Spirit of Speyside Whisky Festival
Visitors to the Spirit of Speyside Whisky Festival, Speyside, Scotland, will be raising their glasses to the royal wedding April 29 — because William and Kate say “I do” during the five-day festival celebrating Scotland’s national drink set for April 28 through May 2, 2011. (Of course, the wedding’s in London, and the festival’s on the other side of Hadrian’s Wall…but, no matter! It’s still an occasion for a toast.)
You don’t even have to drink a drop of the stuff to enjoy yourself. With more than 200 events on the festival program, Road Trips Foodies, you’ll be sure to find many to suit your taste, from distillery and cooperage tours, to whisky and wildlife walks and smuggling talks.
For the first time, this year’s program highlights other Speyside produce with the introduction of half- and whole-day “Food and Drink” tours. Visitors can learn about and sample top quality Scottish meats and game and sample offerings from across the region, which is home to half the whisky distillers in the country.
Visitors can also take part in whisky and food pairing workshops – from sausages to chocolate – watch cooking demonstrations, visit local farmers markets and attend a festival dinner to try these edible offerings for themselves.
Bookings started last week for the special events, so if there’s something special you want to do — get that trip scheduled quickly and that ticket reserved.
This year’s Whisky School (for the truly dedicated aficionado) takes place April 27-29, 2011. It’s limited to 16 participants.
