Spirit of Speyside Whisky Festival

The Spirit of Speyside Whisky Festival is enjoyed by whisky novices, budding master blenders and everyone in between and is back this April with a jam-packed programme of over 60 virtual interactive events.

Now in its 21st year, the festival provides the ultimate opportunity for people around the world to taste and learn about whiskies from the world-famous Speyside region. This year, for the first time, people are invited to take part from the comfort of their own homes. Festival goers will be able to speed network with other whisky lovers, get up close and personal with their favourite brands and catch up with friends old and new on the virtual platform.

Whether it’s having exclusive behind the scenes access to distilleries not usually open to the public, taking part in tastings with some of the best known whisky brands in the region, or getting the opportunity to chat all things Scotch with some of the biggest names in the industry, attendees will have plenty of online events to choose from during the four-day virtual festival (29 April - 2 May 2021).

Festival passes are available to purchase on the Spirit of Speyside Whisky Festival website.

The festival pass provides access to all events, as well as an interactive social lounge where attendees can take part in speed networking and join additional conversations and Q&A sessions with representatives from Speyside’s iconic distilleries.

Programme highlights include:

Would I Lie to You?: Hosted by Gordon & MacPhail’s Director of Prestige, Stephen Rankin, some of the industry’s top names, including Glen Grant’s Dennis Malcolm, Glenfarclas Distillery’s George Grant, Kirsten Grant of the William Grant family, The Balvenie’s Gemma Paterson and whisky writer Blair Bowman, battle it out to become the best storytellers in Speyside.

The Glenlivet Scotch Whisky School: A unique opportunity to meet Master Distiller Allan Winchester, get a whirlwind virtual tour of the distillery and complete The Glenlivet's Whisky School in just one hour.

Benriach’s World of Flavour: For the first time live from Benriach’s brand new visitor centre which is opening soon, join Global Brand Ambassador Stewart Buchanan for a few drams and an engaging conversation, discovering all there is to know about Benriach’s world of flavour across its acclaimed new portfolio.

Musical Drams: Ann Miller, the Dram Queen, challenges special guests including world-renowned whisky writers and experts such as Charles MacLean, Dave Broom, Becky Paskin, and festival ambassadors to bring their chosen whisky to life by matching a dram from Speyside to a piece of music with the option to taste along at home.