The first German Whisky Conference (Whisky Konferenz) took place in Hannover yesterday. It was organized by Clemens Dillmann, owner of software house HBB and whisky.de, the biggest German online community for all things whisky related.
In its inaugural year about 40 visitors attended the conference. Around 70% of these were whisky retailers. The other attendants were members of the spirits industry and a small fraction represented the bar business.
Sponsors of the event were Dewar, Highland Park and Kilbeggan. Naturally the speakers of some of the slots were John Cashman (Cooley Distillery) and Hendrik Schatz (Borco), Michael Unkel (Maxxium Germany) and Adam Dittrich (Bacardi Germany). Headliner was renowned Ian Baxton of World Whisky Conference. Here’s an overview of the seminars (German only):
www.whiskykonferenz.de/programm.htm
Clemens had asked me to talk about whisky in bars. In my speech I did a raw sketch of how whisky categories (Irish, Blended Scotch, Single Malt, Bourbon, Rye), are used in German bars. As the scribbling of a lot of people in the audience showed, this was new to many.
I got a lot of questions during my speech. There seems to be a big gap in the understanding of premium bars on one hand and specialized whisky wholesalers on the other. I suggested to the whisky wholesalers to get involved with the bars more colsely. As I had learned from a recent WSET course by Mark Ridgwell in Amsterdam, most whisky menus in bars are poorly stocked. Most bars just copy the menus of other bars and list major brands, they consider neccessary.
The whisky wholesalers weren’t convinced. They told me, that the fluctuation was too high in the bar business to achieve lasting sales. Some of them had tried trainings – without any sales effects. Still they all seemed to look for the key to more sales in bars. Both sides should talk more to each other. After all it’s the wholesalers who dig out niche stuff like good rye where the big corporate companies turn their heads in neglect.
All in all, the Whisky Konferenz was a success in its first year. If this grows, which I feel confident about, it could develop into something very valuable for the trade. Next year I personally would love to see more international involvement and more spirits companies at the conference. A broad mix of small and big players will make the event a winner for all parties involved and attending.
Link (German only unfortunately):
www.whiskykonferenz.de
Helmut Adam
Helmut Adam ist Herausgeber von Mixology, Magazin für Barkultur, trinkt gerne Negronis, Tequila und den einen oder anderen Gin & Tonic. Bevor er sich zum Bar Manager an der Mixology Bar aufschwang, arbeitete er als Bartender in Zürich, Wien, Berlin und London.
