A GLASGOW pub has teamed up with Experience Glasgow to launch a new practical hospitality course dedicated to making the world of whisky “simple” for bartenders and consumers.
The Gate, which is located in the city’s east end, will be hosting Whisky Wonderland in collaboration with Scottish Enterprise and and Clydeside Distillery as a series of educational sessions, aiming to educate and empower the hospitality trade to be able to talk about the national spirit with “passion and knowledge”.
The new course has been designed by whisky expert Andy Gemmell and his team at the modern Scottish pub, after research found that there was a lack of understanding into whisky amongst frontline hospitality staff.
Gemmell said: “Scotch Whisky is a vast category and can be overwhelming to bartenders and consumers.
“What we want to achieve with Whisky Wonderland is a session that will break down those barriers. It is built around being able to talk to your guests more confidently about Scotch, and ultimately be able to sell the right brand to your guests based on flavour.
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“Our goal is for every person that takes part in Whisky Wonderland to leave with a basic grasp on the category and the knowledge that they can now talk about whisky to their guests.”
The full day course starts off with a distillery tour of the Clydeside Distillery, before attendees are shuttled across to The Gate for lunch and an interactive three-hour session hosted by industry-leading whisky experts.
Content includes a sensory test into understanding different flavours and aromas, whisky styles by flavour, a session on how to sell whisky with confidence and how to mix Scotch.
The pilot run of the course will focus on Glasgow to begin with, with the intention of rolling out to the rest of the country in time. Usually costing £60, an introductory half-price of £30 per person has been set for the pilot sessions.
Sallyann Tindall, project manager at Scottish Enterprise said: “We’re excited to support the first interactive whisky course of its kind and work towards delivering on Glasgow’s Tourism and Visitor Plan to 2023. By investing and developing training resources, we can help to provide staff with specialist knowledge and insights which will improve the visitor experience.”
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