Launching Twhisky

A couple of days ago, Clutch and I came up with the idea of an online whisky tasting event using the increasingly popular Twitter platform.

In fact, what really happened was we just happened to think of the name Twhisky as a mash of Twitter and Whisky – and then frantically scrabbled for a half-decent idea that would suit it. And I think we found it.

It just so happens that Burns’ Night this year (25th January) is the 250th birthday of the Scottish poet Robert Burns. And it’s also the night we will launch the inaugural online tasting using the all-new Twhisky platform. We’ll tweet our tasting as we go, track responses and conversation between the online participants, and ‘toast the haggis’ (haggis optional).

We already have over 150 200 300 participants signed up around the world to take part in this historic online combined tasting and celebration of the poet. We hope you’ll join us too.

Whisky tastings online
Twhisky is a community of single-malt scotch whisky enthusiasts and newcomers who would like to enjoy a fun tasting event either at home or with friends, to share knowledge, stories and tasting opinions online. We’ll be hosting it and will explain the tasting process, share some interesting anecdotes (in 140 characters or less!) about the whiskies and hopefully make a few new friends along the way.

For this first event, Clutch and I will suggest three excellent malt whiskies that are easy to get hold of and are affordable. Twhisky participants can choose to purchase one, two or all three of the malts from their preferred supplier or local liquor outlet and join us online at 8pm UK time on Sunday 25th Jan for the tastings.

It is not compulsory to buy all three (or indeed any) of the whiskies in order to join in the fun. We’d be delighted to have you along.

We have already heard about some groups putting syndicates together in order to purchase all three and share the bottles and the cost. We think this is a great idea and hope that you’ll consider putting your own Twhisky event on with your friends in your town.

How do I join in?
If you’re not already a Twitter member, sign up here. Then visit the Twhisky profile page and click on the Follow link. It’s as easy as that.

After that, I recommend using a third-party twitter application such as Tweetdeck or Twhirl, but it’s certainly not necessary. Clutch doesn’t bother.

All you need to know is to visit the Twhisky page on the night (or the day, depending on your time zone) and we’ll see you there.

If you’d like to follow us individually as well, here are our Twitter profiles:
@dubber
@clutch

Our selections:
We have chosen the following three whiskies for the inaugural Twhisky tasting:

1. Aberlour 10 – a whisky from the Speyside region of Scotland;
2. Isle of Jura 10 year old – from the only distillery on Jura;
3. Laphroaig 10 – an Islay malt.

We’ve chosen these three not only for the ease of accessibility and affordability, but also for the range of flavours they represent, and the fact that they come from three quite different whisky-producing regions in Scotland. We also think it’s a great way to get from one end of the “whisky palate” to the other, without over-complicating the journey.

Also, we really love each of them for very different reasons – and they can be easily found in UK supermarkets and the better American liquor stores.

We are neither affiliated with Twitter nor with any of the brands we are recommending for this tasting event. We just like them and think it all works nicely together.