The FNB Whisky Live Festival

It doesn’t matter if you are a whisky connoisseur, enjoy the odd glass of whisky or have never experienced the true art form of this popular drink, the FNB Whisky Live Festival accommodates everyone. For the fifth time the festival, which is held both in Cape Town and Johannesburg, will open its doors to the finest whiskies from South Africa and around the world.

The FNB Whisky Live Festival attracts many of the whisky greats each year, and has become a well-known and respected event locally and internationally. Due to the rapid growth of the whisky market in South Africa, it only seems appropriate that an event is organized to educate the public about the product and to introduce some of the latest brands and the age-old premium products to South Africa. Respected personalities in the whisky industry, such as Eddie Russel (Wild Turkey), Martine Nouret (editor for the French Whisky Magazine), Kevin O’Gordon (Jameson), Billy Walker (BenRiach), Dave Broom (Whisky writer), Robert Flemming (Tomitoul), Ronnie Cox (Glenrothes) and Richard Patterson (Whyte and MacKay), will be in attendance this year.

There will be two important events at the FNB Whisky Live Festival this year. Firstly, there will be a Tasting Hall. Here, visitors are able to take a magical journey across the world, discover the history of each whisky, savor the various flavors and even talk to the distillers and ambassadors about the products. The Whisky Workshops are extremely fascinating, and it is recommended that visitors combine the two events to truly experience and understand the world of whisky. Some of the whiskies that are available in the workshops cannot be tasted in the Tasting Hall, as the workshops introduce new brands and this year the Japanese whiskies will be showcased. Various exhibitors, including De Toren, Distell, Brandhouse Beverages, Edward Snell, KWV, Pernod Ricard, Douglas Green Bellingham and others. They will exhibit a large range of whiskies, making the total number of whiskies available at the festival approximately one hundred and eighty.

Of course the festival will have a wonderful range of luxurious stands available, food stalls, musicians performing live and an art exhibition. Tickets to this amazing event are available from Computicket and ticket prices range from between R95 to R400 per person, depending on the type of ticket that is chosen. The Cape Town festival will take place from the 31st of October 2007 to the 2nd of November 2007 in the Cape Town International Convention Centre. The dates for the Johannesburg exhibition are the 7th, 8th and 9th of November 2007, in the Sandton Convention Centre. It is a festival of whisky, laughter and fun that should not be missed. The first two days of the Cape Town festival have already been sold out, so hurry to the nearest Computicket before it is too late.