If Whisky is on your Christmas shopping list then add a bottle of award-winning Harrogate Spring Water because the two go together like Christmas pudding and brandy sauce, according to one of the UK’s leading Whisky experts.
Harrogate Spring – the British Bottlers’ Institute gold award winner for the last three years – is the perfect partner for Whisky because of its consistent clean, pure taste, said Eddie Ludlow, founder and managing director of The Whisky Lounge, which is based in York.
Eddie has recently been inducted into the membership of Keepers of the Quaich, an exclusive society of Scotch Whisky connoisseurs. He is also a judge with the International Wine and Spirit Competition, the UK-based organisation that sets the benchmark for quality across the globe.
Eddie said:
It’s great that our York enterprise for the ‘water of life’ has found the perfect water partner in Yorkshire. Certain whiskies benefit from a little added water and we have found Harrogate Spring’s balanced taste profile to be just right and the most reliable choice. It brings out the quality in Whisky when a wee dram needs a splash of water to enhance the taste experience.
Harrogate Spring marketing manager Nicky Cain said:
We are proud of Harrogate Spring and when someone with the international acclaim as Eddie commends us, with such enthusiasm, it is something special. We are privileged to be custodians of the 450-year history of the UK’s first spa and original bottled water.
Harrogate is pure spring water sourced from a protected conservation area and is characterised by its exceptionally clean and well-rounded taste. Its neutral pH level and balanced mineral composition provide an optimum, ‘refreshing’ drink with no chalkiness. It does not cloud the palate which makes it perfect for pairing with food.
The Whisky Lounge was founded in 2008 with a mission to “bring Whisky to the people” through special organised tastings. The Whisky Lounge team hold a range of events, festivals and schools the length and breadth of Britain, including around eight tastings a month in London alone.
Eddie was inducted into the Keepers of the Quaich at a ceremony at Blair Castle in Perthshire. Membership is by invitation only and the society has a worldwide membership of only 2,500. New members must have at least five years’ experience and have made a notable contribution to the Scotch Whisky industry.
The International Wine and Spirit Competition, of which Eddie is a judge, sets the world benchmark for wine and spirits and its bronze, silver and gold IWSC award notations are often to be found on bottles of wines and spirits bought in shops in the UK.
