From cocktails to whisky, the Spirits Academy has educational programmes to help you gain a deeper understanding of the whisky-making, tequila-making, liqueur-making processes and so much more.
Below is a brief overview of the types of training and education we offer.
The Scotch Whisky Experience
The Scotch Whisky Experience is a training module designed by the team at Spirits Academy to give further understanding on the different Scotch whisky categories. Along the way the team will educate you on the raw materials used to make blended, blended malt & single malts.
The Whisky Experience session will break down some of the key decisions made at distilleries today, such as water type & quality, barley varietals, fermentation, still shapes or sizes & quality of casks.
The Macallan Premium Educational
The Macallan Premium Educational session is an exceptional training experience designed to showcase The Macallan & why it is a luxury brand within the Scotch Single malt category.
During the training session the Ambassador will take the selected participants through the story of The Macallan from its rich history to its six key pillars & guiding principles that make The Macallan the world no.1 whisky by value.
Topics covered:
- The Macallan history
- The location of The Macallan & why it is a Highland Single Malt
- The Macallan’s six key pillars
- The story of oak casks – The single most contributor to flavour & character.
- The Macallan Sampling (12yo DC, 12yo SO, 15yo DC & 18yo DC)
The LOUIS XIII Cognac Experience
The LOUIS XIII Experience is an educational session designed to showcase the story of LOUIS XIII Cognac & why it is a luxury brand within the Cognac category.
During the educational session, the Ambassador will take you through the story of LOUIS XIII Cognac experiencing the journey of time & how time has crafted such an amazing luxury brand.
Topics covered:
- LOUIS XIII Cognac History
- What is Cognac?
- Why it is the ultimate expression of time.
- What Makes LOUIS XIII Cognac so special?
- Sampling LOUIS XIII Cognac
Highland Park Educational
The Highland Park Whisky Educational session is a premium whisky experience designed to showcase the story or Highland Park whilst also showcasing its region & concept behind “A Wild Harmony” however never forgetting its current story of being a Single malt scotch whisky at present.
During the training session, the Ambassador will take the selected participants through the story of Highland Park from its location to five principles that make this whisky truly unique.
Topics covered:
- Highland Park history
- The Highland Park Distillery & its location in Orkney
- The raw materials used to make such an award-winning whisky.
- The 5 keystones of Highland Park
- Highland Park sampling (12yo, 15yo, 18yo & Mjolner)
Breaking Ground
Breaking Ground showcases the story, terroir & climate of the Rémy Cointreau portfolio & can be captured in as much or as little detail as desired by the customer.
Each session has been specifically designed to showcase how soil, terroir, minerals & varietals have created a unique flavour in spirits.
Each brand below shares not only a story of its history but also its origin & terroir, through breaking the ground we are able to extract minerals, and how these minerals & soil locations give our brands their distinctive flavour & character. Brands covered include the Bruichladdich Distillery Company portfolio of whiskies & gin, Mount Gay Rum, Rémy Martin Cognac, St Rémy & METAXA Brandy and Cointreau Orange Liqueur.
Topics covered:
- The brand story.
- The location or terroir of that distillery
- Varietals of raw materials & how the ground has generated flavour.
- Locational understanding & differences
- Differences in category
- Samplings of brands & categories
Apericena (Aperitivo)
This course more of a tasting journey. Bartenders are invited to attend an afternoon of Italian cocktails, whilst enjoying some light delights from Italy. Apericena meaning (plural apericene) an informal evening meal involving aperitives & tapas style food.
The objective is to select Italian bartender friendly accounts in which showcase classic Aperitivo pairing foods & match a selection of these foods with a pop bar experience based on Italian brands from the Spirits Platform portfolio.
The Ambassador will create cocktails such as the Disaronno Sour, Select Spritz, Venetian Negroni, Villa Massa & Tonic & the Montenegroni.
Ancestral Agave (Tequila & Mezcal) Masterclass
This is an immersive educational training session covering the story & history of Agave & it’s use; within this session we will explore tequila & mezcal showcasing the unique differences of each spirit.
The brands featured within this session include Sierra Tequila de Mexico, Mijenta and Tres Tribus.
Topics covered:
- History of Agave & Mezcal
- The Tequila category
- The Mezcal category
- Production of Tequila & mezcal
- Sampling of Sierra, Mijenta & Tres Tribus
Chartreuse 1605
The Chartreuse liqueurs are named after the “Ordre des Chartreux” as the Carthusian Order is known in French, which is itself named after the place where Bruno and his seven companions decided to settle in 1084: the “Desert” of Chartreuse.
They built a hermitage in these austere mountains to live in solitude together, in prayer and contemplation in the silence of the monastery. Over the years, the Carthusians used plants for their therapeutic properties. Thanks to their reputation as apothecaries, in 1605 at the Vauvert monastery in Paris, the Maréchal d’Estrées entrusted them with a manuscript containing a mysterious recipe composed of 130 plants, flowers, roots, berries and bark which could be used to produce an elixir for “long life”.
1605… a symbolic date as it marks the start of the Carthusians’ research…
The Carthusian fathers were charged with working on the recipe contained in the manuscript and finding the most perfect elixir possible. This quest lasting over one and a half centuries resulted in a final product established in 1764 called the “Elixir Végétal de la Grande-Chartreuse”. It was rapidly distributed to the local populations as a remedy, especially during the cholera epidemic in 1832. The recipe for the Elixir has remained unchanged ever since 1764.
Over the course of these years, the monks’ knowledge enabled them to develop the elixir. In 1840, Green Chartreuse, also called “liqueur de Santé”, or “health liqueur”, was developed, based on the basic recipe for the Elixir Végétal. In the same year, a recipe for a new, sweeter, yellow-coloured liqueur was developed using the same set of plants from the manuscript. This was yellow Chartreuse, which would become known as “Reine des liqueurs”.
Therefore, the date of 1605 is probably the most symbolic in the history of Chartreuse liqueurs, as this is the date when it all started. It still appears on all bottles of Chartreuse and is a key element of the identity of the Carthusian fathers’ liqueurs.
Please reach out to our Brand Ambassador team for your educational needs.
