Whisky Advocate - Spring 2025
A Year of WhiskyFest
Julia Higgins 2025-03-14 15:18:45
EVENT REPORT
WhiskyFest in Full Flight
Pours and seminars abounded in 2024
Each year, WhiskyFest events draw thousands of fervent whisky fans who come to taste high-end pours and soak in some learning at the events’ many Master Classes. In 2024, those WhiskyFest celebrations took place across the country—in New York City, Chicago, and Hollywood, Florida, supplemented by a combination event, Big Smoke Meets WhiskyFest, with sister publication Cigar Aficionado in Tampa earlier in the year.
Kicking Off In Sunny Florida
WhiskyFest Hollywood was held at the city’s Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino. As with all WhiskyFest events, this one opened at 5:30 p.m. with a VIP hour, where extra special drams from around the globe were there in the spotlight. Interested in rare, luxury scotch? You’d have your pick of Lagavulin Distillers Edition, Loch Lomond 24 year old Royal Troon Edition, Johnnie Walker Blue, Compass Box Delos, Celestial and Metropolis, two editions of Dewar’s Double Double 21 year old—one finished in oloroso casks, the other in mizunara—Oban 18 year old, and Glen Moray 21 year old, among myriad others.
Of course, rarefied blended and single malt scotches were far from the only whiskies poured during VIP hour—there were also aged Irish whiskeys, like Redbreast 18 year old; elusive Japanese labels, among them Fuji 50th Anniversary Edition single malt, and hard-to-find bourbons, including Jefferson’s Reserve and Heaven Hill Heritage Collection 18 year old.
Manning the booth at Heaven Hill was artisanal distiller Jodie Filiatreau, who said the aforementioned Heritage Collection was very popular. “The 18 year old was a big hit,” he noted. Of course, there was plenty more to enjoy from Heaven Hill once the Heritage bottling went, for both VIP guests and general admission ticket holders, with Filiatreau tapping into bottles of the distillery’s newest whiskeys: Grain to Glass rye, wheated bourbon, and straight bourbon (the latter of which was No. 5 on our Top 20 list of 2024).
General admission ticket holders streamed into the ballroom at 6:30 p.m., eager to taste the whiskies and custom cocktails. At the Westland booth, a pair of friends reached the front of the line, delighted to see the latest edition of Garryana American single malt on the table. “I bought a bottle of the 8th edition *[Whisky Advocate’*s No. 3 whisky of 2023] for a friend last year after trying it here, but I should’ve bought it for myself,” mused one, though he soon discovered that the 9th edition, which made an appearance that night, would make a fine addition to his collection instead.
Elsewhere, there was opportunity to explore some newer brands, including Borchetta Bourbon, which hit the ground running at its very first WhiskyFest. “It’s crazy how effective this is,” said master blender Mark Borchetta. “We just don’t get this type of connection with customers in our Nashville base—I have people coming over left and right asking about our whiskey.” The whiskeys in question were a variety of heirloom corn-based bourbons.
At each WhiskyFest, the tasting is accented by Master Classes—educational sit-downs led by distillers, blenders, or brand ambassadors. At WhiskyFest Hollywood, there were four such Master Classes presented throughout the night: They kicked off with an Elijah Craig tasting with Filiatreau and a discussion regarding whiskey innovation from farm to bottle with Middle West Spirits’ founder, head distiller, and CEO Ryan Lang. Toward the end of the night, Bruichladdich global ambassador Abi Clephane led a talk on the distillery’s history, and Maker’s Mark diplomat DeNiro Fisher led a deep dive into the distillery’s Private Selection single barrel program.
Chicago Keeps the Good Vibes Going
WhiskyFest took two weeks off before returning in full force to Chicago on November 15 at the Hyatt Regency Hotel. Many of the same VIP pours that were available in Hollywood would take to the floor in Chicago, but the Windy City also had its fair share of exclusive drams, among them Hakushu Heavily Peated Japanese single malt, Little Book, and Loch Lomond 18 year old. One of the hot spots for VIPs was Brown-Forman’s scotch booth. Marketing manager Russell Woelfel was pleased with the level of guest engagement, noting that the 2023 Whisky of the Year—Glenglassaugh Sandend—pulled people into single malt scotch and even swayed some steadfast bourbon and American whiskey fans.
