Host Your First Whisky Social

A Whisky Social isn't a tasting. There's no scoring, no notes, no one at the front telling everyone what they should be finding. It's a few people, a few bottles, plenty of ice and an evening that goes wherever it goes.

Here's how we'd set one up.

Keep the numbers small

Six to eight is the sweet spot. Enough for the conversation to split and reform, few enough that everyone is still in the same room rather than three separate ones.

Two or three bottles, not ten

Range beats volume. Something light, something rich, and if you can, something smoky. Three whiskies with real distance between them will tell people far more about their own taste than a shelf of near neighbours.

All four sodas out

Pure & Natural, Grapefruit & Gorse, Apple & Heather and Ginger & Honey, lined up and open to everyone. The point of the evening is that people find their own combination rather than drinking the one you chose for them.

More ice than you think

Always the thing people underestimate. Buy more than seems reasonable and keep it somewhere cold (or actually, in the freezer) until the moment it's needed.

Let people build their own

Pour the first one for everybody so they can see how it goes together. After that, stand back. People are far more interested in a drink they made themselves.

Feed them

Nothing elaborate. Something salty on the table keeps everyone upright and turns drinks into an actual evening.

Don't run it

No agenda, no order of service, no moment where you tap a glass. The whisky and the sodas do the work. Your job is ice, glasses and getting out of the way.

That's it. That's your first Whisky Social.

Discover and share your perfect whisky and Spey Soda pairings @speysoda.

Explore whisky your way. Life's short. Mix well.