Speyside is buzzing with excitement this week, as record numbers of visitors arrive for the 25th Spirit of Speyside Whisky Festival.
Ticket sales are up by over 20% on last year, with the Festival promoting just over 700 events across the area’s 51 distilleries, five of which are themselves celebrating their 200th anniversary.
The record-breaking sales have exceeded £425k for the first time with four days of the festival still to go, up more than £75k on last year. More than 7500 tickets have been bought for an array of events including distillery tours, whisky train rides, cask building and ceilidhs.
The reach of the festival has attracted people from 39 different countries with major sales coming from Germany, the US, Netherlands and Canada, providing a boost to the local economy.
Chairman George McNeil said: “This has been a truly momentous year for the Festival in all manner of ways. Not just celebrating the 25th anniversary but also the increase in visitors and ticket sales.
“There is a real buzz of excitement this year, unlike anything we have experienced before. Partners like Event Scotland, and some of the big distilleries have been with us since the start, and that helped us put the Festival on a global stage.
“It’s always been about showcasing Speyside, but we’ve achieved that and much more in 2024 and we now look forward to all the hard work paying off for every business that’s taken part, with a brilliant week of events,” said McNeil.
As McNeil steps down as chair later this year after a three-year tenure, vice-chair Sarah Burgess will take over the lead role, aiming to build on what has been achieved in the last 25 years.
The festival kicked off on Wednesday of this week with 86 events taking place across the day, concluding in the evening with the renowned ‘Touch of Tartan’ opening event, which was this year held at Macallan, where 400 guests gathered for an evening of celebration, and the winners of the annual whisky awards were announced.
In a process that started as far back as last year’s festival, Speyside’s finest malts were decided by vote from judges locally and worldwide.
Aberlour A’Bunadh took home the overall prize.
Glenfiddich Grand Cru 23-year-old was awarded Gold in the 18-year and over category, and Speyburn received a Gold award for its 15-year-old. Glenlivet also picked up gold for their 10-year-old.
Notable personal awards went to four significant advocates of the whisky industry, between them notching up nearly 150 years of dedication.
The Spirit of Speyside Ambassador Award went to William ‘Buzz’ Hutcheson, a festival volunteer after retiring from Cardhu Distillery.
International Ambassador recipient was Callum Fraser from Glenfarclas.
Unsung Hero award went to Russell Anderson, retiring from The Macallan after 37 years in the whisky industry.
The Lifetime Achievement Award went to Derek Johnston, who also retires from Forsyths, the global specialists of distillation equipment.
