WhiskyFest SF 2016

[trektone]

Despite the cost of entry going up more than a little since I started attending, I continue to enjoy WhiskyFest. This year’s main room seemed less crowded to me overall, but the VIP group seemed larger (though Ellen thought there were as many VIP folks last year

Comments

[desperance]

I've been round Highland Park, but not the other Orkney distillery at Scapa. The legend is that you can't do both on the same visit, because they're never open at the same time: for a couple of months every year, they close the Highland Park distillery, and everybody decamps to Scapa to make their brief annual run. I have no idea if this is actually true, but it's a lovely story.

[trektone]

I had never heard of that story! I've also not been to either Highland Park or to Scapa, but perhaps one day.

[tigertoy]

Even if you didn't catch 'em all, that sounds like a lot of whiskey. I don't know how such an event works. I trust you're only getting a small amount of each one, not a regular shot, or you'd be too intoxicated to appreciate anything before you reached the end of the list.

[trektone]

Hey there! Yes, definitely on the small pours. And from the perspective of the vendors, they want their premium products to be tasted by as many folks as possible and, preferably, not wasted. On the retail market, the ones that are 20+ years tend to be more expensive. I know that a number of those I tasted retail for upwards of $500 for a 750 ml bottle.

As for the possible different pours, the WhiskyFest SF list noted >300 selections:

http://whiskyadvocate.com/events/whiskyfest-san-francisco/