What it's like to... Be a whisky blender

He wants to dispel the myths surrounding the drink and encourage people who may not have tried much before to enjoy a few drams.

That's why Weekend was invited to take part in a blending workshop at the Hyatt Regency in Birmingham.

Some of our group of 12 were already whisky drinkers and others were very much newbies.

During the workshop we would learn more about what makes a good blend, how it is brought together and how different flavours can be created depending on its make-up.

You don't have to be much of a whisky drinker to take an interest in finding out why it's becoming increasingly popular with all age groups.

Eddie, who founded The Whisky Lounge in 2008, believes that people shouldn't be afraid of trying whisky and with so many different types and blends available, there is a drink for everyone.

"Our ethos is to turn everyone on to whisky – we think it's great.

"For me whisky is not just the spirit in the glass but the people who made it and the whole process involved – it all comes together. Normally a lot of years of blood, sweat and tears have gone into one whisky," he adds.

To start the session we were all given a sample of 18-year-old Chivas Regal to taste.

But before we got to drink it we had to smell the golden brown liquid by holding the glass a couple of inches below our nose.

This is because there can be 100 different flavour components so smelling it first makes it less of an assault on your tastebuds and therefore more enjoyable.

This one, we were told, should taste 'warm, soft and fruity'. It definitely felt warm as it slipped down the throat.

We could choose to add water if we preferred as we were told there was no right or wrong way to drink it with it all being down to personal taste.

Next up was a sample of Johnnie Walker Black Label – one of the most famous whiskies in the world. We were told to expect a 'peaty flavour'. Straight away we noticed a strong smoky taste as we took a small sip. There were mixed opinions of each drink we sampled and each one gained its own fans in the group.

Once we had finished sampling it was time to turn our attentions to creating our own unique blend.

Armed with five 50ml bottles of various single malts promising different flavours we had to find a combination that we liked the most.

We started with a single grain, described as 'clean and neutral' as a base before adding other components – the quantity depending on the overall flavour we were hoping to achieve.

We were asked to include some of each variety as we were coming up with our blend recipe.

Working together we sampled each of the single malts.

They were labelled as 'light and delicate', 'dried fruit and spice', 'fruity and floral' and 'intense and peaty'.

We had a go at making it in miniature first, before making up a 100ml batch. We decided we preferred the taste and smell of the dried fruit and spice so wanted to use a significant amount of this one and smaller quantities of the others. We only used a tiny bit of the 'peaty' one because we found it a bit too overpowering.

Choosing a name was hard but after much thought we went with Star and Spice to reference both the newspaper and also the spicy taste of our concoction.

Other names thought up by the group included The Peaty Blinder, All Night Blender and Smooth Brummie.

Eddie said all of the six creations were not bad but alas ours did not appear in his preferred top three – not really surprising given our lack of whisky knowledge before we started! The winner was Tall, Dark and Fruity and the blenders went home with a bottle of The Whisky Lounge's Dram 101.

The blending workshop is one of two courses available at The Whisky Lounge's Birmingham Whisky Festival on November 12 where hundreds of drams will be available. As we proved, you don't need to have any prior knowledge to take part.

It's a lot of fun and there is a lot of expert advice available along the way. It's also a good introduction to the world of whisky and gives you a better understanding of the amount of work that goes into each bottle.

The Whisky Lounge will also be running a 'beginners guide to whisky' class at the festival, which is aimed at people who are wanting to learn more and be better prepared for the rest of the day.

The Whisky Lounge's Birmingham Whisky Festival runs from 12pm to 5pm on November 12 at Birmingham Council House. A ticket includes entry to the festival, a Glencairn tasting glass, a bottle of water (for obvious purposes), a festival guide and all whiskies sampled in the main hall. There is also the chance to purchase 'under the counter' drams if you want to try some of the rare and more exclusive whiskies. For more information visit www.thewhiskylounge.com/event/birmingham-festival-2016

By Heather Large