|
The inaugural
Highland Whisky Festival will see eight
northern Highland distilleries come
together for a series of exclusive
tastings, tours, and events between the
10th - 17th May 2019.
Having been named one of the Lonely
Planet’s ‘Best In Travel’ destinations
in 2019, eight Highland Distilleries are
proud to introduce The Highland Whisky
Festival, a brand-new Whisky
Festival to celebrate the established
Highland Whisky Trail.
The inaugural Highland Whisky Festival, which will
be held between the 10th - 17th May 2019,
it will see eight distilleries coming
together for the first time ever for a
series of exclusive tastings, tours, and
events. Each will host visitors from the
world over to showcase the centuries of
tradition, process, and craft of their
home.
Event and ticket information is now
available via the website
www.highlandwhiskyfestival.co.uk - with
a host of tastings and tours, plus a
handy planner inclusive of accommodation
and restaurant options to ensure your
trip is as seamless as possible.
The Festival team are working hard
behind the scenes with local and
national businesses to offer a truly
unforgettable experience for attendees. With each
distillery hosting an open day with
exclusive events and tastings, it’s an unmissable
experience for even the most seasoned of
whisky enthusiasts. The North-East Coast
of Scotland offers visitors
breath-taking - impressive scenery,
fantastic accommodation, and exceptional
dining experiences.
Highland
Whisky Festival Events Itinerary:
10th May Wolfburn Distillery
- Distillery Tour £15
"All will be welcomed at Wolfburn
Distillery, the most Northerly
Whisky Distillery on the UK mainland
where Fortune Favours The Brave for
an exclusive open day. Our open day
is a production day, which means
visitors will be able to see, smell
and hear all the inner workings
within the Distillery via escorted
tours, the history of the Distillery
will be shared, alongside our way of
making whisky. Questions are
encouraged, as we’ll have two
fountains of knowledge on hand to
share the answers. The tour is led
by Charlie Ross, and International
Brand Ambassador, Mark Westmoreland.
It finishes with a tasting of some
quality drams on the Distillery
floor, in front of the stills – a
truly unique and unforgettable
experience."
- Wolfburn Highland Whisky Festival
Bottling - Limited Edition £64
"Wolfburn has produced a stunning
limited edition bottling to
celebrate the first ever Highland
Whisky Festival. If you visit the
Distillery, be sure to pick up one
of the 660 limited bottles for £64.
The Whisky is matured in Ex-Bourbon
Casks and is named ‘Highland Whisky
Festival Bottling 2019’"
11TH MAY
Old Pulteney Distillery
- The
Pulteney Tour £10
You will experience a
behind-the-scenes tour of our
distillery, and of course, no tour
is complete without sampling the end
product, and the hour-long Pulteney
Tour concludes with a dram of our
definitive 12-Year-Old and one other
selected Pulteney dram.
-
Malcolm Waring's Masterclass £100
"An in-depth Whisky Masterclass with
Distillery Manager, Malcolm Waring.
Learn more about Old Pulteney and
taste Malcolm’s favourite drams in
one of our private warehouses, which
is not open to the general public.
Run exclusively for The Highland
Whisky Festival, this one and a half
hour, masterclass is a once in a
lifetime experience."
-
Pulteney Pairings £40
Hosted in the Old Pulteney
Distillery tasting room, this
one-hour exclusive masterclass will
allow you to taste Old Pulteney 12,
Huddart, 15, 18 and the Distillery
Single Cask along with a food
pairing using local ingredients by
our chef.
12TH MAY
Clynelish Distillery
-
Clynelish Operator's Tour £20
Join our team for a festival tour,
accompanied by one of our friendly
tour guides and a knowledgeable
distillery operator plus you will be
invited to join us for a dram of our
distillery exclusive bottle paired
with chocolate.
-
Clynelish Manager's Experience £60
Join our distillery manager, Kevin
Innes, for a technical tour of
Clynelish Distillery with access to
areas not normally available to the
public, and join him in a dram of
our distillery exclusive bottling.
- Brora
Distillery Manager's Experience £200
Join Stewart Bowman, the manager
responsible for breathing life back
into Brora Distillery, to learn
about their rich heritage, plus get
a sneak peek at what the future
holds whilst raising a glass of
Brora Single Malt too.
