We are pleased to present on our pages a new website, Whiskydo.com, a platform that will soon give you the opportunity to search for a whisky event anywhere in the world
and possibly buy its tickets. As simple as that!! In addition, you can register YOUR event/festival to attract more visitors. Absolutely amazing… maybe a bit crazy! Really!
Now it’s time to turn the floor over to Valentina Malcevschi, co-founder of the project, who willexplain exactly what Whiskydo is and how it works.

Hi Valentina! First of all, can you introduce yourself and your team to our readers? Hi everybody! Thank you for this opportunity, it’s a real pleasure to share what we’re doing with you. Our team is made up by Valter and Giovanni, our web developers, Matteo and Fabian by Glueglue design, working on the design of the website, Michele, SEO specialist and me and my husband Andrea, the founders of the project. We got into whisky after a wonderful whisky trip through the Speyside country and were whisky-obsessed ever since. Andrea is the content manager at Whiskydo, while I’m the project coordinator and brand manager, dealing mainly with the marketing and communication side of it.

Whiskydo: a simple and powerful name at the same time. How did it come out? We first thought of Whiskyhub as a name for the project, because we wanted to communicate the aggregating function of it… then our creative team came out with a different idea, with something straightforward and catchy and Whiskydo was the answer. It focuses on the DO word and we like to think of this as an invitation to turn whisky culture and history into present innovating projects and ideas. The logo follows the same line: Matteo and Fabian took the still silhouette and integrated it in the name itself. We thought of something as old and simple as the spirit still and dragged it into a digital dimension.

Let’s get straight to the point. What’s Whiskydo all about? How whisky enthusiasts or whisky events organisers can use it?
That’s all very simple: we want to connect people offering whisky culture (masterclasses, tastings, festivals, courses…) with anybody looking to quench its thirst for it. The whisky world is in full swing and there’s a lot going on all over the world: we want to aggregate the offer and let whisky people easily find what they’re looking for, wherever it may be. Scanning the web in search of the right event can be a real struggle these days… there’s a lot to choose from, but the good stuff is often hidden away. We want to do the search and tidy everything up: the whisky curious will find every kind of events on Whiskydo, thoroughly organised and showcased. The search on Whiskydo will be easily done, through specific whisky-related keyword (i.e. blended, single malt, Lowland, Pot-Still…), event date or through a map, so that you’ll easily know what’s going on in your area. Once you find the right event, you will also be able to book it and pay for the ticket through Whiskydo (it’s up to the event organiser to activate this function).

That’s a cool idea. So you’ve got global aspirations… but you’re based in Italy right?
Yes, we’re very proud to be based in a small village on the Italian Alps, in Grand Saint Bernard Valley; this location has been a true inspiration for us… we’re looking at the whisky world from the heights of Europe! You know, we’re like eagles hunting for hidden whisky pearls… to bring them back to our Whiskydo nest! Anyway, we’re definitely looking global: we want everybody to easily find the right whisky event and get simple access to the information about it. That’s why we’re using English. A lot of festival sites don’t use English: it’s difficult for someone who doesn’t speak German or Finnish to learn something about their events. So we want to make it simple and enjoy the whisky.

Can users add their own events from the website?
Yes, anyone can add an event, be it a private tasting or a big festival. You’ll get your own organiser account and you’ll be ready to publish your event for free. That’s an open and straightforward approach we really rely on. We also offer the possibility of selling tickets for the event through Whiskydo: that’s an option the organisers have. There’s a fee on this but we feel we’re providing a unique service; hope it will be useful for the whisky community.

How can be tickets purchased on Whiskydo?
Tickets can be bought through your Whiskydo account. We use the most reliable payment gateways, so people can pay through Paypal or credit card. You’ll get booking confirmation and tickets by e-mail and you’ll be ready for the event.

Whiskydo offers a map search feature. Tell us about that.
That’s the core of the search. When you add an event, it will be automatically displayed on our map. People interested in events in your area will easily find it. I think it’s a whisky enthusiast dream come true: all the events on a single map! Wow, a world of whisky experiences to choose from!

Whiskydo is addressed to the world. Did you find any obstacle in your event search
mission? Where do you plan to start off?
Whisky is a global phenomenon these days and we want to be a part of that. In this first stage, you’ll probably see mainly European events on the website, because we’re physically in Europe, but that’s just the beginning. We’re already working with the Australian and the Irish so… Well, it has been difficult to locate and “understand” all the events with no English website or advertising, but that’s our job you know. That’s really what we’re all about. Anyway, we found a lot of solidarity and help in doing what we’re doing: the whisky community is proving really friendly and supportive and we love to be a part of this.

You told me you’re planning to work on distillery tours in the future… Well, that’s one of our dreams. We are beginning with festivals and smaller events but we definitely plan to move on to whisky travels and distillery visits. We’d like to let Whiskydo users find and book distillery tours through our service in the future. We want to make people move from the basic visit to more premium experiences: that’s something we could do to support both distillery and whisky tourism growth anywhere in the world. Whisky travels are just another part of this effort. Think about it: book your whisky travel, distillery tour or whisky course on the same website… no waste of time and a comprehensive offer at hand!

Are you also planning a Newsletter to keep people informed about the events they’re interested in or events in their area?
Yes sure. We’re working on a system of alerts to keep users informed. That’s a feature we really want to develop and constantly improve, so that people can be aware of newly added events in real time. We want the user to set the preferences (i.e. a specific brand name or area) and we’ll do the rest, sending the right info to the right user.

Whiskydo is also Whiskydo Magazine. Why a Whiskydo blog?
We want to create a place to share whisky culture and experience. Anyone with something interesting to say will find the right place to say it on Whiskydo magazine: be it a distillery owner, brand ambassador or unknown blogger… we focus on the quality of the information. We think that sharing knowledge is part of the fun. That’s our whisky culture hub!

We see you’re really working on something special. Well, in the end, why people should choose Whiskydo instead of another event booking platform?
Simply because we’re not just a booking and ticketing platform. We’re about whisky culture and experience and we’re solely and entirely dedicated to whisky. We want to give whisky people a simple, safe and quick way to book and sell whisky events, but that’s not all we are. We want to add a whisky soul to it and work for the
promotion and development of this great spirit and its industry.

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Our thanks to Valentina and to all the staff at Whiskydo for their time and passion. But above all, a big thank you from all the whisky world people: you’re making us a precious gift!

Davide & Sebastiano

p.s. Thank you to Andrea for the translation, of course!