (more…)
The Whiskey Makers Series by Jameson – Tasting (Event)
“Sine metu”, our host Laurie told us in her introduction to this tasting held at Hanse Spirit 2017, means “without fear” in Latin. Ever since John Jameson moved to Dublin in the late 18th century with his wife and many children, the founder of Jameson distillery lived by this credo. (more…)
The Arran Malt – Tasting by Kammer-Kirsch (Events)
Though our second day at Hanse Spirit was really packed, I took the time to attend a one-hour tasting organised by Kammer-Kirsch. Our host on this beautiful afternoon was Stefan Bohn. He presented the five drams from Arran in a really outstanding way (more…)
Hanse Spirit 2017 – Explore the liquid life (Event)
From February 17 to 19, Northern Germany’s biggest whisk(e)y and spirits fair, Hanse Spirit, took place in Hamburg – for the seventh time in a row. Needless to say that the BarleyMania gang did not think twice about going there. (more…)
Douglas Laing’s Best Casks 2017 – Tasting (Event)
Scheduled for one hour and hosted by Thomas Kretschmer from Douglas Laing’s German importer Bremer Spirituosen Contor, the “Douglas Laing’s Best Casks 2017” masterclass at Hanse Spirit introduced us to five precious drams (more…)
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