Whisky Focus - The Spirit of Speyside Whisky Festival Unveils 2020 Programme

The Spirit of Speyside Whisky Festival has announced its 2020 programme of events, which will bring the best of the iconic whisky region to the public this spring. This year’s Festival will be the biggest yet and is expected to bring thousands of visitors to Speyside in celebration of all things Scotch.

Whether its having exclusive behind the scenes access to distilleries not usually open to the public, taking part in an archeological dig at an illicit distilling site or trail running and canoeing through the region of whisky mastery and heritage, visitors will have hundreds of events to choose from during the six-day Festival (29 April - 4 May 2020), with even more to be announced in the coming weeks.

Now in its 21st year, the celebrations provide the ultimate opportunity for the traveller, whisky lover, outdoor activity enthusiast or local community to explore, taste and learn about the world-famous Speyside region. Last year visitors across the globe took part in the Festival, which is no surprise given whisky tourism is currently at an all time high in Scotland*, with three in five visitors drawn to Speyside specifically for its Scotch credentials.

The full programme of around 700 events can be viewed on the Spirit of Speyside website, with tickets on sale from 12pm noon tomorrow (Wednesday 19 February).

Programme highlights include:

• Dalmunach Distillery Manager’s Tour – Chivas Brothers: One of Scotland’s most contemporary distilleries will open its doors exclusively for the Festival to give visitors an understanding of what it takes to build a state of the art distillery, designed with innovative energy efficient technology at its core.
   
• Archaeological Excavation - The Cabrach Trust: A guided tour of the excavation site at Blackmiddens Historic Distillery followed by a whisky tasting.
   
• Aberlour & Macallan Whisky Brunch Trail Run - RunSpeyside: A trail run through the heart of Whisky country, learning about the history of the region along the way, finishing with a dram and brunch at The Macallan Distillery.
   
• Women in Whisky - The Dowan’s Hotel: A topical discussion hosted by Georgie Bell of #OurWhisky, exploring the career stories of a panel of female whisky masters.
   
• Banquet in the Barn - Elchies Estates: A five course communal dining event at Campbell Cairns Farm.

Each year, the Festival continues to grow by welcoming more partner distilleries and organisations to help stage the world’s finest whisky festival. New members that will host events this year include The Cabrach Trust, The Boat Country Inn and Byres Farm in Fochabers. Both Glenlossie and Linkwood Distilleries, two distilleries not usually open to the public, will offer tours to festival-goers too this year.

Angela McOwan, Events Coordinator at The Spirit of Speyside Whisky Festival, said:

"This year we are celebrating 21 years of the Spirit of Speyside Whisky Festival, now recognised as the world’s finest whisky festival. Our diverse programme is jam packed and will be our biggest yet, with more events to be announced in the coming weeks.

"There really is something for everyone, whether visitors want to get to know Speyside as an outdoor adventure destination as well as enjoy our whisky, taste its delicious larder, learn about industry innovations from our whisky masters or explore distilleries that will open their doors especially for the Festival.

"As well as our flagship Whisky Festival, visitors can also keep their eyes peeled for more information about our Gin Experience and Distilled Food & Drink festivals taking place later in the year."

To view the full programme of events visit www.spiritofspeyside.com

Tickets are on sale now.
 

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