Summary: <br> 15th Victoria Whisky Festival<br> <br> THE SHOW<br> Each year, every January the Victoria Whisky Festival attracts distilleries, and the people who love them, from every corner of the globe. Distillers, distillery managers and brand ambassadors from over 50 distilleries travelled to Victoria from Scotland, Ireland, England, Canada, United States, Japan, Taiwan, India and France. Collectively they presented over 200 whiskies, showing a broad range of styles, flavour profiles and whisky philosophies.<br> The tenth annual Canadian Whisky Awards gala recognized the best whiskies in the country.<br> <br> Distillers from across Canada were in attendance seeking the recognition of major awards including Best Single Malt Whisky, Best Blended Whisky, Blender of the Year, Best New Whisky, Whisky of the Year and others.<br> In 2019, BC Distilleries had their strongest showing yet with major awards going to Vancouver Island’s Shelter Point Distillery for Innovation and de Vine Winery and Distillery for Best Whisky Spirit as well as a number of medals awarded.<br> Cheers!<br> Rob Carpenter – (Scotch Malt Whisky Society-Holyrood Distillery UK)<br> In Jan 2018 inspectors from the B.C. Liquor Control and Licensing Branch raided Scotch Malt Whisky Society Partner Bars in B.C., <br> with 242 bottles of SMWS whisky being seized from Fets Whisky Kitchen. <br> Rob Carpenter (co-founder of the Canadian branch of the SMWS), together with one of Fets’ owners and a lawyer, presented a tasting of some beautiful single cask Scotch Malt Whisky Society bottlings interspersed with an account of what happened, the legal issues, and the current situation, including the impact on BC whisky, wine, and beer enthusiasts and what can be done going forward.<br> Rob is very connected on both sides of the Atlantic and he wants whisky fans to know about #freeourwhisky – a movement to focus on government bureaucracy when it comes to whisky. The man speaks the truth and exposes our liquor bullies.<br> #free our whisky<br> Chris Thompson (NA Brand Ambassador Forty Creek Whisky)<br> Chris Thompson joined the company in 2010 and has been sharing the Forty Creek story ever since, introducing a variety of limited edition whiskies to an enthusiastic North American whisky community.<br> <a href="http://www.camparigroup.com/">www.camparigroup.com</a><br> Davin de Kergommeaux (Author. Whisky Educator. Head Judge)<br> Davin de Kergommeaux, Chairman of the judges for the Canadian Whisky Awards and author of Canadian Whisky: The New Portable Expert has been sharing his enthusiasm for Canadian Whisky with the world for two decades . His third book The Definitive Guide to Canadian Distilleries, will be published in spring of 2020.<br> <a href="http://www.canadianwhisky.org/">www.canadianwhisky.org</a><br> <br> Ken Winchester – (Founder/Master Distiller deVine Spirits-Saanich)<br> Ken Winchester creates award-winning whiskies while keeping watch over the distillery’s vintage German copper pot still, Brünhilde. Demand for their Glen Saanich was so great the distillery held a lottery to determine who would take one home.<br> At deVine, they grow their own grain, malt locally, and mash, ferment, distill and age on their property in Saanich, just outside Victoria.<br> <a href="http://www.devinevineyards.ca/">www.devinevineyards.ca</a><br> Leon Webb – (The pride of Aviemore. Distiller Shelter Point Campbell River)<br> Hailing from Aviemore in Scotland, Leon Webb made waves as Victoria Distillers Master Distiller before joining Shelter Point in September of 2017. He is a driving force behind their range of whisky expressions including their newest, a peated expression called Smoke Point.<br> <a href="https://shelterpoint.ca/">https://shelterpoint.ca/</a><br> <br> Beth Havers – (Glenfiddich Canada)<br> Struan Grant Ralph – (Glenfiddich Global Ambassador)<br>
