As The Spirit of Speyside Whisky Festival, now one of the world’s largest whisky festivals, gets ready to celebrate its 25th Anniversary this year, Celebrity Chef and whisky fan Tony Singh went to The Glenlivet to help launch a preview of the 650 events that will run across across 85 venues and announced that tickets go on sale on 31 January.
As the largest whisky producing region in Scotland, many of the 51 distilleries open their doors for the festival, including ones normally closed to the public, and this year 5 distilleries will celebrate their 200th anniversary. The Macallan, The Glenlivet, Miltonduff, Cardhu and Balmenach will all reach the special milestone. Newcomers to the festival this year include Dunphail, while Speyburn is back after its debut last year when it opened its doors to the public for the first time in its 126 years of whisky making history, The 2023 event proved a huge success, with tickets selling out in just 12 hours.
The festival starts on 1 May for 6 days, and runs across 19 villages with many of the hotels, restaurants, halls and tourist attractions taking part by hosting events including tastings, tours, ceilidhs, and quizzes.
George McNeil, Chair of The Spirit of Speyside Whisky Festival, said; “It’s incredible to think this is the 25th year of the festival and it continues to grow in size and stature. The distilleries in Speyside that take part make it a truly unique festival. It’s a chance for visitors to immerse themselves in the whisky world with world-class experiences, behind the scenes tours, visit distilleries that don’t normally open their doors to the public and enjoy a few days in this beautiful part of the world. I think this year will be our biggest and best yet so would encourage people to book early to avoid disappointment.”
Previews for ticket sales are now live and ticket sale go live at 12noon on 31st January. You can find more information here.
Events include:
- The Spirit of Speyside Festival Ceilidh at The Macallan
- The Ultimate Whisky Flight which includes a helicopter tour with Glenfarclas
- Auchroisk Distillery Through The Decades Tour
- Whisky Detectives with Glenlivet Hill Trek
- Speyburn After Hours
- OurWhisky Foundation House Party at The Dowans Hotel
- The Beginning; Celebrating the Opening of Dunphail Distillery
Picture: George McNeil, Chair of the Festival, Sarah Burgess, Vice-Chair of the Festival and Tony Singh – taken at The Glenlivet