Edinburgh Whisky Festival 2019: date, venue, tickets and what’s on

Scotland is actually split up into five separate whisky producing regions - Campbeltown, Highland, Islay, Lowland and Speyside.

A country with many festivals to its name, like the Edinburgh Festival Fringe and the Edinburgh International Film Festival, it only makes sense that Scotland’s national drink gets celebrated with the Edinburgh Whisky Festival.

What is it?

“If you haven't been to one of our legendary festivals before you are in for a treat,” the Edinburgh Whisky Festival states on its website.

Celebrating all things whisky, you’re invited to sample the best whiskies, not just from Scotland but across the globe.

With distillers from the likes of Taiwan, India, Japan and the USA in attendance, the Edinburgh Whisky Festival boasts the finest selection of whiskies from around the world.

It’s not just exhibitors showing off their selection of whiskies - there is also a variety of workshops and masterclasses on offer, with input from certified whisky experts.

What’s on?

Some of the activities offered at the event are:

TWL: Whisky Cocktail Masterclass, where you’ll learn everything you need to know about the art of blending whisky and mixing to create the perfect cocktail. You’ll need to book on the day as fast as you can as this event is guaranteed to be popular.

Art of Blending with Chivas, which aims to shine a spotlight on blended whisky, which it thinks has been “ignored for far too long, particularly in the UK”. You don’t need to be a whisky expert, the event states, all you have to do is have an open mind and be prepared to make your own blended whisky.

Founder’s Festival Tasting with Eddie Ludlow, which the event claims is “not for the faint of heart”. Eddie Ludlow is the co-founder of The Whisky Lounge and this tasting features a huge array of drams, as well as Eddie’s unique sense of humour.

Included in the price of your ticket is the sampling of whisky from all of the exhibitors.

There’s also a festival shop on hand that will let you purchase any of the whiskies that you can find at the event.

Tickets

Of the variety of ticket types, many are sold out.

There are two types of ticket still available:

1st session single ticket (12-4pm) which will cost you £40

2nd session single ticket (5-9pm) which also costs £40

The event is split up into session times so that the festival doesn’t get too overcrowded, meaning you can work your way around the huge selection of whiskies at your own pace.

You can get tickets from the Edinburgh Whisky Festival’s eventbrite page.

You can also purchase special ‘under the counter dram tokens’ on the day, which will allow you to sample rarer and more exclusive whiskies.

There are different tiers of tokens that can be bought and exchanged for different levels of whisky - the tokens are:

Orange tokens - £10 each

Black tokens - £20 each

Where and when is it on?

Edinburgh Whisky Festival kicks off on Saturday 15 June and the Assembly Rooms on George Street, Edinburgh.

It begins at 12pm and finishes up at 9pm. Last pour is always 15 minute before the end of your session, and is non-negotiable.

As to be expected regarding a festival celebrating all things whisky, all festival-goers need to be over 18 and ID may be asked for.

How to get there

There are a variety of ways to reach the Assembly Rooms if you’re coming through for the festival.

Train

The venue is situated about a 10 minute walk away from Edinburgh Waverley station.

Bus

Lothian Buses has a variety of buses that will get you to the outside of the Assembly Rooms.

The services you’ll want to keep an eye out for are:

- 10

- 11

- 16

- 12

Tram

The Princes Street and St Andrews Square tram stops are located only five minutes away from the venue.

Car

There is on-street parking available outside of the Assembly Rooms for those taking the car - just be mindful of drinking and driving.

The streets are controlled by parking meters during the day.

Alternatively, you can head to Castle Terrace or the Omni Centre for the nearest car park.