-
Johnnie Walker Masterclass £65
Join our Global Scotch Brand
Ambassador, Tom Jones, for a Master
Class with perfectly paired canapés
in The Highland Home of Johnnie
Walker.
- Game
of Thrones Single Malt Tasting £70
Venture north to Clynelish and join
us in tasting all of these rare
scotches; each one paired with one
of the iconic Houses of Westeros, as
well as the Night’s Watch, giving
you a taste of the Kingdoms and
beyond.
- Rare
and Old Masterclass £150
We are delighted to announce a
master class hosted by our Global
Brand Ambassador, Ewan Gunn, guiding
you through five truly rare and
once-in-a-lifetime drams.
- Fill
Your Own Bottle £90
To mark the first year, Clynelish
are offering you the opportunity to
fill your own bottle, direct from
the cask, to take home as a memento
of the first ever Highland Whisky
Festival.
-
Whisky and Chocolate Experience £6
A match made in heaven: Jazz, the
creator of our luxury chocolates and
the owner of The Highland Patissier,
will be joining us to deliver an
amazing chocolate demonstration.
-
Ceilidh with Clynelish £95
Our team will be hosting an evening
consisting the finest local produce
and our best scotch. Join us for a
cocktail on arrival and a five
course whisky dinner with 5
perfectly paired drams. To finish
off the evening you will enjoy a
traditional ceilidh with the Black
Rock ceilidh band. The perfect way
to end a day celebrating 200 years
of Clynelish.
13TH MAY
Balblair Distillery
- The
Highland Hospitality Tour £25
Intimate and educational, our
Highland Hospitality Tour provides a
great taste of what it takes to
produce our whisky plus sample two
drams from our collection.
- John
MacDonald's Masterclass £100
Join our Distillery Manager, John
MacDonald on an exclusive and
in-depth tour of Balblair
Distillery, plus a guided tasting of
four whiskies from our collection.
- An
Evening with the Angels' Share £150
Join us for an intimate four-course
meal and carefully selected whiskies
from Balblair, with the Distillery
Manager, plus a private showing of
the Angels' Share in dunnage
warehouse No 3.
14TH MAY
Glenmorangie Distillery
- The
Glenmorangie Distillery Experience
£15
"The Glenmorangie Distillery
Experience tour guides you through
the distillery, before going behind
the scenes to our Anaerobic
Digestion Plant and finishing with a
tasting of Glenmorangie Original.
Price includes a guided tasting of
Glenmorangie Original and a special
edition Glenmorangie Highland Whisky
Festival tasting glass."
-
Private Edition Tour and Tasting £30
"This in-depth tour allows guests to
discover areas of the Distillery
which inspired our award-winning
Private Edition single malts, before
enjoying a tasting with one of our
globally renowned Whisky
Ambassadors. Price includes a guided
tasting of three Glenmorangie
Private Edition single malts and a
special edition Glenmorangie
Highland Whisky Festival tasting
glass."
- Old
and Rare Tasting £45
"We invite you to immerse yourself
in a truly exquisite tasting of some
of Glenmorangie’s oldest and rarest
single malts, paired with a
selection of Highland cheeses. Price
includes a guided tasting of three
Glenmorangie Prestige single malts
and a special edition Glenmorangie
Highland Whisky Festival tasting
glass."
- Rare
Cask Dining Experience £120
"We invite you to join us for a
unique and intimate dining
experience, to celebrate a new and
exclusive Glenmorangie Distillery
Rare Cask release with our
Distillery Manager, Andy MacDonald.
Price includes Glenmorangie
cocktails and canapes, four course
Highland Dinner, coffee/ drams of
Glenmorangie Signet and a tasting of
Glenmorangie Distillery Rare Cask.
Option to purchase Glenmorangie Rare
Cask release, Cask 1784 at an
additional price. Limited number of
tickets available. Duration: 7pm –
10pm"
15TH MAY
Dalmore Distillery
- The
Dalmore Experience £50
"Join the team at The Dalmore for a
truly special tour and tasting.
Distillery Manager Stuart Robertson
and Operations Director Shane Healy
will take you on a guided tour of
our brand home, sharing tales and
insights of our production process.
After this, you will be led to the
banks of The Cromarty Firth.
Overlooking the Firth, Richard
Paterson and Shauna Jennens will
lead you through a tasting of four
very special whiskies. The whiskies
include two cask samples, a preview
of the new distillery exclusive,
plus The Dalmore King Alexander III.
