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Exhibitors Information
We hope you will join us for this years Dornoch Whisky Festival Grand Tasting.
Below you will find information on our wee festival and the forms to download if you are interested in attending.
About The Dornoch Whisky Festival
The Dornoch Whisky Festival has become a highlight of the autumn calendar in the Highlands, and we can’t wait to welcome everyone back this October.
Despite the break and the uncertainty that has surrounded these last two years, our festival is set to be a great weekend full of whisky, gin, great food, and a fantastic atmosphere. Working in partnership with a variety of venues across Dornoch, the festival will see over 30 events take place throughout the last weekend in October.
The festival includes masterclasses, brand tastings, tours, whisky themed pairings, gin tastings and various dining and entertainment options, all based around the picturesque town of Dornoch in the Highlands of Scotland. Our main draw is arguably our Grand Tasting which allows distillers and brands from across Scotland to showcase and sell their products. We would be delighted if you would exhibit this year.
Over our years we have stayed away from growing the festival beyond its means and instead have focused on quality of events and products we offer over the number of people that we can get through the door. As such, we have been complimented on the ambience of our Grand Tasting as it gives an intimate and somewhat unique chance for patrons and exhibitors alike to have a conversation about their products. This event is not a free for all, it is a chance for you the exhibitor to get your products into the hands of people who really enjoy whisky and want to know more.
If you wish to attend the Dornoch Whisky Festival Grand Tasting, I warmly invite you to complete the form found below.
Attending the Dornoch Whisky Festival Grand Tasting
We are delighted to attract people from all over Scotland, the United Kingdom, Europe and The United States—sometimes even further away. Many have become familiar faces to us and return each year. As we grow, so too does our loyal attendee base.
Our festival is well marketed throughout the summer season and into the shoulder season where there will be plenty of access to marketing opportunities through our website, social media channels and traditional print.
You will have a chance to further showcase your brand to a Highland market that is steeped in tradition and has a love of a good dram.
Our growing, yet intimate festival has a great mixture from the whisky industry. We are keen for there to always be a mix; from the new to the established, the large to the small, the distilleries to the independent companies and all those that fall in-between.
The Details
The Grand Tasting takes place on Saturday 29th October, 2022.
The event will last for 4 hours, between 1pm — 5pm. Doors will open for set up at 10am on the day.
Tables cost £120 + VAT each.
This is for a six-foot table, lunch tickets for two people and the opportunity for you to sell your stock on the day.
To ensure a level playing field your stock must be sold at RRP. If you would like to offer deals to the patrons on the day then these must be coordinated through the Carnegie Whisky Cellars, again to ensure a level playing field.
Attendees will receive a “goodie bag” which will include a voucher for up to 20 pours.
This is not a free pour event but additional vouchers can be purchased by attendees on the day at the personal licence holder’s discretion.
Dornoch Whisky Festival 2019 By Numbers
250: We welcomed over 250 people into our Grand Tasting Event from all over the world.
30: We put on thirty events all over Dornoch as part of the Dornoch Whisky Festival.
25: We had twenty five exhibitors, all representing various elements of the whiskies, gins and spirits industry over the weekend.
16: We put on sixteen different masterclasses ranging from blind gin tastings to brand whisky masterclasses.
1: We had one amazing weekend full of drinks, masterclasses, great food & entertainment.
We can’t wait to welcome you to the Dornoch Whisky Festival 2022.
Registering your attendance
If you would like to join us for this years Dornoch Whisky Festival Grand Tasting, please fill out the form and send it back to us.
About Dornoch
We know we may seem like we’re a little far away from some of you to travel to, but the journey is worth it.
Not only is the Highlands a strong market for whisky tourism, but it also has much more to offer in terms of serenity, revelry and great food and drink.
In Dornoch itself, we have Dornoch Distillery which begun production in 2016 and successfully launched their first release in December 2020. We can also boast the world famous Dornoch Castle Whisky Bar which has taken awards from SLTN and has been named number one whisky hotel in Scotland by whiskybase.com. In addition to this, our independent whisky shop, The Carnegie Whisky Cellars have now been trading for almost six years and within that time have been nominated and won several awards each year of their trading—Covid-19 allowing.
As well as this, Dornoch is home to one of the best golf courses in the world; Royal Dornoch Golf Club (we will be holding a golf competition on Sunday 30th October which may be of interest to you). Dornoch is also a hidden gem on the North Coast 500, which as you’ll know is an increasingly popular road trip that showcases the best of the North Highlands.
These are just some of the great venues that we have to offer in Dornoch, but of course, outside our own town, you will find a number of established and new distilleries that snake their way up the North East coast, including Glen Ord, The Dalmore, Glenmorangie, Balblair, Clynelish, Brora, Old Pulteney & Wolfburn to make a wonderful whisky trail up the North Highlands.
This small but mighty town can also boast that it was the only Scottish finalist in the entire 2016 Great British High Street Awards, and has been named The Times ‘best coastal towns’ as #4 in the UK too.
We have history dating back hundreds of years with our beautiful 13th century Cathedral that stands just opposite where our Grand Tasting takes place.
Of course, Dornoch itself is a gorgeous Scottish town that we think you’ll just love.
As always, if you have any questions, please email us here.