Spirit of Speyside Whisky Festival

The first time I set out to explore Speyside’s Malt Whisky Trail, meandering through the gently rolling, distillery-peppered hills, it blew me away. The landscape is bucolic, an undulating patchwork of farmland and forest, one of Scotland’s most magnificent rivers, the salmon-rich Spey, flowing through it to the coast. As roadtrips go, it ticks a lot of boxes. The Trail links eight of the country’s most famous distilleries - and a cooperage - offering tours and tutored tastings. The actual number of working distilleries here, however, is 51.

Most are not normally open to the public, but during the Spirit of Speyside Whisky Festival, which kicks off this Wednesday, many of them throw open their doors for a few days which is one of the biggest draws.

Now in its 26th year and the world’s largest whisky event, the festival, founded in 1999, has evolved over the years into a six-day programme of masterclasses, blending workshops, behind-the-scenes tours, ceilidhs, whisky pairing dinners (Jack Stein has travelled up from Cornwall this year for a five-day seafood and whisky pairing residency at Linn House) and fireside gatherings.

Last year, its 25th anniversary, was a record-breaker with visitors from 39 countries making their way to the region generating over £2.2million for the local economy and this year looks set to be another bumper one. There are over 500 events to dip into – a few admittedly now sold out but there’s still plenty of availability if you fancy wending your way here for a dram or two.

Some are geared to serious connoisseurs, but for your average whisky lover there’s so much to do to – although maybe not the three and a half-day Whisky School which delves into the history, science, and craftsmanship behind malt whisky.

New this year is ‘Fire at the Fiddich’ a central hub open every day from 8am-10pm with live music, a pop-up bar and food cooked over the fire. Some of the highlights you might want to check out are the Whisky Picnics at the beach huts in Findhorn. You can take a tour at one of the area’s newest distilleries, Dunphail, now in its second year of operation or bottle your own whisky from the cask with the team at Murray McDavid. At Cardhu they’re holding whisky and ice-cream pairing sessions. There are whisky walks, whisky safaris, canoeing trips on the ‘whisky river’, whisky tumbler carving workshops - you can even learn how to make a whisky barrel – and whip up great whisky cocktails with a mixologist at Strathisla Distillery.

The festival runs from April 30th – May 5th. For more information please visit https://www.spiritofspeyside.com/ 

Written By Lucy Gillmore

Lucy Gillmore is a freelance journalist who left a newspaper travel desk for the Highland hills. Dipping into Scotland’s ever-evolving food and drink scene she will be bringing us the latest news stories, dates for the diary and shining a light on local food heroes in a regular column. You can follow her on @lucygillmore