The VIP hour wound down by 6:30, and the rest of the night’s guests flooded in. One of the most far-flung offerings, New Zealand’s Cardrona Distillery, was attracting a throng of guests. “Being a young distillery [it opened in 2016] from a region that isn’t well known for whisky, the experience has been great,” said global brand ambassador Pat Fraser. He added that Cardrona’s 3 year old Just Hatched single malt was the most popular pour of the bunch, but that the brand’s vodka—distilled entirely from malted barley—had people pleasantly surprised, with a few guests remarking on how much it tasted like whisky.
Another fresh face on the scene was Uncharted Whisky Co., an up-and-coming independent bottler from Fintry, Scotland. Director Jack Breslin was behind the table, pouring whiskies like the Thunderstruck Auchroisk 7 year old single malt, and Bat Out Of Hell 13 year old single malt from Macduff Distillery. “It’s been amazing,” said Breslin of the WhiskyFest experience. “We’re practically unknown, and we want to take our whiskies to people who haven’t seen us before. The [guests] here grasp our concept really well.”
Later in the evening came a slate of five Master Class seminars, starting with a Bruichladdich portfolio tasting led by brand ambassador Jason Cousins, an Elijah Craig bourbon tasting hosted by spirits specialist Lynn House, and a deep dive into all things oak presented by Maker’s Mark diplomat Greg Buttera. The night’s Master Classes concluded with rye-centric presentations from Beam ambassador Kay Quigley and Redemption master blender Alan Kennedy.
Wrapping Up in the Big Apple
A mere five days after WhiskyFest Chicago, another group of whisky lovers arrived at the New York Marriott Marquis Hotel en masse, eagerly anticipating the final WhiskyFest of the year. The VIP doors opened at 5:30, and guests rushed in to get their hands on some of the most precious whiskies on the floor, including Redbreast 18, Glen Moray 21, Laphroaig 36 year old, Bunnahabhain Feis Ile 2024 Release, Booker’s, and Michter’s 20 year old. Albany native Michael Callaghan, who has been a WhiskyFest attendee since 2006, liked Michter’s and Old Grand-Dad 16 year old—and saw it as something he could add to the extensive whisky collection he started for his son. “My son is now 13, but I started a special collection for him [a few years ago],” he explained. “It’s 90% bourbon right now, but there is some scotch, Irish, and Japanese, and sometimes when I taste things here, I’ll mark them as bottles to add to the cellar.”
Another sought-after whisky at the VIP hour was the ultra-aged Rosebank 31 year old. Commercial projects director Neil Boyd was responsible for pouring it, alongside other whiskies from Tamdhu and Glengoyne. “We must’ve poured about 80 or so servings,” he said with a smile. “It’s a light and vibrant Lowlands malt—there are much heavier whiskies here, but people really appreciated this one.”
When the big crowd came in at 6:30, the booths were flooded with frenetic energy once again. At the Minden Mill booth, recently appointed master distiller Joe O’Sullivan was pouring the brand’s newly launched core range. “The folks I’ve spoken to tonight aren’t just enthusiastic about the whiskey, they’re also asking good questions,” he said, noting that the average whisky connoisseur has gotten much sharper over the past five to ten years. He said the rye was by far the fan favorite, though the single malt and bourbon also saw plenty of love.
Throughout the evening eight Master Classes were offered; seminars unique to New York included a complete tasting of the Glen Moray Warehouse 1 collection with global brand ambassador Iain Allan, an exploration of Glenturret’s evolving style by managing director Jennie Baernreuther, a guided tasting of Komoro Japanese whisky with master distiller and blender Ian Chang, and a showcase of Suntory’s art of blending with east coast brand ambassador Gardner Dunn.
Visit whiskyfest.com for upcoming events. Big Smoke Meets WhiskyFest will be held on March 29th in Tampa, Florida. For details and tickets visit bigsmokewhiskyfest.com
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