Leeds Whisky Festival: Spirit themed event coming to city's Corn Exchange in April

The inaugural Leeds Whisky Festival, which will welcome guests for an afternoon or evening of tasting, learning and entertainment, will take place at Leeds’ historic Corn Exchange on Saturday April 9.

Organised by Rolling Social Events and sponsored by the likes Nikka, Starward, Woodford Reserve, Slane, Port Askaig and Three Cents, brands such as Jack Daniels, The English Whisky Co and Yorkshire’s own Filey Bay, which is distilled on the coast will be on show.

Starward will be hosting a masterclass entitled ‘Starward Whisky: Whisky done different’, at which attendees will be offered tastings of single malts and to learn more about the impact of wine casks on their expressions.

Other masterclasses will come in the form of Speciality Brands’ ‘A History of Japanese Whisky’ and Edrington UK’s Naked Malt blending session.

Distributor Speciality, who are bringing their brands Nikka, Kavalan and Amrut to the festival, will take whisky fans on a crash course tasting into the world of Japanese whisky with ambassador Nathan Shearer.

Attendees will learn the history and production methods whilst tasting samples from the Nikka distillery. And anyone who has ever wanted to try their hand at blending their own whisky will be in luck as Edrington UK’s Senior Whisky Specialist Mike Green will be hosting a hands-on session of whisky blending- participants will also be able to take their very own blended whisky away with them.

Claire Morrow, marketing manager at Starward, said: “We are really looking forward to coming to Leeds Whisky Festival and sharing our Australian single malts.

“We will also be bringing several of our limited ‘Projects’ releases, including a Ginger Beer Cask finished whisky.”

A ticket to Leeds Whisky Festival will get you access to the festival as well as cover attendees’ samples, talks, masterclasses and tastings.

Nathan Shearer, Whisky Ambassador at Speciality Brands, said: “Here at Speciality Brands we’re absolutely thrilled to be taking part in the inaugural Leeds Whisky Fest, we’ve always worked very closely with bars, restaurants and retailers here and it’s great that there is now an event for us to come and talk to more people about our wonderful products.

“We’ll be bringing a host of whiskies from all over the world and introducing people to some of the fantastic producers that we’re lucky enough to work with including Nikka, Michter’s, Elixir Distillers, Amrut, Kavalan and Waterford.”

Food vendors on the day include Ooey Gooey Bakes and Mans Market.

Sophia Austen-Meek, from Mans Market, said: “We’re thrilled to be part of the Leeds Whisky Festival and excited to bring our home grown brand of Chinese Street Food to the Whisky enthusiasts of Yorkshire.

“Mans Markets’ fun, street food vibe will let the drinkers feast in style whilst enjoying the quality brands on offer at the festival.”

Organisers hope to follow up the Leeds Whisky Festival with a similar event dedicated to rum later in the year.

The Operational Team at Leeds Corn Exchange commented: “We are delighted to be welcoming Leeds Whisky Festival to Leeds Corn Exchange. Following our popular Christmas Market with Rolling Social last year, we know that the festival will be a huge success.

“The Rum Festival is a firm favourite of Leeds, so we can’t wait to see how this new event is received from local whisky lovers.”