Just before we officially launched ‘That Boutique-y Whisky Company’ in the UK (and beyond), we packed up the Mini Malt Mobile (aka Ben's car, complete with boxes upon boxes of Scotch whisky, suitcases, and a ukulele), piled in, and took to the motorways and Channel to get to Maltstock, a yearly whisky festival in the Netherlands.

Pitched as "the relaxed whisky weekend" it is—indeed—"relaxing". Akin to a summer camp for whisky enthusiasts, the weekend is packed with music, bonfires, whisky masterclasses, whisky-themed games, a whisky quiz, and a veritable overdose (if that can be said) of food and friends. This was our third year in attendance, and believe me, it lives up to the hype. By the end, we were all a bit like newborn fawns: blinking in the sun and staggering gingerly about the place. We've got a flock of photos below to give you, dear reader, a taste of some of the activities to be had. A picture is worth a thousand words, they say…

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It’s official – Maltstock is Awesome.

I mean, last year’s event was really, really good, but this year it kicked up a gear in every conceivable way. Having sung the praises of the event to Neil from Caskstrength, we decided to go to the event together, and resolved to deliver a masterclass on some of our favourite whiskies from closed distilleries.

Having set off for the drive from Tunbridge Wells to Dover in ‘plenty of time’, we managed to miss the ferry like a complete pair of rejects (well, one reject, and an immaculately dressed man in Crepe Soled Shoes at any rate). Having secured passage on the next available ferry, we settled in at Dover for the wait. After what seemed like an eternity, our Ferry arrived, and we boarded. After ascertaining that there was nothing of interest in the Duty Free Shop, we repaired to shoot Zombies (we couldn’t find a ‘boy in care’ to help us out, and were consequently killed reasonably soon). More...

As many of you will remember, a Master of Malt contingent attended last year’s Maltstock event, and had an absolute whale of a time – read all about it here...

The Maltstock Sharing Table

Maltstock is coming again, and in under 2 weeks’ time, I’ll be making my way over there with the irrepressible Neil Ridley (from off of that there www.caskstrength.net), a car full of Master of Malt goodies, my responsible drinking boots, and my iPhone charger. Must take the iPhone charger (I figure if I keep writing it, there’s at least a 50% chance I’ll actually remember this time). More...

In one word? Awesome.

You want more than that you say?

It’s kind of hard to know where to begin. The events of the weekend before last have all converged into a bit of a blur. Not so much because of the alcohol, but rather the simply dizzying array of tastings, masterclasses, quizzes, meals and world-class whiskies which were thrust upon us over the course of the weekend… yet with all the activity, we came away feeling really rather impressed at just how relaxed and informal the weekend managed to be. More...

In September of last year, Overasselt, a once peaceful Dutch village, was alight with the warmth and revelry of a happy, if slightly raucous bunch of whisky connoisseurs from all over Europe. Drams were raised for an entire weekend filled with masterclasses, tastings, wholesome food and great music. We are, of course, talking about Maltstock!

We’ve posted this to announce that a contingent from Master of Malt will be heading up on Friday 3rd September to take part in this year’s malty madness. We’ve sent a crack team of whisky aficionados, armed to the teeth with Master of Malt bottlings and, naturally, a good selection of our 3cl drams. More...