When I strolled into the office in Jakarta Monday morning, straight from Singapore airport, the team were rather surprised to see a chirpy bright-eyed lass rather than a sorely hung-over miss.

Why such an expectation? The guys all knew I spent the weekend imbibing at Whisky Live Singapore and assumed much over-indulgence would have occurred.

The secret? I followed a ‘Whisky Live Survival Guide‘ regime recommended by a friend who has much more experience with such events than I.

It roughly goes along the following lines:

• Sniff to your heart’s content, sip, swish and swash merrily away but above all… spit don’t swallow!
• Hydrate, hydrate, hydrate… water more than aqua vitae is your friend
• Less is more… yes the temptation is there to try everything but after a point it all blurs… so go slow, take breaks, give up trying to sample all
• Select very carefully your full indulgences…
• Go early to explore at a leisurely pace, chatting with folks before the crowds inundate and inebriation changes the dynamic

This all seemed rather sensible advice. I’ve always been a quality over quantity kind of gal, more interested in the tasting adventure and conversation that goes along with the exploration than the effects of alcohol.

Perhaps a sacrilege to some – including a few whisky brand ambassadors – who gasped at my dumping, rinsing before repeating my sampling routine, however the approach served me well.

Surely others must adopt a similar strategy? I can’t imagine actually drinking all on offer! Fess up you whisky convention veterans!! How do you survive?

Some of the distilleries and independent bottlers featured at Whisky Live Singapore included:

• Amrut
  
• Balvenie
• Benromach
• Bruichladdich with the remarkable Black Art
• Dalmore
• Gordon & MacPhail
• Kavalan
• Lost Distillery with 7 whiskies!
• Nikka
• Old Pulteney Master Class with Andy Hannah
• Port Askaig
• Teeling
• Whisky vs Rum Master Class with Luca Gargano and Dave Broom

Plus some rare drams in the collectors room. Beyond whisky there were other discoveries too, such as Velier’s distinctive Clarin rums and stunning Hampden 2010 HLCF. And a convenient ‘Ladies Room‘ to escape for a few minutes of ‘down time’ before heading back into the sampling fray.

There were many highlights and the links above are to a few posts sharing various insights. Above all, it is the stories, meeting interesting people over the whisky fabric that was the most enjoyable.

I sincerely hope to be back next year and look forward to continuing explorations.

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