This Saturday, May 21, is World Whisky Day.
Founded in 2012 by Blair Bowman, a then-student at the University of Aberdeen in Scotland, this drinking holiday falls on the third Saturday of May each year.
Approximately a quarter of a million people participate annually, either through events registered on the World Whisky Day website or through social media using the hashtag #worldwhiskyday.
How can you celebrate?
There are no rigid rules. You can host a tasting for friends, bring out the big guns at a barbecue, or perhaps pick up a bottle of something new.
You’re not married to Scotch either (even though you may wish you were). Check out a liquor store with a superior whiskey section and walk the long wall admiring all the amber offerings. You can choose from a variety of Irish, Canadian, or even bourbon whiskeys with which to toast this sweet, smoky holiday. With the rise of artisanal distilling, Colorado can offer such brands as Feisty, Black Canyon, Breckenridge, and Mystic Mountain for your WWD enjoyment.
At face value, World Whisky Day is all about getting together with friends and family, and appreciating one of life’s great liquid pleasures. However, this malted merriment has grown from a mere celebration of spirits to a worldwide charitable call to action to aid those without access to safe drinking water.
This year, WWD is helping the Just a Drop charity raise money to aid the people of Kalima South village in Kenya.
In Kalima, Just a Drop will transform the lives of 4,349 people with a program designed to bring clean and safe water to the community and develop sustainable agriculture through the building of a sand dam and shallow well to provide year-round water. This water will then be used to implement a food production and security program which promotes soil and water conservation, climate-smart agriculture to boost yields, a seed bank project, and a 1,500 tree nursery.
If you would like to help the people of Kalima South, join World Whisky Day and make a contribution to Just a Drop at their website, www.justadrop.org.