A truly unforgettable experience.
Tours and tastings are limited to 15
guests, making this an intimate
experience."
16TH MAY
Glen Ord Distillery
-
Distillery Operator Tour £25
Exclusively for the Highland Whisky
Festival you can join one of our
Senior Operators for a Tour of Glen
Ord Distillery including a tasting
of The Singleton of Glen Ord 12, 15
and 18 year old whiskies.
-
Behind the Scenes Distillery Tour
£40
Not only will you experience the
sights and smells of our distillery
but here you will have the rare
opportunity to test your own skills
taking grist and wash samples, as
well as a spirit charge from the
SRWV.
-
Malting Operator Tour £25
Join one of our Senior Operators to
gain an insight into the inner
workings of our modern drum maltings
before enjoying 4 specially selected
whiskies.
-
Behind the Scenes Maltings Tour £40
An opportunity to see our Drum
Maltings through the eyes of a
Senior Operator with entry into a
drying kiln, the chance to see
inside a drum and experience the
smell and warmth of the peat fire.
-
Warehouse Tasting Experience £15
Enjoy a tutored nosing and tasting
of The Singleton Range (Singleton of
Glen Ord, Singleton of Dufftown &
Singleton of Glendullan) in the
fantastic surroundings of our
duty-free warehouse.
-
Cocktail Masterclass £20
"Malt Whisky in Cocktails? Why Not!
You’re not supposed to put whisky in
cocktails, especially not Malt
Whisky” - NONSENSE! The world best
bartenders are mixing world class
cocktails with Single Malt whisky.
This talk, held by Global Singleton
Ambassador Ervin Trykowski, will
analyse attitudes towards Malt
Whisky and talk about the past,
present and future of Scotland’s
national treasure being used behind
the stick! You will be sure to leave
with a smile on your face after a
sampling of three different
cocktails as well as three Single
Malt Scotch Whiskies."
- Sing
a Song of Singleton £30
Join Global Singleton Ambassador
Ervin Trykowski and Diageo Global
Whisky Master Ewan Gunn for a
celebration of whisky and music. You
will have the opportunity to try
expressions of The Singleton
distilled in each of the past four
decades, paired with music from each
era played on a state of the art
stereo system. You decide which
tracks make the final cut.
- Fill
Your Own Bottle £90
To celebrate the first ever Highland
Whisky Festival, you can fill your
very own bottle of The Singleton of
Glen Ord Single Malt Scotch Whisky
directly from the cask. The perfect
memento!
-
Cooperage Display FREE
This is the perfect chance to chat
with one of our coopers – coming all
the way from Cambus, Callum Carberry
will be delighted to show you the
ropes! Learn more about the hard
work the coopers put in to allow our
casks to mature the finest whisky.
17TH MAY
Tomatin Distillery
-
Legacy Tour with Cheese and
Chocolate Pairings £10
Explore our distillery and learn how
we produce our award winning
whiskies. You will learn about the
unique legacy of Tomatin which,
having started in 1897, is the
driving force for the company today.
Finish up with three of our Tomatin
Single Malts, each revealing why we
are the ‘softer side of the
Highlands’. For added fun on our
festival day, we will demonstrate
how well our whiskies lend
themselves as pairings, including
chocolate from Highland Patissier
and cheese from a local Highland
supplier. This tour includes the
tasting of three whiskies; Tomatin
Legacy, Cù Bòcan & Antiquary.
-
Stillman's Tour with Cooperage
Demonstration £25
Join our Stillman, David Milne, for
a bespoke tour of Tomatin Distillery
where he will offer a unique insight
into what exactly makes Tomatin
single malt. Enjoy unrivalled access
to all aspects of whisky production
from malt to maturation, finished
with a working cooperage
demonstration. Taste our
surprisingly sweet & mellow new make
spirit & a selection of four Tomatin
Single Malt expressions throughout
this tour. This tour includes the
tasting of four whiskies; 12 Year
Old, Cask Strength, 14 Year Old, 18
Year Old.
-
Distillery Manager Experience £55
Come and discover the history of
Tomatin Distillery; once the largest
producing distillery in Scotland,
with a one on one personal tour with
our Distillery Manager Graham Eunson.
