Aviemore gets honour of being launch venue for world’s biggest whisky festival
Aviemore will be taking a starring role in the biggest whisky festival in the world which gets underway at the end of this month.
The world famous Spirit of Speyside Whisky Festival will kick off at the Macdonald Aviemore Resort’s Osprey Arena with an industry dinner on Wednesday April 30 which is being co-hosted by Speyside Distillers Ltd based at Tromie Mills by Kingussie.
The resort’s arena will also host the annual Spirit of Speyside Ceilidh and two -course buffet supper for visitors to the world-famous festival - now in its 26th year - on Friday May 2.
It is the first time that the Macdonald Aviemore Resort has staged the prestigious launch events and the venue is breaking new ground - it has been held in distilleries every year until now.
The Spirit of Speyside Whisky Festival has established itself as the largest gathering of its kind with almost 500 events across 89 venues in six days.
“We are honoured to be working with Speyside Distillers as the new host venue for the Spirit of Speyside Whisky Festival,” said Clare Armstrong, sales director at Macdonald Aviemore Resort.
“Hosting the opening industry dinner and the much-loved annual ceilidh at our Osprey Arena marks a proud first for both our resort and the festival.
“This is a momentous occasion not just for Macdonald Aviemore Resort but for Aviemore and the wider Highlands community.
“We are thrilled to play a part in showcasing the spirit of Speyside in such a unique setting, and we look forward to welcoming guests from across the globe to experience the very best of Scottish hospitality.”
Speyside Distillers boss John McDonough said: “Speyside Distillery is delighted to have been chosen by the Spirit of Speyside Whisky Festival organisers as hosts for 2025 , in conjunction with the Macdonald Aviemore Resort as the chosen venue.
“This is a special year for our business and we are delighted to showcase our exciting future at the opening dinner.”
Last year’s record-breaking gathering saw a 23 per cent rise in attendances with just over 8,400 tickets sold and visitors coming far and wide from 39 different countries.
An economic impact assessment revealed that the festival generated over £2.2million last year for the North’s economy during the festival and supported around 20 full-time jobs.
Badenoch and Strathspey is hosting more events than ever before this year for the festival which has been predominantly Moray based.
Grantown has no less than 17 different events with the new Cairn Distillery, The Speyside Hotel, Tormore Distillery and town-based Angel’s Nectar all featuring.
Boat Country Inn in Boat of Garten will be hosting ‘Whisky & Charcuterie: A Perfect Pairing with The Dram Caddy’ on Friday May 2 and there will be free tastings of Angel’s Nectar at the Rothiemurchus Farm Shop by Aviemore on Sunday May 4.
The full programme of events is available at https://www.spiritofspeyside.com/festival/whisky/events
