Hans Offringa inducted into the Whisky Magazine Hall of Fame
By Charleston Mercury Staff
It is with great pleasure that we can report that the Whisky Magazine Hall of Fame inducted Hans Offringa as one of its luminaries on March 30 in London. The Hall of Fame was inspired by the top 100 greatest whisky figures in history who appeared in the magazine’s 100th edition. Now the Whisky Magazine Hall of Fame is a permanent tribute honoring those individuals who have made a lasting contribution to the world of whisky.
Hans spoke at the event for a few minutes about his time in the whisky industry, which all began with his first sip of whisky in 1974. Ten years later, he began giving tutored tastings in the Netherlands, and by 1990 he was writing articles about whisky and published his first whisky book in 1998. He has since written 40 books on the subject, contributed to 16 books by other whisky writers and translated nine whisky books from his colleagues into Dutch. His own books have been translated into five languages. His wife Becky has worked together with him since 2006 as The Whisky Couple. She has been research manager, contributing editor or co-author of his books since then.
In addition to Whisky and Jazz, among his most notable books are those detailing the history of Laphroaig distillery, the five-book set of the famous Zagatti Collection, A Field Guide to Whisky and the autobiographical The Road to Craigellachie. He writes about whisky for 11 magazines and newspapers on a regular basis and is European contributing editor for Whisky Magazine. His column in this paper began in 2007 and, as the ultimate pour of ink, is the longest running column on whisky in any American newspaper.
As of 2002, Hans has been and continues to participate in, presenting and judging national and international whisky competitions. He has made regular appearances on Dutch national radio, television and in newspapers to promote whisky since 2004. He was co-founder and patron of the Whisky Festival Noord Nederland (WFNN) from 2006-2022.
Since 2003 he has been developing marketing material and marketing concepts for, among others, Diageo, Pernod-Ricard, Edrington and Four Roses. He has performed live with musicians in the Netherlands and the USA to present whisky and jazz as well as bourbon and blues to enthusiastic audiences, since 2009 and continues to do so.
For his contributions to the history of bourbon, the governor of Kentucky declared him as a Kentucky Colonel in 2014. In 2016, he became a Keeper of the Quaich for his promotion of Scotch whisky throughout the course of 30 years. He has received many other honors during his career, including the Holland Press Award, 2016 for Best Off the Beaten Track article for Whisky Magazine. Hans is also a member of several Celtic heritage societies in our Lowcountry.
