Teacher, hard rocker and tastings, tastings, tastings

Hi Anki, thanks so much for agreeing to this interview, so tell us a little bit about yourself?

I´m a 42 yrs old tattooed preschool-teacher. Married and mother of two sons. Sings and play the guitar. Love to have friends over for something to drink and eat. Love music festivals with a little heavier music but do like most music ……

Run my own small firm – Taste Events by Wolfmoon – where I offer tastings of different distillates. Mostly whisky.  I paint and write music. I´m interested in history, leadership and reading. Like fantasy and SF movies.  If someone told me a few years ago that I would be extremely interested in how the machines in factory (distillery) works I would have ROFLOL…… Now I´m dead serious. How big is that mashtun? 😉

Do you remember the first ever dram you tried?

Not the first – but does Chivas, Glenfiddich and Famous Grouse ring a bell?  What knocked me off my feet was a Swedish Mackmyra private reserve cask non peated sherry!!!! After that nothing was the same – bye bye blended!!!! Or not, but then I started to taste more and more whiskies and now I try 300-400 different whisk(e)ys a year.

Where would you like your whisky knowledge to take you?  Do you think it will always be a passion of yours?

I have a dream about being a Brand Ambassador.  Maybe in Bourbon since I think more and more people will explore and experience Bourbon in the future. But it would need to be something I like ….. I don´t have a good poker face!  I wouldn’t mind working with Gordon & MacPhail! What knowledge they have!

What is your favourite whisky/distillery and why?

It alters over time, always love a peated one (am I Swedish?). Bunnahabhain has surprised me the last few years and older Glen Grant´s as well. Japanese and world whisky like Swedish Mackmyra and upcoming Box, Dutch Millstone and Danish Braunstein are interesting.  I have shares in private casks in those distilleries. I would love to have a share in French Kornog. Anyone want to join?

Have you had the opportunity to visit many distilleries? If so, what were they and what did you enjoy most/least about it.

Not so many (Mackmyra, Hven, Braunstein, BenRiach, Benromach and Glen Moray) but what is boring is when the information is just delivered to you, a great personality in the guide makes all the difference. Michael Braunstein is one inspiration.  And warehouse tastings – I like that!

How much have you used social networking Twitter etc. for whisky?

Have my Facebook page – Taste Events by Wolfmoon – connected to Twitter (@ulvmane).

My blog Mrs.WolfmoonsWhisky on wordpress as well and I have a homepage called TasteEventsbyWolfmoon.n.nu

What is your favourite whisky memory/achievement?

Right now it´s my certification “Tutor of Fine Spirits” which I got at the end of October in Elgin after a weekend visiting Gordon & MacPhail and Benromach.  Michael Urqhart signed the diploma and I passed with distinction.  No one can ever take that away from me. And my classmates voted me “best in class” so I won a trip to Normandy and Coeur the Lion estate to learn more about Calvados! I´m honoured and proud!  And to get to taste the Greedy Angels bottling from Amrut at Maltstock 2013. What a treat!

It’s almost a new year, do you have anything special planned for 2014?

Tastings, tastings, tastings ….. Both giving and attending.  Maltstock and meeting lots of new and old Whisky friends out there!  We are a Universal Family!

If you could own any bottle in the world, which would you pick and why?

A Yamazaki sherrycask or a Glen Grant from 1955. The first opened the world of sherry to me and the other the world of older whisky! Great teachers both of them!

Just for fun……

Rock or Pop?

Rock – Rammstein, Rob Zombie and Anthrax! (Great choice of music)

Heels or trainers?

Trainers

Baths or showers?

Baths for hours with lots of hot water to fill in as it cools down! And a dram of course!

Cats or Dogs?

None of the above!

And that concludes the interview, thank you, it was really interesting.

Kirsty Clarke (@kirstypryde1)