FNB Whisky Live Festival – A Look Back

The 11th annual Whisky Live Festival in South Africa took place in the last quarter of 2013 at two different venues: Soweto and Sandton. Time constraints and other commitments meant that I missed out on Soweto, but I made up for it in Sandton!

There was some great local whisky representation at the show, with Bain’s Cape Mountain Whisky’s commanding stand which had both Andy Watts and Jeff Green in attendance. I have a great memory of sharing a dram with them both at the stand, listening to Andy and Jeff’s feedback on the new warehouses at the James Sedgwick Distillery while sipping on some Bain’s – crafted by these very two gentlemen.

For me, the biggest draw card at the festival is always the visiting international whisky folk. And this year was no exception, with a slew of repeat offenders (;)), including the global brand ambassador of The Glenlivet, Ian Logan. He was out here as part of the international Guardian’s Chapter campaign run by The Glenlivet – more about that later.

Another decidedly South African company showcasing some of their whiskies was Checkers, with their Private Barrel Co tasting room, run by whisky guru Marsh Middleton. Visitors were able to taste the new single cask offerings from Checkers, amongst other fine whiskies.

Show regulars The Macallan and Jameson were back for another year of pouring good whisky and whiskey. The Macallan’s focus being on the 1824 range – No Age Statement whiskies labelled by colour, where the whisky speaks for itself, instead of an age statement. Not sure if I’m entirely sold on that concept yet, but I guess time will tell.

The very first stand I visited was The Independent Bottlers’ Challenge, manned by whisky luminaries Mike Orrey and Marc Pendlebury. Shelves stacked with tasty treats from independent bottlers across Scotland, the stand was busy throughout the festival. Especially with the extremely knowledgeable guys manning it. Definitely one of those stands where you walked away with more than just a dram in your hand.

Brandhouse always put a lot of thought and effort into their exhibit and this year was no exception. The Brandhouse Sensorium exhibition took visitors on a sensory journey through the whisky world, with plenty to titillate the senses. Grouping whiskies according to their flavour profiles Bold, Vibrant, Rich, etc. was a very interesting move. In the Bold corner, one could taste your way through Johnnie Walker Black Label, Johnnie Walker Platinum Label, Lagavulin 16 year old and White Horse whisky – all of them espousing the same fundamental characteristic of boldness, but showing you that there was a Brandhouse whisky to match any pocket.

My good whisky friend, Bernard Gutman, was on hand to pour a few drams too. A great character, passionate about whisky, coupled with a generous pour or two meant I was a frequent visitor to the Sensorium!

Flying the flag high for whisky production on the Highveld was Moritz Kallmeyer – founder, brewer and distiller at Drayman’s. Moritz’s love for what he does comes across with every interaction with the public. I sat back and savoured the enthusiasm with which he shared his products with visitors, while sipping on his single malt. He had a very interesting bottle tucked away which he was going to open with David Broom a bit later in the evening that I wish I could have got to try. Maybe it’s time to swing past the distillery for a sampling of your casks Moritz? What do you say? 🙂

A friend dragged me over to the Thirst cocktail bar to have a break from me chatting to the umpteenth whisky industry insider and convinced me to try one of their cocktails. Bain’s Cape Mountain Whisky proved to be the spirit of choice for most of the cocktails available and it worked damn well! So much so, I’ve grabbed a bottle or two myself for some whisky cocktails on those hot summer afternoons.

Still with me? Good. As mentioned eariler, Ian Logan was here to lead a series of tastings of The Glenlivet Chapter. A global campaign run by The Glenlivet to get Guardians of The Glenlivet (their member’s programme) help select the next special bottling from the distillery. Ian has been on the road for months, conducting tastings all around the world. After each tasting, attendees voted for their favourite out of the three options: Classic, Revival and Exotic. I went into the tasting fully expecting to be casting my vote for Exotic, but in the end, Classic swung my vote (after I knocked over a fellow taster’s glass, costing him much of his sample – sorry!). My vote couldn’t stop Exotic from being selected as the eventual winner, with 39% of the vote. Exotic will be bottled now and released globally in March 2014, so keep your eyes open for it.

Another fascinating stand to visit was Kavalan. For those who don’t know, Kavalan is a Taiwanese whisky brand and they are now available in South Africa (Watch this space for a review of their whiskies soon). To help promote the brand, Kavalan’s master distiller, Ian Chang, flew over to SA and was on hand at the stand, as well as hosting a few workshops. Hearing about whisky production in their warm climates was fascinating. I learnt that the Kavalan Solist Sherry Cask finish is kept in casks for the longest of all their whiskies, and that is for 8 years only! Definitely a different world when comparing to the Scottish highlands.

As luck would have it, I joined a media tour hosted by the Chivas Brother’s, where apart from taking part in the Guardian’s Chapter tasting, we got to sample some of the other brands in the Chivas range, including Ballantines and Aberlour. I still pinch myself when I think back to my visit to The Glenlivet and Aberlour distilleries earlier in the year (as well as Glenfiddich, Balvenie and Kininvie)! 2013 was a great whisky year for me.

Another whisky VIP out from Scotland, was Burn Stewart Distillers’ master distiller, Ian MacMillan. Aside from promoting the Bunnahabhain range, including their delectable 40 year old (magic fruity stuff!!), Ian spent a few days with the whisky makers at Distell, running through the whisky production process at James Sedgwick Distillery, sharing his insights and vast knowledge with the team. All possible of course thanks to Distell’s purchase earlier in the year of Burn Stewart Distillers. I’m watching that move quite closely to see how it all unfolds. With access to not only the distilleries in Scotland, but the bottling plants, distribution centres and the like, could we see South African whisky being sold to the Scots in a few years time? Lots of questions around this one, with answers coming eventually I hope.

I couldn’t think of a better way to round out a visit to the festival than spending it in the company of Dave Broom and a good bottle of whisky. And that’s exactly what happened. Whilst catching up with Dave, Gerry Tosh of Highland Park came across with a bottle of the Highland Park 18 year old for a wee dramming session which I was invited to take part in. We were joined shortly thereafter by Rob Allanson, editor of the international Whisky Magazine. What esteemed company to be in while enjoying a top dram! And then Ian Logan and Andy Watts wandered over for a chat.

And *THAT* my friends is why I always come back to Whisky Live, year after year. The whiskies are great, the vibe good, but it’s the people and the interactions that I find priceless.

Here’s to the 2014 Whisky Live Festival in South Africa…

Slàinte!