Nestled high amongst the beautiful
Monaliadth Mountains, your exclusive
visit will take you on a tale
through time, the changing
landscapes of the distillery’s
history & what makes our single malt
so special. Finished with an
extensive and detailed tasting of
five malts personally selected by
Graham, for you to enjoy. This tour
includes the tasting of five
whiskies; 18 Year Old, 30 Year Old,
36 Year Old, Warehouse 6 Collection,
1975 and a personal favourite single
cask of Graham Eunson’s choice.
-
Evening Whisky Pairing Dinner £125
To celebrate the end of the first
ever Highland Whisky Festival, join
Regional Brand Ambassador Alistair
Mutch and Distillery Manager Graham
Eunson for a night of fine dining
and exclusive whisky in the Adams
room at the Kingsmills Hotel,
Inverness. After a welcome dram of
Tomatin 30 Year Old, enjoy a five
course meal designed exclusively for
the event by Kingsmills, with wine.
After dinner enjoy the most
luxurious flight of whiskies from
Tomatin which includes; 36 Year Old,
Warehouse 6 1975 and Tomatin 50 Year
Old (our oldest and most exclusive
single malt release).
-
Tomatin Highland Whisky Festival
Bottling £75
"Available from the Tomatin Visitor
Centre on the 17th of May.2008
single cask finished in a first fill
cabernet sauvignon French wine
barrique. 60.2% alc.\vol.
Nose – Notes of sweet, sticky
pineapple & white peach, laced with
hints of raspberry liquorice &
cinnamon.
Palate – Warming spices that meet on
the tongue are then joined by a
myriad of walnuts, hazelnuts &
pecan.
Finish – A long & slightly dry
finish accompanied by notes of pine
& rich red berries."
Festival coordinator Katie Waugh says
that the union between eight world-class
distilleries, each with their own story
to tell, would surely make a fantastic
addition to the Scottish Whisky Festival
scene. She added:
"Building on the successes of both the
Spirit of Speyside Whisky Festival and
Islay Whisky Festival and with the
continuing increase in Whisky tourism
especially along the North Coast 500 we
identified an opportunity for the
Highland Distilleries to have a festival
of their own. Between the 8
distilleries, we have over 1000 years of
craftsmanship and experience in
producing whisky. What differentiates
Highland Distilleries is that they are
spread far and wide along the North
Coast 500. The effort of travelling is
rewarded not only by world-class
whiskies but stunning landscapes and the
warm welcoming Highland hospitality. ….
"A successful union between a
world-class driving route, eight
internationally revered distilleries and
the hospitality of the Highland people
will result in an eight daylong
celebration of Scotland’s national
spirit. The Highland Whisky Festival
will play host to an international
audience, allowing visitors to
experience eight unique distilleries on
the circuit through exclusive tastings,
tours, and appreciations. Not to mention
the aforementioned welcome from the
Highland inhabitants. The North Coast
500 added £9 million worth of revenue to
the region alone, with an additional
29,000 visitors between 2016-17.
Scotland saw a record number of 1.9
million visits to distilleries and a
spend of £60.9 million (an increase of
15.6% from 2016), therefore we
anticipate our inaugural Festival to be
successful and well-visited."
VisitScotland is delighted to support
the Highland Whisky Festival,
particularly with the recent accolade
being given by the Lonely Planet.
VisitScotland believes that with the
success of the North Coast 500 and the
year-on-year growth of whisky tourism,
that a Highland addition to the Whisky
Festival circuit will bring growth to
the economy and an awareness of a
much-loved region of Whisky production.
Chris Taylor, VisitScotland’s Regional
Leadership Director, said: "Whisky is
one of Scotland’s most valuable
commodities, attracting visitors from
all over the world, with one in five
visitors making a trip to a whisky
distillery during their stay.
"As one of the largest whisky-producing
regions in Scotland, the Highlands is a
veritable paradise for lovers of a wee
dram with whisky a vital part of local
tourism. With all eyes on the Highlands
and Islands next year – following Lonely
Planet naming it Best in Travel 2019 –
this new festival will be a great
addition to the visitor experience and
shine a spotlight on the area’s links to
our iconic national drink."
If you cant make it up to the north
coast for the festival you can still
find the current whisky ranges of all
the eight distilleries taking part in
the festival available from specialist
online whisky retailers such as
The Whisky Exchange,
The Whisky Shop and
Master of Malt
|
