Spring Scottish Speyside Festival
Enjoy Fine Food, Whisky and Music in Scotch Whisky Country
This spring there is a fine opportunity to encounter the best that the area around the Scottish River Spey has to offer the visitor in hospitality.The Spirit of Speyside Whisky Festival will be energizing this prime distilling area from the 3rd to the 7th of May. From Grantown on Spey in the south to Elgin in the north the valley of the River Spey and its tributaries will welcome all to a springtime whisky festival with a difference. The festival was conceived as an annual celebration of malt whisky country which through a series of specialist whisky events hopes to increase visitors to this remarkable corner of North East Scotland.
Event Coordinator Ros Lewis is looking forward to this year’s festival. “We have nearly 200 events going on,” she said. That is a lot of whisky related happenings to take in over the five days but the organisers are happy to see the festival go from strength to strength. It is hoped to cover more of Moray and Grampian areas and to eventually extend outwards to Aberdeen, Aviemore and Inverness in future years. The festival launches with a gourmet dinner in Elgin. The four courses will be accompanied by a complimentary and specially chosen malt whisky of distinction. Good food runs like vein throughout this event and there is everything from food fairs and farmers markets to breakfasts, afternoon teas to full blown banquets and other special gastronomic delights.
Good whisky is never very far away in Speyside and some of the best will be on offer during this five day extravaganza. Speyside has the highest concentration of whisky distilleries in the world and many of the best will be on trial during this Mayfest. There will be a special tour of Speyside Cooperage to watch the whisky barrels being made. Tours and whisky tastings will happen at several remote distilleries and at some not usually open to the public like those at Mortlach, Longmorm and Tomintoul. There will also be master classes by the experts in how to drink and enjoy the whisky properly.
Delicious food and fine whisky needs a magnificent musical accompaniment and this has been laid on as well. During the Saturday and Sunday, with sponsorship from the year long Highland 2007 festival, modern Scottish folk artistes Wolfstone, Donnie Munro (ex lead singer of Runrig), Ivan Drever, Duncan Chisholm and Shooglenifty among others will be enlivening audiences at Elgin and Aviemore. Traditional ceilidhs and live music will be laid on at several other venues throughout the Spey valley.
