IWA OPEN DAY @ Feis Ile 2023

THUR 1 JUNE RHINNS HALL Portnahaven

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10.00 – 18.00 MUSIC MAGIC MARVELLOUS SCOTCH LOVE LAUGHTER + SCONES

10. 30 LEARN THE LANGUAGE OF SCOTCH

Scotch whisky may be easy on the tongue, but their Gaelic names can be a challenge! Come along to the Language of Scotch workshop and learn the foundations of the Gaelic language – through a whisky perspective.

We’ll explore the linguistic background of place names and how to pronounce the Gaelic names of distilleries. Using the Gaelic flavour wheel specially created by Rachel MacNeill, sample three single malts and learn how to talk about aroma notes in Gaelic.

Walk away with a foundational knowledge of the language of Scotch and how to apply it to whiskies like “Bunnahabhain Stiuireadair” and “Ardbeg Uigeadail”!

Gaelic Language rhythms and patterns paired with perfect drams.

No prior knowledge of Gaelic necessary – this workshop is welcome to all whisky enthusiasts.

10.30 am THURS 1 JUNE RHINNS HALL. Failte! 18 + only

12.15 PM

COURTING THE DRAM WORKSHOP

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Dive head-first into a sensory discovery of whisky aromas. Through a guided immersion into five unique whiskies, you are invited to explore the possibilities of sensation and deconstruct the dram.

Featuring interactive exercises, thought experiments, and engaging discussions, you will be challenged to develop your nosing and tasting skills. Together, we will explore 16 items, such as cream, peat, banana, and wool, and use them as a sensory frame of reference when encountering new whiskies throughout the workshop.

Get to know the systems we use to personify whisky, for example top/heart/base notes, length, and body. By applying patterns in we find in whisky flavours and textures, learn how to “sight read” a dram with just a sniff.

With a focus on our bodies and the element of time in relation to whisky, let us coax out the secrets from the water of life together.

And, above all, fall in love with Scotch!

13.30 Ceol Mor & Scotch Experience

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The structure of a good whisky and the structure of Ceol Mor are essentially similar.

Listen to four distinct piping tunes, matched with 4 distinct whiskies.

Discuss how the flow of each dram corresponds with the flow of each tune.

What is Ceol Mor? Pipe tunes, specifically Big Music. Piobaireachd is created from the sounds of blood pumping in our veins, the beat of our heart, the sounds of the wind and the waves, the sounds of our land and language. The atmosphere of our emotions.

In musical structure, piobaireachd is a theme with variations.

This is similar to whisky making – production has it rules, but each distillery creates it’s whisky within the parameters of that landscape.

Q: I have heard the same tune played differently by several pipers; why is that?

Piobaireachd has its rules. Imagine these rules as a framework (much like a whisky)

Within that framework pipers are free to express themselves as they like, hence differences in expression.

Enjoy learning about these frameworks in Piping and Scotch Whisky.

Join us for Ceol Mor & Scotch.

15.15 – 17.15 WHISKY & WITCHES SHOW ~ £65

Be immersed in a Mystical, Magical, Musical Experience.

Hear haunting songs exploring Scottish and Nordic Mythology.

Experience an immersive tasting, exploring 6 X Single cask drams, 5 from Spiritfilled, 1 private single cask from Islay.

Through tasting SIX SPECTACULAR AND RARE Single Cask whiskies … Travel with us to the realms where folklore, whisky and mystical music meet in perfect harmony. Stimulating all your senses to enjoy the ultimate experience.

Behind Whisky & Witches we find the team: singer-songwriter and whisky experience ambassador Christine Kammerer, and whisky aficionado and owner of the whisky bar The Mother Superior Bar, Jane Ross.

The Whisky and Witches Show has a few EXTRA surprises for you, too.

We look forward to sharing the MAGIC with you.

Come along and be ENCHANTED

Tasting Show lasts approx 2 hours.