Join a global panel of producers and category experts as we explore the concept of terroir in spirits.
Event details
Webinar
Terroir, that ephemeral sense of soil, crop, biome and the personal imprint that each producer can impart into a wine is a well-trodden path of debate and discovery. But when you subject a fermented liquid to the violent transformational process of distillation, can this concept survive through to the bottled spirit?
Join a global panel of producers and category experts as we explore the concept of terroir in spirits. We will be speaking to Dawn Davies MW, Speciality Drinks, Benoit Bail-Danel, Rhum Depaz, and Jesse Estes, Tequila Ocho, as well as featuring an introduction to Nonino Distillery from Francesca Nonino.
This session is aimed at those who have completed their Level 2 Award in Spirits
Speakers
Charlie McCarthy, Business Development Manager EMEA (Spirits), WSET
Charlie McCarthy joined WSET in October 2019, having worked for many years as a consultant to spirit brands and high-end venues. With a career as a cocktail bartender stretching back to 2004, Charlie learned his craft behind some of London’s best bars, going on to develop a specialism in event bartending, where his imaginative approach and relaxed delivery earned him a stint as UK brand ambassador for Hendrick’s Gin, in turn leading to more advocacy and consultancy work for brands such as Grey Goose, Bombay Sapphire, Glenfiddich and Glendalough. With a wealth of experience delivering master classes throughout Europe, training bartenders in 5-star hotel bars from Washington DC to Mexico, and designing cocktail menus, for World Duty Free, Tullamore DEW & many high-profile international bar openings. Charlie is qualified to deliver WSET spirits qualifications up to the Level 3 Award in Spirits, and is delighted to champion WSET spirits qualifications.
Benoit Bail-Danel, Brand Ambassador, Rhum Depaz
As entrepreneur in the rum industry for over a decade, Benoit has created his own rum brand and became a brand ambassador for agricole rhum brands from Martinique, Guadeloupe, French Guyana and the whole Agricole Rhum category. Benoit also created the largest French speaking rum forum on the internet and started one of the biggest rum shows in the city of Bordeaux in 2018.
Jesse Estes, Global Brand Ambassador, Tequila Ocho
Jesse Estes is a London-based spirits educator, author, and former award-winning bartender. He has worked behind the bar at a number of award-winning venues across London, as well as performing guest bartending shifts around the world. During that time, he won several of cocktail competitions and since then has acted as a judge and chairman for various cocktail competitions and spirits awards, including Drinks International's International Spirit Challenge and the Tequila Masters. He is often consulted as an expert on agave spirits, and has been interviewed or featured in publications such as: Imbibe, Esquire, Shortlist, Spirits Business, Forbes and Drinks International, among others.
Jesse can currently be found leading seminars, tastings, and masterclasses on tequila and other agave spirits across the world in his role as Global Ambassador for Tequila Ocho. He is also the author of two cocktail books, Tequila Beyond Sunrise and From Dram to Manhattan, and regularly contributes articles to trade publications. Jesse is also a Founding Contributor for The Drinks Trust’s Drinks Community, as well as the Agave Spirits Curator for Spirits Kiosk, a craft online spirits retailer directed at discerning drinkers.
Dawn Davies MW, Head Buyer, Speciality Drinks
Dawn started her career working as a head sommelier at many of the capitals top restaurants, including the Ledbury which Dawn opened and ran for two years. Afterwards she joined Selfridges as the head wine and spirits buyer where she achieved her Master of Wine. Dawn joined Speciality Drinks in 2015 as their head buyer, also running the Events team and their three shops.
This event does not necessarily constitute official WSET course material and should not be used as such.