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Explore the spirit of Scotland

  • 24 Jan 2012

Scotland’s national drink will be celebrated this May at the Spirit of Speyside Whisky Festival.

The five-day festival attracts whisky drinkers from around the world. They can take part in over 200 events including special tours, tastings and tutorials at more than 50 distilleries in the Speyside region of north-east Scotland. Visitors have the opportunity to meet some of the industry’s top experts, from blenders to coopers (who work with the wooden casks), managers to mashmen (who work with the mix of grain and water).

There will be tours on offer to distilleries that are usually closed to the public including Glen Elgin, Glenlossie and Mannochmore, Glen Spey, Speyburn and Glenrothes. There will also be whisky and food pairing workshops, whisky and food tours and a new Ceilidh Trail. During the festival local bands will play in many of the region’s hotels, bars and traditional pubs.

At least half of the festival’s visitors are expected to travel from overseas as the festival regularly proves popular with tourists especially visitors from the Netherlands, Sweden, Norway, Germany and France.

Paul Bush OBE, Chief Operating Officer for EventScotland, says: ‘Scotland is the perfect stage for events, and whisky is one of Scotland’s great products, which is why the Spirit of Speyside Whisky Festival attracts large numbers of connoisseurs from around the country and overseas. The 2012 festival programme includes a wide range of events, which will cater for both whisky aficionados and newcomers to Scotland’s national drink.’

Festival organisers predict a bumper year for the event as figures for the first half of 2011 from the Scotch Whisky Association show that whisky exports continued to grow in established markets and the emerging markets of Asia and South America. Last year’s festival attracted 47,000 visitors.

Speyside is about a four-hour drive from Edinburgh and Glasgow and equidistant from Inverness and Aberdeen Airports.

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