Back in 2018, I had the utter privilege of attending The Whisky Show in London. As a friend of The Whisky Exchange Team, a huge fan of whisky, and their fantastic whisky tasting events, I was invited (and very excited) to explore the world of whisky and expand my taste and knowledge of whisky, whiskey, bourbon and rye.

With Boris Johnson’s new rule of 6 and latest ‘six months of continued lockdown’ announcement, you’re probably left wondering what on earth you can do to socialise safely with friends from the comfort of your own home.

I’m pleased to announce that The Whisky Show 2020 (happening 2 - 9 October) has taken a futuristic Covid-19 friendly leap and gone virtual this year! Nope, you won’t have to worry about masking up and trekking into London – or planning your way home – slightly sozzled – post event…

Grab your whisky show ticket here! All virtual show attendees receive £10 off most packs, make sure you get your virtual show ticket first to get your discount code.

Talks on Friday 2nd Oct that look particularly tasty to me:

• The Whisky Exchange - 4pm - Show Opening - with Join Sukhinder Singh, Dave Broom and Dawn Davies as they open The Whisky Exchange: Virtual Whisky Show 2020

• The Whisky Exchange - 4.15pm - What’s New Pussy Cat - What is happening in the world of Independent bottlers, with new kid on the block Mark Watt, Cara Laing from old School bottler with a new look Douglas Laing, and Oliver Chilton from Elixir Distillers, who sits between the two. 

• The Whisky Exchange - 6pm - Passing the Baton – Whyte & Mackay -Join two of our favourite whisky makers for dive into blending, selecting whiskies, legacies and than handing over of some of the biggest names of a whisky world to a new curator – with Richard Paterson and Gregg Glass.

• Speciality Brands - 6.30pm - Smoke: Whisky vs Mezcal - Since humans discovered fire, the flavour of smoke has been part of what we eat & drink. Join Gabriela Moncada and Stef Holt from Speciality Brands in an exploration of smoke in spirits.

• Jura - 6.30pm - Jura Pub Quiz - Join Jura Brand Home Manager Mark Bruce at the Jura Hotel. Test your knowledge of all things Jura – the island, the community and, of course, the whisky! 

• The Whisky Exchange - 6.45pm - Smoke Tales - Want to dip your toes into the world of smoky whisky? This introduction to peat will take you through the different styles to find which ones you like - buy the smoky tasting set.

• Compass Box - 7.30pm - Roguish new limited edition leads a whisky feast - Founder John Glaser hosts a tasting of six bold food pairings to celebrate new release Rogues' Banquet – sample packs are available to accompany the tasting. Adventurous appetites recommended.

• The Whisky Exchange  - 7.30pm - World Series: America with Mark Gillespie  - Mark Gillespie tastes through some old favourites and new kids on the block.

• The Whisky Exchange - 8pm - If You Like Whisky You Will Like Rum - Take a leap of faith into the world of rum and discover a style you will love. We have paired three types of whisky with three styles of rum to help you find one that suits your palate – with Sugarcane and Champagne - buy the rum tasting set.

Talks on Saturday 3rd Oct that look particularly tasty to me:

• The Whisky Exchange - 11.15am - The Blind Battle: How Good is your Palate? - Test your palate and see how good you are against Master of Wine Dawn Davies and master of whisky Dave Broom.

• The Whisky Exchange - 12.30pm - World Series: Japan - Japan today has many different faces – take a journey of discovery around this beautiful country's whiskies - buy the Japan whisky tasting set.

• Kavalan- 1pm - Kavalan Q&A and Virtual Tour - Get an introduction to the multi-award-winning Taiwanese whisky range with the Global & UK Ambassadors for Kavalan and enjoy a virtual tour around the distillery. 

• The Whisky Exchange - 1pm - What's in a number? - Join Serge Valentin and Dawn Davies as they talk you through scoring and how to assess whisky.

• The Whisky Exchange - 1.45pm - Sherry Lovers - If you love whiskies heavy on the sherry then you will love this tasting – discover some of our favourite sherry influenced whiskies - buy the sherry lovers tasting set.

• The Whisky Exchange - 8pm - The Whisky Exchange Past Show Favourites - Every year we choose a different whiskey of the year – join the whiskey exchange co-founder Sukhinder Singh and Head Buyer Dawn Davies on a trip down memory lane - buy a tasting set.

Talks on Sun 4th Oct that look particularly tasty to me:

• The Whisky Exchange - 4.15pm - Rum & Popcorn Pairing - Popcorn and rum, two things you might not naturally think to pair. After this tasting you will always reach for the popcorn bowl when you pour a glass of rum - buy the tasting set.

