Herman & friends on May 5 (Liberation Day in Holland)

Herman has been a whisky explorer for some time now, hopping from tasting to tasting with an inexhaustable drive to explore the latest niches. My whisky tasting room is filled with seven whisky aficionados and six bottles.

A brothers’ reunion on May 12

Seven brothers embark on a Whisky Tour of Scotland. Aged in between 62  and 73 they hurry up the stairs as if still being in their boisterous youth. Yearly gatherings in one of their home towns have brought them to Tilburg.

A private tasting on May 16

Marcel wants to surprise his friends with a whisky tasting (without cigars). I travel down to the village of Goirle with all the whisky gear stuffed in my 2 seater Toyota. The porch beside the lawn is the perfect place to tour Scotland.

A local tasting on June 1

32 men and 2 ladies sit down on a Friday evening in the small Dutch village of Loon op Zand. The local off licence & wine merchant has provided me with his choice of whisky.

Whisky on water: Irish whiskeys on June 16

Whisky Advocate (Summer issue 2018) magazine triggered me to explore some new Irish whiskey kids on the block. My yearly Whisky on Water event in Tilburg would be the perfect time to present a surprising line up.

Gijs & friends, June 23

My friend Gijs manages to round up 11 whisky lovers every year for whatever reason. Either to soothe their curiosity for foreign spirits or quench their Saturday afternoon thirst. A ‘Juup’ (Jupiler beer) is the perfect appetizer for this group of young entrepreneurs before starting their tour of Japan.

Whisky on water: grain whiskies. July 1

I started this grain whisky tasting on an open barge last year after I had read about the rise of this underexposed mainly Lowland whisky and after I had tasted some unbelievable expressions. Here we go again in 2018: the ‘gathering of the grains part 2’.