People Make Whisky
Now that the buzz of what was a truly epic weekend has finally worn off I thought I would reflect a little on the release of the Independent Spirits - A Whisky Series and the accompanying festival in Leith that was organised to coincide with the film premier.
The film and the festival highlighted the pure genius that is Independent bottlers - and I don’t mean just Watt Whisky, I mean the category as a whole. Everything just screamed at me - people make whisky! Obviously they do, there is no fully automated field to bottle AI run whisky companies yet. But what I mean is that without people whisky would be dull.
The Film
I will be brutally honest - I was equally looking forward to the premiere of this documentary as I was bricking it. And when we were at the premiere in the excellent Scotsman theatre surrounded by my independent bottler peers I think many of us were thinking the same.
I blame Guy Satchwell. Director and camera man for the film, he filmed me twice for the documentary over three years and he has this amazing ability to make you feel at ease on camera and make you open up - you know - admit to a murder you didn’t commit kind of open! Okay I exaggerate, but you get the idea.
We watched the film and it really did showcase all that is good about the indy bottle whisky world. Forty plus people interviewed, and every time a new person came on screen I knew they would be good, as I say many of them friends, all of them people I look up to. But the ability everyone had to tell a story and make everyone feel the passion for the industry was amazing.
Spoiler alert, I am in it a few times - watch out for some sock references and an eternally rubbish cask no matter how often you finish it! That said they managed to make me look half decent so think how good they must be.
If you want to learn about IB’s then this is the best option. Listen to David Stirk, Alex Bruce, Cameron McGeachy, Bruce Farquhar, Charlie Maclean, Croucher, the 3 J’s etc etc and the passion for the industry shines through.
I would say if you have an interest in whisky you should watch this. As an independent film with none of us giving them money there was no preferences, no marketing agenda to follow - just a desire to make a great film and I believe they have done this.
The Festival
In Leith 450 people attended the show, to see what the 40 different Independent bottlers had on offer. It truly was one the best -if not the best - whisky show I have ever attended. Bizarrely the whisky was the second most import thing in the room (and there was some truly amazing whiskies in that room) as everyone was there to catch up with old friends and just chew the fat over a few drams.
The line up of whisky on offer, for a free pour event, was unheard of, and a lot of that was fuelled by the fact that most of us behind the stands have massive egos, and a lot of us are good friends, so there was a bit of one up man-ship at play. As much as we all get along we are competitive beasts, so it was very much I will raise your 11yo Glen Elgin with a Dornoch 5yo Single Cask, or how about a 25yo Ardmore or a Caperdonich 30 or even a Bowmore 25yo or one of at least two 50yo Invergordons- all stunning only to be upstaged by G&M opening a 1949 Glenlivet!
But it’s not just the people behind the stands that made this show so amazing, the audience, the punters, the drinkers, the geeks or whatever you want to call them, were a who’s who of whisky drinking friends, many people I have known for years, others I have known online for years but never met and a lot of people that I would like to meet again. The room was filled with some of the biggest whisky geeks on the planet, yet it wasn’t a geeky convention, it was a true celebration of whisky and Independent bottlers. Whisky without the bullshit.
The fact that some of the best drams I managed to try on the day were samples that people brought with them to share at the show sums up the camaraderie that exists between Indy Bottlers and their drinkers. I think a lot of that is because there is a synergy between the people behind the stands and the people in front of the stands. We are all passionate about whisky. To those of you who brought me drams, whether it was the 17yo Cadenhead black label Springbank, the private cask of Port Charlotte, the fantastic Jean-Luc Pasquet Cognac or any of the other fabulous drams I was brought, I am truly thankful that you did.
The other people who cannot be praised enough are the people who put it together, too many to name them all but they know who they are. What an amazingly well organised show, it was perfectly pitched, not to many people but enough to create an excellent atmosphere but not too many that you could’t spend time to talk to people. Excellent venue, plenty of help on offer whether it be for food or the helpers coming round on a tea and coffee run (Okay Kate had tea, I may not have done). This was clearly organised by people who have been behind a stand before!
I also loved the fact that from an exhibitors point of view it was a sensible amount of time to be behind stand - 4 hours is plenty, we don’t need these shows that last 12 hours - were not as young as we used to be!
All I can say is I really hope that this was not a one off festival and that we can get to do it all again in the future.
