What's in a Whisky Festival

There are many different types and syles of whisky festival. If you can’t find one to suit you, then perhaps you should return to drinking milk… 

Glasgow Whisky Festival ~ exactly what it says on the tin. More drams than you can shake a stick at. A well run, whisky presenting event. No faff, no falderal. This whisky festival reminds me of the shipyards on the Clyde in days of old. Engineered, good craic, full of wit and camaraderie. Haggis and Neeps to eat, and friends are well looked after. A good Scottish Festival.

We have the glamour of Paris Live… HUGE number of stands, big names, expensive whisky tastings. A lot of glitz and glamour – fur coat and no knickers….? the people who ran the stands were complaining they were packed in too tighty…. all for style, never for comfort. Lots of World drams and glamour. A place to see and be seen.

Then, we have Maltstock& Dramboree~ whisky hippy dreams. Fires, Birkenstocks, sharing bedrooms, and swimming with whisky! Do you need to be young or have a beard for these? A celebration of friendship and whisky. The whole weekend is a session.

Next we have Independent European Festivals – mostly Dutch, German and now, Austrian. A celebration of Scotch and Scottish culture. I love how people are playing the pipes (sometimes with more luck than judgement..) are singing Scottish songs, have kilts on, and there is tartan and shortbread all over the place. And lots of obscure Independent bottlings. This is good. These people are way ahead in whisky repertoire. Big commercial festivals can be rather generic in relation to drams..

Then, we have the Speyside Whisky Festival. So overwhelming because everything is so far apart. But, if one has a driver who knows where they are going it is fantastic. Cooperages are opened up, Maltings are available to view. This is a mixture of the practical side of whisky and whisky drinking, with big names and glamour thrown in for good measure.

Next up, we have our very own Feis le. A celebration of the culture of Islay, which has been hijacked by the distilleries. However, this is good. This grounds people in the distilleries and lets them experience whisky where it is made. A week of mayhem involving Islay distilleries, whisky and friendships.

Last, but not least we have a newcomer to the festival scene. My very ownTHEATRE OF DRAMS Whisky Symposium. An Educational Celebration of Whisky. An alternative, or a complement, to the week of the Feis. Whisky drinking & whisky heritage.Pick and chose the Events you want to attend. Create your learning schedule.

There is a place for ALL kinds of festivals. We need a variey of Events. These are a few to demonstrate diferent STYLES.

There are hundreds of whisky Events world wide.

Seek them out!

Enjoy your #Scotch.

Slainte!