• The Whisky Exchange - 7pm - America — Ones to Watch —Mark Gillespie talks to some of the whisky makers to watch on the American whisky scene.

Talks on Mon 5th Oct that look particularly tasty to me:

• That Boutique-y Whisky Company - 6pm - Deck The Halls With Boutique-y Whisky - Global Brand Ambassador, Dave Worthington reveals Boutique-y Whisky’s 2020 Advent Calendar and the best Boutique-y gifts to place under the tree this year.

•  Sekforde - 6pm - Add a mixer to my whisky? WTF! I bet Sekforde changes your mind - Neat whisky rocks. But, neat doesn't always work. We need a way to drink whisky when everyone else is on a G&T. Hear how we made it happen.

• The Whisky Exchange - 7pm - Sukhinder's Whisky Show Pack - Taste through this incredible range of 25 year old whiskies with TWE co-founder Sukhinder Singh and TWE drinks ambassador Billy Abbott - buy a tasting set — exclusive to Whisky Show ticket holders only.

Talks on Tues 6th Oct that look particularly tasty to me:

• The Whisky Exchange - 5.30pm - Investing in Whisky: A Blind Tasting - With a combined total of more than 50 years in the industry, there’s no-one better to show you how to invest in the perfect whisky than TWE co-founder Sukhinder Singh, Whisky.Auction director Isabel Graham-Yooll and TWE drinks ambassador Billy Abbott - buy a blind whisky tasting set.

There’s soooo much going on, be sure to check out the full Virtual Whisky Show 2020 event schedule and find out what talks tickle your fancy!

To enjoy this year’s packed schedule, you can buy a ticket to The Whisky Show Virtual Show and tune in online to a plethora of Whisky demos and seminars from experts, talks by special guests such as:

• Malt Whisky Specialist from Whyte & Mackay, Andrew Lennie

• Founder & CEO of Nc’nean Distillery, Annabel Thomas

• Amrut Distilleries Head of Distilling, Ashok Chokalingam

• The Whisky Exchange’s Ambassador, Billy Abbot

• The Glenmorangie Company’s, Brendan McCarron

• Diageo Whisky Ambassador, Colin Dunn

• La Maison & Velier’s Daniele Biondi

• Head of Whisky Experience at Whyte & Mackay, Daryl Haldane

• UK Spirit Writer & Educator, Dave Broom

• Whiskymaker for The Lake’s Distillery, Dhavall Gandhi

• Director of Distilling & Whisky Creation for The Glenmorangie Company, Dr Bill Lumsden

• Buffalo Trace Master Blender, Drew Mayville

• Expert Whisky Maker at Diageo, Emma Walker

• Glenfarclas Ambassador, George Grant

• Bacardi’s Global Head of Advocacy, Georgie Bell

• Blender & Whiskymaker for Whyte & Mackay, Gregg Glass (fabulous name!)

• Managing Director at John Fergus, Ian Palmer

• Founder & Owner of Chichibu Distillery, Ichiro Akuto

• Appleton Estate Master Blender, Joy Spence

• Founder of J.J. Corry Irish Whiskey, Louise McGuane

• Run Expert & CEO of famed Italian importer Velier, Luca Gargano

• Founders of Campbeltown Whisky Company Ltd, Mark & Kate Watt

• Jura Brand Home Manager, Mark Bruce

• Host & Producer of WhiskyCast, Mark Gillespie

• Founder of Waterford Distillery, Mark Reynier

• Global Ambassador for Black Tot Rum, Mitch Wilson

• Whisky Ambassador for Speciality Brands, Nathan Shearer

• Head of Whisky Outreach at Diageo, Nick Morgan

• Whiskymaker for independent bottler Elixir Distillers, Oliver Chilton

• Master blender at Whyte & Mackay, Richard Paterson

• Founder of Whiskyfun.com, Serge Valentin

• Whisk(e)y Ambassador for Speciality Brands, Stefanie Holt

• Global Single Malt Specialist at Whyte & Mackay, Stephen Martin

• Co-operating Partner Del Maguey Single Village Mezcal, Steven Olson

• Global Brand Ambassador for Glendronach, Benriach & Glenlassaugh distilleries, Stewart Buchanan

• Fettercairn Distillery Manager, Stewart Walker

• EU Brand Ambassador for Douglas Laing & Co., Stuart Baxter

• MD & Co-Founder of The Whisky Exchange, Sukhinder Singh

• Global Scotch Whisky Ambassador at Diageo, Tom Jones

Are you a fan of whisky or still a newbie to the spirit world? Share your favourite tipples with me and tell us what we’re missing!

Find out more about The Whisky Show 2020 Virtual Show.