The second Whisky Live attracted almost double the visitors of the first - and was hailed by all who attended as a roaring success. We look back on the event …

A lot of hard, hard work goes into Whisky Live. From us at Whisky Magazine as organisers of the event, to the exhibitors and their stands, masterclasses and hosts, right through to the hundreds of people that attended, some of whom travelled thousands of miles to enjoy an event unparalleled in the British whisky calendar.

The event took place on Friday March 8th and Saturday 9th, 2002, at The Royal Horticultural Halls, Vincent Square, London SW1. Whisky Live focuses on one thing, though there are distractions. Whisky Live focuses on the tasting and appreciation of some of the world's finest whiskies.

The exhibitors were many and varied, each stand loaded with a wealth of superb whiskies. Familiar expressions were there, alongside the new and more obscure. Old favourites with a new angle, single cask bottlings, blends, bourbons - just about everything was represented. Exhibitors included Chivas Brothers, Morrison Bowmore, Bruichladdich, Buffalo Trace, Cooley, Kyndal, Glenmorangie, Highland Distillers, Signatory, Van Winkle, UDV and many, many more. Brands on display included Glenturret, Laphroaig, The Macallan, Highland Park, Woodford Reserve, Cutty Sark, Bowmore, Benromach, Auchentoshan, The Glenlivet, Glen Garioch, Sazerac, Tyrconnell, Speyburn, Buffalo Trace, Springbank, Glenmorangie, The Dalmore, Ardbeg and many, many more.

Attendees were invited to take their time strolling around the stands, sampling these wonderful whiskies and enjoying a chinwag with the many distillery managers and product managers - and of course other whisky lovers.

The event kicked off with our inaugural Whisky Academy awards - results of which appeared in Whisky Magazine Issue 22 - which were well-received by the industry, and particularly by the winners themselves, though they were presented before the event opened to the public.

As well as Editor Marcin Miller meeting the public and industry, Dave Broom, Michael Jackson and Charles MacLean could be found among the crowds - inbetween introducing Masterclasses, that is - and were available for signing books on sale at the Whisky Magazine store.

What an event it was. What's left to say? If you weren't there, you missed out, so … see you next year!

Thanks to all our exhibitors and sponsors
Allied Domecq, Andrews Parke, Brown-Forman, Bruichladdich, Buffalo Trace, Chivas Brothers, Chiltern Hills Watercoolers, Cooley, Berry Bros & Rudd, Douglas Laing & Co, Drumchork Lodge Hotel, Glencairn Crystal, Glenmorangie plc, Gordon & MacPhail, Guinness UDV, Highland Distillers, Inver House Distillers, J&A Mitchell & Co, Kyndal Spirits, Morrison Bowmore Distillers, Red Lion Blending, Signatory Vintage, Van Winkle, Vintage Malt Whisky Co, Whiskies Galore, The Whisky Exchange, The Whisky School and William Grant & Sons.

The Masterclasses: tasting with the experts

Glenrothes 1989, Laphroaig 10-year-old, Glengoyne 10-year-old, Glengoyne 17-year-old, Glengoyne Scottish Oak Finish, The Macallan 10-year-old, Glenrothes 1973 and Glengoyne 30-year-old: it makes a mouthwatering tasting list for any malt fan.

This is exactly what was sampled during the Cutty Sark Masterclass, led by David King, Cutty Sark's Marketing Director. David's relaxed and friendly attitude soon invited comments and questions from the floor, and they came particularly thick and fast from one attendee, Swedish whisky expert and collector Ulf Buxrud (see our interview with him, Issue 21), who, David commented, was upstaging him! There was particular interest in the ageing of Glengoyne in Scottish oak, but when David was asked if this was the dawn of Scottish whisky production using only Scottish products, he ruefully answered "We'd like that, but we don't have the wood. It was a great experience but we just don't have the oak - there were only 500 cases."

A whirlwind of words and facts opened Richard Paterson's innovative, highly interactive and hi-tech masterclass for The Dalmore, fully furnished with background video, music and informative backdrops. Beginning with a whip-through of the history of whisky production in Scotland at something like the speed of light, he zoomed on to explain how the microclimate at The Dalmore Distillery would affect the taste of the whisky, although this theory was not met with universal approval. Participants were then encouraged to add a delicious mix of sugar, mint, thyme and ginger to their new make spirit to experience the whisky taking shape. Richard urged the eager audience on to ever new tasting sensations, sampling Dalmore after vanilla ice cream and chocolate to bring different dimensions to the fore. And he was right: we really could taste the orange. And all were agreed, the ice cream was really, really good. The only question left to pose at the end was who was the bigger star: The Dalmore or the Master Blender, Richard Paterson, who is a sheer force of nature?

One of the stars of David Boyd's class was Aberlour a'bunadh, 'a'bunadh' meaning 'of the origin': natural, nothing else added. The project had been, David explained, to create a whisky as it would have been in 1879 when Aberlour Distillery was founded, which entailed certain technical considerations. Giving the audience a historical perspective on whisky production, he explained that the casks used for maturation would have been Spanish ex-sherry casks and the whisky of cask strength. It would also not have had a set colour or a set period of distillation. Therefore bottlings from each cask of a'bunadh differ each time. As well as sampling the delicious fruit of the a'bunadh project itself, participants enjoyed the fruity, banana-like new make spirit, and various samples which were deemed either suitable for vatting or unsuitable by common consensus, involving both audience and Chief Blender. One audience member comment when prompted to describe a sample was that it smelled like 'a wet dog'. That wasn't one for the vat! According to Jackie Wheater of Cheltenham, the class had been 'very good', and her husband John commented of Whisky Live itself: "Excellent. It's our first time, thoroughly enjoyed it!"

A special treat for attendees of Jim Cryle's Masterclass, The Glenlivet, was a tasting of The Glenlivet 1959 vintage, a rare whisky of which only 400 bottles are to be released in June 2002, at a fair old price. The ecstatic cry of "Oh God!" from one female participant just about summed it up.

That old favourite Iain Henderson of Laphroaig enjoyed a very warm response from an unmistakably enthusiastic audience. Henderson believes there are three people you should never allow near a distillery: a chemist, an accountant and a politician. The audience were delighted to taste a 30-year-old Laphroaig aged in a sherry cask, and a 19-year-old from an American white oak hogshead, where usually European oak is used. The class ended with a standing ovation for this champion of Laphroaig and Islay who is sadly now retired.

Your Feedback

William Thomson, Lanarkshire "Thoroughly enjoyed it (the show). Went to some masterclasses - Bruichladdich and Van Winkle - and really enjoyed them, though I'll not be converting from malt to bourbon just yet!"

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