The first regulars' table after the lockdown was wonderful: The founders of the whiskey friends Oberland, Bernd Schrader and Stefan Brösel, were very happy about the meeting.
There will be a tasting soon.
Geretsried / Wolfratshausen - In 2015, on a whiskey evening at the Geretsried adult education center, the idea was born to meet regularly in cozy company, to exchange ideas about the noble distillate, new drops of the water of life - the whiskey takes its name from an old Scottish- Gaelic word for the "water of life" - to get to know and to discuss about God and the world.
The Whiskey Friends Oberland were born - and in the following years quickly made a name for themselves far beyond the city and district boundaries, from Munich to Kempten.
After Corona also brought its activities to an abrupt end, the sociable and informative gatherings should now take place more frequently again.
And a lot more, as the founders Bernd Schrader (63) and Stefan Brösel (44) explained in an interview with our employee Rudi Stallein.
Mr Schrader, Mr Brösel, you recently had the first regulars' table since the lockdown. How was it?
Bernd Schrader:
In one word: wonderful.
The whiskey was an interesting subject, too, and we really got grenades on the table.
But seeing people again after sometimes more than a year in which you only exchanged information by phone, WhatsApp or Facebook, that was the best thing the first time after the lockdown.
We really celebrated that.
Stefan Brösel:
Many were looking forward to the new start.
It is encouraging that more and more people from Munich are joining us.
How did you bridge the compulsory Corona break?
Schrader:
We tried online tastings.
In this way you can keep in touch and see each other.
But it also takes a lot of preparation.
We portioned samples beforehand, in 5 cl bottles, and sent them by post so that every participant had the same.
Brösel
: A good friend from Peiting, she has the largest whiskey bar in Upper Bavaria, and has also organized a rum event.
For me it was absolutely nothing.
There is simply a lack of that human element, that smell, that taste, that sitting opposite, that which we have in common.
Squatting in front of the screen was pure stress for me.
In the middle of the pandemic, Great Britain said goodbye to the EU. Which gave you more problems: the lockdown or the Brexit?
Brösel:
Clearly the Brexit. It caused big problems because as a long-time whiskey drinker you don't buy standard bottlings by mail order. We almost only buy bottlings directly from the distilleries, and small distilleries in particular have difficulties with customs clearance and all the bureaucratic work. You can no longer import other products such as cheese. We ordered cheese in Scotland, it comes waxed; It can easily withstand transport for two or three weeks, but it is no longer allowed to be imported.
Schrader:
What you also notice is an extreme price increase.
The whiskey doesn't necessarily cost more.
But the customs shipping, the handling, the whole process.
They all charge fees.
A price increase of 40 euros for an import from Scotland is now commonplace.
Brösel:
It's strange how the market has developed.
Eight-year-old whiskeys, which now cost 100 euros and even more, could easily be had for 47 or 48 euros six or seven years ago.
That exceeds the real estate increases by a lot.
Does this affect your meetings too?
Schrader
: Due to the lockdown, we haven't been to Scotland for the past year and a half.
We miss that.
But under Corona conditions I would not travel to the British Isles at the moment.
In autumn at the earliest or next year I will think about traveling again.
Brösel
: A bigger problem is being able to travel again, but having to go back with only one liter of alcohol.
If you take more with you, that's customs smuggling.
You used to come back with five or ten bottles in your suitcase.
Does that mean that the old stocks are gradually being restored?
Schrader
: Yes.
What is planned for the near future? Are there any changes after the long break?
Schrader:
The get-togethers should take place more often again, the next one is planned for August 27 in Wolfratshausen. But what will change in any case is the recruitment of young talent. So far I have offered the seminars "Introduction to the world of whiskey" twice a year through the adult education centers in Geretsried and Bad Tölz. They were in very good demand. These seminars have not taken place since autumn 2019 - and I will probably not take them up again. The effort that I would have to make after two years of stagnation has become too great for me.
Crumbs:
We are organizing a tasting on September 17th in the Landhaus-Café in Wolfratshausen.
The whiskey life is getting structure again (laughs).
And we want to try to do a charitable tasting once or twice a year, for a kindergarten or for the blackboard.
Because of Corona, we unfortunately had to cancel the last charity event in the Osiander bookstore, where we wanted to collect for the Tafel.
We want to revive something like that.
Nobody should think, the whiskey friends, they just sit there and drink a cup behind the bandage (laughs).
Free places for tasting
On Friday, September 17th, the Whiskey Friends Oberland are organizing a tasting in the Landhaus-Café in Wolfratshausen, for which a few places are still available.
The Distell Group's brand ambassador, Chantalle Seidler, will present some products from the three Scottish distilleries Bunnahabhain, Tobermory and Ledaig.
Admission costs 30 euros per person and it starts at 7.30 p.m.
Rudi Stallein
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