Proefdieren Whiskyclub, founded in Amsterdam in 2016, is a group of friends who share a passion, an interest, or at the very least an unquenchable thirst for whisky. We tend to meet up at least every quarter of a year, with some more irregular tastings in between. We aren’t specialists nor professionals, and definitely no connoisseurs. Whisky (to us) is all about sharing in a fun, frivolous, and forgiving environment. We draw the line at adding ice. And Dalmore.
With a steady core of regulars, there’s always a new face or a returning friend who’s been absent for a couple of sessions. We might be with just the five of us, or packed to the rafters with fifteen. We all pay a fixed fee to achieve the budget for the night in question. There is no overhead. We have no fixed membership, no subscriptions, no matching t-shirts nor silly titles. We do have an unnecessary quiz, a way too tiny venue, poorly rinsed glencairns, stupid thematic beermats, and a flight of stairs that is borderline lethal at three in the morning.
We are a fabulous bunch.
We are Proefdieren.
‘Proefdier’
noun
1. Dutch word for an animal subjected to (laboratory) experiments. A contraction of ‘proef’ = test or taste, and ‘dier’ = animal.
2. Whiskyclub member, willing test subject in a lifelong exploration of the nectar of the Gods.