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, many of them throw open their doors for a few days which is one of the biggest draws.

Founded in 1999 and now the world’s largest whisky event, the festival has evolved over the years into a six-day programme of masterclasses, workshops on mixing your own whisky, behind-the-scenes tours, ceilidhs, whisky pairing dinners and fireside gatherings.

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. 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 – although maybe not the three and a half-day Whisky School which goes into the history, science, and craftsmanship behind malt whisky.

There’s also ‘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, 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/

Lucy Gillmore is a freelance journalist who left a newspaper travel desk for the Highland hills. She writes about Scotland’s ever-evolving food and drink scene. You can follow her on @lucygillmore