Whisky Society FAQ
How It All Works!
Can I just show up if I'm interested?
Yes! We're always happy to see new faces! Feel free to drop by for any of our events, hang out and see if whisky and the Uisge Beatha Whisky Society are for you!
What's gonna be on the bar?
Each week we'll put up a random selection of 10 bottles from our stock plus 2 spares in case a couple of bottles get killed off. You can check out what's going to be on the bar here and you can check out what's in stock here.
In addition we have a range of "feature" bottles available as well. See below for details!
We also do occasional blind tastings and other special events which are announced on our mailing list
How often and when do you have events?
Unless we're all sick or dying or the studio is closed we meet every single week. We alternate between Fridays and Wednesdays. Usually the bar opens at 6:30pm on either day. To get add the UBWS event calendar to yours simply join our Google group. For special events also check our calendar page here.
Where do I find you?
We almost always meet at the Layout Bar (FAB, 1st floor). Check our calendar here for details.
Will it cost me anything?
Unfortunately, yes. It's one of the worlds great injustices, really, but whisky simply ain't free.
Will it cost me an arm and a leg?
Most certainly not! In fact it's absurdly cheap!
We only ask for a double-sawbuck as a contribution for the night!!! Can you resist the thought of nearly unlimited delicious drams for the price of a Hamilton and a Lincoln? Can you???
What do you do with the money?
We spend it all! No really, we do. And we spend it on you! Some of the money is spent on restocking beer and snacks. Most of it is spent on whisky.
We have a monthly committee meeting, usually on the 3rd Thursday of the month, which is open to anybody who wants to participate. We figure out how many bottles we can afford and vote on what to buy. Usually it's a mix of promising new bottles with a few old favorites thrown in.
We also set aside about a bottle's worth of money for the "feature" budget. We buy feature bottles roughly every other month. These are more unique, rare or expensive bottles and they are reserved for members only.
Any leftover cash rolls over into the next month. Not that we ever have much leftover cash.
Check our calendar for committee meetings. The committee meetings are on the DW Google calendar as well. Please contact Jim Leuper if you would like to be added to those.
Where do you buy your whisky?
We buy from many sources including local stores, online retailers and even from international sources. We always do careful research and try to find the cheapest source possible so that we can offer our guests and members the most bang for their buck.
You can see our reviews of the stores and online sources we use most often here.
What are those feature bottles again?
Our monthly stock bottle purchases are somewhat constrained by the need to provide not only adequate quality but also adequate volume. This is not the case when it comes to the features. Here we have the opportunity to purchase bottlings of a more unique, rare and usually expensive nature.
Feature bottles are limited to 1oz per person per feature. Once we feel everybody has had a fair shot at it we will either reset it for another round or, if it was less than successful, we may roll it into our regular stock
You can see all of our features here.
What are blind tastings?
About once a month we'll organize a blind tasting. One of us picks a bottle from our stock or brings in a new bottle and we'll all taste it, rate it and try to guess what it might be. It's quite revealing, educational and lots of fun to rate whiskies without knowing what they are and where they're from. Once everybody has had their dram of the blind we ask everybody to give their opinion and wrap it all up by revealing of the bottle.
You can see all the blind tastings we've had here. And here's a chart of our blinds ranked by blind ratings.
Ratings? But I'm no expert!
Neither are we. It's just for fun. No pressure.
We require ratings for blinds and features. But anybody can rate anything else they try if they want to.
All ratings are collected and show up on the web page. The ratings show up on the pages of the rated whiskies and they're the basis of the many charts on our site.
Once you start rating whiskies you'll even automatically get your own personal page where you can see which whiskies you have liked more than others and even who among us shares your tastes.
If you have questions about how to rate whiskies we'll be happy to answer all your questions.
Check out our big chart of all rated whiskies ever (blind and non-blind ratings combined).
Do you have a website?
Uh, yes. You're looking at it!
How about a mailing list?
We do have a Google group where we announce our events and related news.
Keep it safe. Taste moderately. Take a cab.