A busy period of travel continued as I headed to the beautiful quarter of Neve Tzedek in Tel Aviv, Israel towards the end of last month to promote the Glenfiddich Age of Discovery Madeira Cask Finish and also host a Burns' Night dinner for selected guests later on in the week.

There was a great amount to do in a short period of time during my time in Israel. I hosted eight whisky masterclasses for 280 participants across trade and television, including tasting sessions for the selected guests. Events such as these are extremely important in helping to spread to the word of Glenfiddich, but the knowledge and enthusiasm of our guests never fails to impress.

As always, I met some fantastic people and shared some great stories over lunch. We held tastings for our core range including our 12, 15, 18 and 21 Year Old, not to mention our main event; The Age of Discovery Madeira Cask Finish. All went down a treat!

The AOD is pleasingly dry with a sweet warmth, possessing a deep earthy aroma of sweet ripe figs and orange marmalade. The texture is silky smooth, rich and spicy and packed with earthy notes.  

I stayed in the city for the remainder of the week to host a dinner and tasting event for the annual Burns Night festivities on the 25th. It was organised for CEO's at a historic spot near the Sea of Galilea. Fittingly, the venue was stayed was called the Scots Hotel, a stunning old building built by a Scotsman in the 18th century. You couldn't have asked for a better location!

We had a fantastic night, with traditional Scottish music and delicacies on offer. Next up, I'll be be heading to the USA for a tour of Texas, before heading to Las Vegas and New York.