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As the judge of the Spirit of Speyside Whisky Festival Best New Events category, Sean Murphy was bowled over by the calibre
Havingbeenaskedtojudge the five new events at the Spirit of Speyside Whisky Festival, I knew I was in for a tough task – but as I was travelling up the A9 I truly had no idea just how hard it would prove to be to pick a winner on the final day.
The Festival itself has grown hugely over the last few years, with thousands flocking to the heart of Scotland’s biggest whisky-producing region for the chance to take part in an events schedule that is filled to the brim with tours, talks, walks, masterclasses and of course tastings.
As part of the programme, five of the many new events at this year’s festival were shortlisted to go head to head for the chance to win the Best New Events award.
Beginning with The Glenlivet Smugglers One Life Livet Tour, which is run by Charlie Ironside and his wife Susan, the first day of the judging process saw our group enjoying a tour of the key points of interest around Scotland’s first legal distillery, The Glenlivet. We were immersed in the history of the area and learnt about the story behind the gaugers and whisky smugglers of the past.
We were then transferred to the Argocats – little eight-wheeled offroaders – and transported around the heather-strewn hills surrounding the distillery for more drams and a spot of lunch in a ‘Smuggler’s Bothy’.
Day two began with a trip to Dufftown and the chance to sample some amazing travel retail whiskies with whisky writers Neil Ridley and Joel Harrison, who were to be our pilots for the day on a Flight of Fancy that saw us transported by plane around the Speyside Region (and beyond).
The Duty Free Tasting itself involved four whiskies from some of Speyside’s biggest and brightest distilleries and the madcap atmosphere, coupled with the great knowledge and boundless energy of the two hosts, left the whole room smiling and laughing right through until the all too brief event finally ended.
The Speyside Cooperage on day three was the scene of a Guinness World Records attempt, with international visitors, family members and fellow coopers gathering to watch four challengers attempt to be the first to make a 190 litre cask and beat the time of 7m 30secs, recorded by the Guinness Book of World Records.
The crowd celebrated wildly when all four competitors finished around the 3m 30secs mark, smashing the official time. A few tense moments followed as the casks were subjected to testing but more cheering followed when it was revealed that veteran cooper David Mckenzie was the new record holder with an awe inspiring time of 3m 3secs.
The Macallan Distillery Ghillie tour, which kicked off day four, involved a guided walk of the distillery’s twomile stretch of the Spey with their experienced Ghillie, Robert Mitchell.
For both whisky fans and fishing aficionados alike it was a truly enthralling tour, particularly with such an experienced and welcoming guide. The chance to take a shot at learning how to cast on the Spey was a huge bonus and the excellent range of drams and stunning lunch supplied by The Macallan team only added to the enjoyment.
The final event, the Mortlach History Tour, was a walking tour of the area around the distillery and guide Alistair Jeffs, who was in full exciseman uniform, supplied whiskies, wit and the story of George Cowie and the cast of characters who resided in the area and went on to found two of the region’s biggest distilleries.
Choosing a winner from such an outstanding group of events was by no means easy. I was hugely impressed by the calibre and experience of those shortlisted but in the end I could only pick one, and it had to be the Glenlivet Smuggler’s Tour.
Congratulations to Charlie and the team and thank you to the other events for making this such a wonderful and equally challenging role.