WHISKY festival bosses are planning another round this autumn, just days after closing a record event.
Ticket sales for the five-day Spirit of Speyside Whisky Festival hit record highs this year, with thousands of visitors from home and abroad celebrating music, food and the country’s national drink.
The party ended on Monday night, and organisers are now preparing to repeat the event with a three-day version in September.
Titled Spirit of Speyside – Distilled, the mini-fest will take place in Elgin Town Hall, bringing the region’s whisky producers under one roof on their own doorstep for the first time.
It is hoped that the event will initially attract a more local audience, growing gradually to include international visitors. Festival chairman James Campbell said: “The Spirit of Speyside Whisky Festival has grown to become a phenomenal event, but we felt that it was time to add a second event which did not require visitors to undertake a great deal of itinerary planning.
“We chose Elgin for the location because it is the transport hub for the area, withhas excellent rail and road links. People can come for one session or the whole weekend but still enjoy the spirit – and welcome – for which Speyside is famous.”
Speaking about the recent fest, he added: “It will take us a little bit of time to find out what the overall numbers were, but the area was extremely busy for the full five days. I personally met visitors from over a dozen different countries, some who have been coming for years and others who were visiting for the first time.”
Tickets for Spirit of Speyside – Distilled will go on sale soon in the next couple of weeks at www.spiritofspeyside.com
Why are you making commenting on The National only available to subscribers?
We know there are thousands of National readers who want to debate, argue and go back and forth in the comments section of our stories. We’ve got the most informed readers in Scotland, asking each other the big questions about the future of our country.
Unfortunately, though, these important debates are being spoiled by a vocal minority of trolls who aren’t really interested in the issues, try to derail the conversations, register under fake names, and post vile abuse.
So that’s why we’ve decided to make the ability to comment only available to our paying subscribers. That way, all the trolls who post abuse on our website will have to pay if they want to join the debate – and risk a permanent ban from the account that they subscribe with.
The conversation will go back to what it should be about – people who care passionately about the issues, but disagree constructively on what we should do about them. Let’s get that debate started!
Callum Baird, Editor of The National
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules here