The Whisky Live Festival is on at the The Lookout in Cape Town until Saturday.
IOL staffer Riana Andrews was there on the first night, and shares her impressions:
1. The vibe: The Whisky Live festival is truly a fun night out. Beautiful people - old, young,and in between - beautiful drinks, meeting up with old friends and making new ones over a shared love of whisky.
A photo posted by Riaan Fourie (@riaanfourieza) on Apr 14, 2016 at 11:37pm PDT
2. The venue: Changing the venue was a fabulous idea. The supersize Cape Town International Convention Centre swallowed up the vibe. The Lookout at the V&A Waterfront was cosy and easy to navigate and, of course, that view...
Appreciating all the different smells and flavors of the finest whiskies around the world.
A photo posted by Opulent Living (@opulentliving) on Apr 14, 2016 at 11:53am PDT
3. The spiel: This is my kind of edutainment: Learning how to smell, taste, pour and mix your drink from whisky experts/salespeople who are of course all convinced that their’s is the best whisky in town. I left every stand thoroughly convinced.
A photo posted by VersatileLyle Blog (@versatilelyleblog) on Apr 14, 2016 at 1:24pm PDT
4. The Glenfiddich Handshake: Watch and see below. I may just add this to my bag of party tricks.
5. The variety. It‘s like my favourite aisle in the bottle store come to life with the familiar and the new, the way-out-of-my-price-range and some definite new additions to my shopping list . International brands but also fantastic local offerings. (One of my favourites, Bains, is made down the road in Wellington).
6. The card system: When entering the festival, you are issued with a credit card with 15 tasting vouchers. The person at the stand swipes the card when you order a drink. They can also easily tell how many you have left. So much easier than keeping track of pieces of paper.
7. The toilets: Say the word festival and my bladder recoils in fear of long queues at the dark portaloos. There was much celebration at the sight of solidly built toilets with no queues and (gasp) hot water taps!
8. No hangover. Came to work this morning bright-eyed and bushy-tailed thanks to whisky and water.
9. But: More seating please and not just for VIPs.
10. Closing time: Last rounds at 10pm? Seriously? I know it starts at 6 but some of us have to take care of things at home first before they let us out of the cage.
IOL
* The Whisky Live Celebration is on at the The Lookout in Granger Bay at the V&A Watefront until Saturday April 16, from 6pm to 10pm. General access tickets are R190 a person and includes entry to the deli area and tasting hall. All tickets include a tasting glass, a 500ml bottle of Valpré spring water and 15 tasting vouchers.
There’s also a designated driver ticket option, offered at R105 a person. It includes all of the above, except the tasting glass and vouchers. To book your ticket visit www.whiskylive.co.za or www.ticketpro.co.za.
For more information:
Facebook: Facebook.com/Whisky Live Africa
Twitter : @WhiskyLiveSA; Hashtag: #WhiskyLiveSA2016