Celebrating its 10th year, organisers of The Whisky Show received the 'go ahead' from New South Wales Health yesterday to say that the sold out Sydney show could go ahead this weekend, albeit at a reduced capacity.
David Ligoff, Founder of The Whisky Shows said, “We have made a small number of adjustments as per NSW Health advice, with each exhibitor now required to wear masks, and extra seating provided for attendees. We take the safety of all attendees very seriously.”
More than 750 whisky enthusiasts and lovers from across the country will gather at the Sir Stamford Hotel at Sydney's Circular Quay to sample and purchase from a selection of more than one hundred whiskies, from 43 brands across the two days.
Whisky distillers, master blenders and brand ambassadors will be in attendance and guests will be able to sample whiskies from a selection of single malt and blended Scotch, Irish, bourbon, rye, Tennessee, Japanese, Canadian and French whiskies. This year's event has a larger focus on Australian craft-distilled whiskies than ever with an entire room dedicated to Australian whisky.
Ligoff explained, "Due to the size of The Whisky Show this year, we’ve assembled over 100 whiskies across 3 dedicated rooms. This year we’ve set up a dedicated room for Australian distillers with major award distilleries Archie Rose, Starward, Belgrove and Lark in attendance, alongside some brand-new distilleries who are attending their very first public whisky tasting.
"We’ve got distilleries from New South Wales, Victoria, South Australia and Tasmania flying up. Super exciting how much the Aussie whisky scene has grown in recent years and the calibre of whisky on taste for this year's show.”
The main hall will showcase Scotch, Irish and British whisky brands, with a number of brands sampling some rarer age statements alongside their core range offering.
The third room is split between brands representing US whiskey, with a focus on bourbons and ryes, plus some newer Japanese whisky brands thrown in for good measure and even a French whisky will be on pour.
Whisky Show Exclusive Bottling - BenRiach 11 Year Old Moscatel Cask
In a world exclusive, The Whisky Show will also introduce the world’s first single cask BenRiach to be released with their new branding and label. All 310 bottles have arrived in an exclusive Australian release. This Australian exclusive single cask BenRiach launches at The Whisky Show Sydney 2021, bottled at cask strength, 53% ABV, 700ml and will be available to sample and buy at the show. Special discounted whisky show price will be $159.99 (RRP: $174.99).
The Whisky Show will host a popup whisky store on-site where lucky attendees can purchase bottles they’ve enjoyed throughout the festival.
Virtual whisky show component
In 2020, The Whisky Show virtual tasting kits and livestream will happen in parallel with the main event, with a dedicated livestream live from the venue. The virtual whisky show packs have also sold out.
Ligoff adds “Such was the popularity of the virtual show kits last year, we ended up doing multiple virtual shows throughout the year, having sent out over 48,000 sample bottles filled with different whiskies for people to try from the safety of their homes. This year, we decided to bring the virtual component back as lots of our customers who couldn’t make the physical show wanted to celebrate and try whisky from home again this year.”
Whisky Show Dedicated App adds new features - Whisky Notes + Click & Collect Checkout
A paperless event, The Whisky Show has a dedicated app that allows so guests can quickly view the whiskies being tasted, rate their favourite bottles and watch videos recorded by each distillery and brand.
Built in partnership with The Whisky List, Oliver Maruda Co-founder of The Whisky List explained, “The new app feature we’re launching this year to enhance the show experience is 'click & collect' ecommerce capability in the app. No more long queues at the popup whisky store, as soon as you like a whisky you’ve tried at a stand, you can purchase it then and there and the whisky will be ready waiting for you to collect as you leave. Simple and easy.”
List of brands
There will be representatives sampling over 100 whisky from 43 brands, including:
5Nines, Aerstone, Ailsa Bay, Amahagan, AnCnoc, Archie Rose, Auchentoshan, Bakers, Barrell Bourbon, Belgrove, BenRiach, Benromach, Bowmore, Canadian Club, Character of Islay, Chief's Son, Darkness, Deanston, Douglas Laing, English Whisky Co, Fannys Bay, GlenAllachie, Gospel, Headlands, Highlander Inn, Knob Creek, Laphroaig, Lark, Ledaig, Legent, Michter’s, NZ Whisky Collection, Old Pulteney, Remnant, Roborel De Climens, Shene, Shinobu, Spring Bay, Starward, The Shin, Tobermory, Tomatin, Westward.
Follow latest show updates at www.thewhiskyshow.net
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