Raj Sabharwal, of Purple Valley Imports, Whisky Importer of the Year 2013, led a very informative World Whiskies in the Blind tasting in Providence on May 21st at the Waterman Grille.

Last night’s, World Whiskies in The Blind tasting, led by Raj Sabharwal from Purple Valley Imports, was a great success. We tasted six great whiskies from four countries: Australia – Sullivan’s Cove Double Cask; England – English Whisky Company Classic;  India – Amrut Single Malt and Amrut Fusion; and from Scotland – Glenglassaugh Revival and Blackadder Smoking Islay.  And we also raised $75 for Operation Stand Down Rhode Island – bringing our total raised for 2013 to $375, and cumulative total since 2012 to $775.

It’s in the Bag. The six whiskies are in their bags ready for pouring. Having a blind tasting was a new experience for many people.

Quite a few people were impressed by just how good these world whiskies were. One attendee’s comment was “if this whisky is from India, I’ll cut a vein”. Luckily this warning gave us enough time to remove the sharp objects in his vicinity,  since in fact what he was tasting was the Amrut Fusion distilled and aged in Bangalore, India. Because the aging conditions of the world whiskies are so different from Scotland, more than a few people were baffled by both the location but also the age of the whisky. However one smart taster was able to correctly guess 4 of the 6 whiskies and won a set of Amrut tasting glasses for her prowess.

Here is a preview of our upcoming events:

June 18th – American Craft Distiller’s Tasting and Panel discussion with Herman Mihalich, founder of Dad’s Hat Rye, Chris Weld, founder of Berkshire Mountain and Daniel Khan, Northeast ambassador for WhistlePig. Tickets will go on sale shortly.

July 9th – Rum tasting featuring Brent Ryan, Distiller at Thomas Tew. We’ll be tasting a selection of Rums showcasing different styles and regions of rum. This will be a fun event and hopefully we’ll be outside if the weather cooperates.

Aug 13th – Canadian Whisky Tasting and Book Event. Award-winning author, David de Kergommeaux, will lead a discussion and tasting of Canadian Whiskies. All attendees will receive a copy of Davin’s book – Canadian Whisky: The Portable Expert. Many of the whiskies scheduled for tasting are not often available in Rhode Island or Massachusetts. Additional copies of his book will be available for purchase and signing.

Thank you again for your support, suggestions and help in making WhiskyRI such a success. -t