Another weekend and  another festival has come and gone.. Newcastle, Manchester, Stoke,  Birmingham and Liverpool have all been visited over the past weeks / months with London, York and possibly a return to Birmingham on the cards before the end of the year so I thought I would just have a brief sum up of how they went rather than several features with much off the same written.

My festival visits these days are all on the trade side of the counter but it is a fantastic way of meeting some great people and making new friends, saying hello to old friends and most importantly sharing a few drams with prople and help some of them understand a little more about this simple drink that we all love..  As most of you might know I have been helping out Shilton from the Paul John whisky stable, a great guy and a fantastic whisky !!

The thing s that  impresses me at these events is the knowledge and also the yearning to learn about the new products that are hitting the market along with the fantastic array of whiskies that are on offer to taste, the people that are there working with a burning passion to pass on what they know and the sharing nature they all have..

I don’t really want to ramble on about just my thoughts so I will make this a little more in the picture style of things but anyone reading this just think about this.. The world of festivals is two fold, those who work them have very long hours and work hard to make your day a pleasure, my situation is slightly different but my last festival day started at 4.30 am – 8.30 am with my day job, then on the road in order to be in Liverpool by 11am, festival – 12-9 before then chatting for a while then a drive home, 3 hours sleep then back to work.. On the other side festivals are a place to increase your knowledge and experiences within your journey, try those new whiskies that you wouldn’t normally try, talk to the guys and ladies that are there serving you our job is to teach you and pass on our knowledge and believe it or not none of your questions are ” stupid” because it is something you want to know !

Festivals are not supposed to be a ” Let’s get shit faced” event although many of us will or have been there and yes I admit I have benn there and got the t shirt as they say ( shame ) They are great learning curves and a fantastic way of getting new friends, learning more about what you do and don’t like ( the actual idea behind them in my opinion )

A small list of people that I’d like to mention..

Shilton Almeida from Paul John,  because without his help and friendship none of this would be possible for me..

Dave from Boutiquey whisky, One great guy and possibly one of the friendliest people on the circuit. This guy has given me so much advice and support.

Colin Dunn from Diageo.. If you know him then you understand !! Infectious does not do him justice.

Eddie and Amanda from The whisky lounge (and the whole team) friendly and generous to the hilt.. A great group of people.

Paul Dempsey from Spey distillery.  A true gent and it’s always a pleasure to sit down and chat with him.

There are actually so many more to mention that the list would be endless but Olivia and  Kay from Maxxium,Eddie, Matt, Adrian, from various companies must also be mentioned and I had better mention my driving companion Craig who is a fellow blogger and friend who I constantly share a coffee / whisky and long chats with all about whisky of course ( he is actually a great guy who I have to say although he is a peat fan I do like the chats and constant banter we have on our long journeys and hours of working together)  because without the company and friendship these journeys would be hard..

Above.. Shilton and Dave are always up for a pose !! And Paul below is never shy and is always happy to pour you another dram ( honest)

Dave ( above ) from Boutiquey whisky is all ready to serve you a few drams from the wonderful array of whisky while Karen ( below) from Angels share glass shows off the beautiful creations from her company.,

A few happy people sampling whisky ( of course they are happy )

 

Above.. Before and after ( picture is not staged ” honest” )

All great people that wanted to talk and learn.. They loved the whisky too !!

They are ready for action..

 

( above pictures courtesy of The whisky lounge)

Paul is soooo ready..

 

( below picture courtesy of The whisky Lounge )

Enjoy your festival experience but please remember to drink responsibly !

 

Some photos are courtesy of The Whisky Lounge and Shilton.