Are Water Sommeliers The Next Big Thing?
Hate the taste of tap water and not a fan of Dasani? A 5* hotel in Belfast has launched a special water menu for discriminating patrons and hired two “water butlers” to help with selections.
The Belfast Telegraph has a full list of the premium water selections and descriptions but here is the most and least expensive:
Iceberg, Still: Canadian Arctic Ice shelf Newfoundland – £26.45 750ml Btl
In the Canadian Arctic, the snow froze and compacted into enormous glacial walls, sheltered from all impurities from the outside world. Thousands of years later, the ice is considered to hold the purest water on earth. The water has the lowest mineral content of any bottled water, resulting in a smooth and neutral taste. TDS 9mg – Sodium 1.5mg – Magnesium 0.4mg – Calcium 0.7mgWhitehole Springs, Still: UK Mendip Hills Somerset – £4.95 750ml Btl
At over 15,000 years old, Whitehole Springs are the only Tufa springs in Europe. Tufa, a coral-like substance, is formed from the high levels of calcium as the water flows from deep within the ancient Mendip Hills, Somerset. The still water is soft on the tongue and slightly sweet in taste. It is also very refreshing, just as a mineral water is expected to be. TDS 332mg – Sodium 6mg – Magnesium 6mg – Calcium 110mg
Twitter appears to be disgusted and outraged, but it sounds like some brilliant marketing to me, and definitely more affordable than a $1,000 cocktail or sundae with 23K gold leaf.
Wow. I suppose they could have a questionnaire to see if the water butlers are for you with questions like “Is your child’s first name what everyone else considers a last name?” and equally pretentious qualifiers.