Whiskyfest 2011

As the Malt Whisky Association of Finland celebrates it’s 12th   year, we are now pushing the envelope: Working together with   Thomas Aschan, the owner of an independent pub called Gallows  Bird situated in Espoo, http://www.gallowsbird.fi/english/index.htm  as well as all the major local importers  (Interbrands, Moet Hennessy Finland, Pernod-Ricard Finland,  Maxxium Finland, Wennerco, Vinoble, Tampereen Viinitukku, Heino Beverages to name a few) plus local Whisky makers (most notably  Beer Hunter’s in the city of Pori) we are now organizing the  first-ever Whisky Happening in the history of Finland.
 
In the past, Whisky may have been present at festivals such as  Helsinki Beer Festival, but whisky has always played second   fiddle, and the settings have been rather small. This event will   be all about Whisky / Whiskey.
 
 Arrangements
 
At the moment we are looking at 3 days in early February for   this event, 9th – 11th of February. [Mind you, this may still   shrink to a 2-day event.]   As this is the very first event of its kind here, we start  relatively small and humble in comparison to major international   whisky fests: Gallows bird pub has a customer capacity of aboout
 280 persons simultaneously, and the importers will exhibit about   5 – 6 “more standard” bottlings, along with 1 – 2 more “rare”   bottlings. We are hoping to attract a host of international   guest speakers to give master classes and presentations to the   participants. Finnish law does not allow sale of bottles in the   event, only tasting samples. Despite of this we hope that Alko would be selling a special bottling or two at the same time in  its stores, to commemorate the event.  
 
 There will be no admission fee as such, since the venue is a  pub, but participation to the event will require a purchase of a  Glencairn glass and a few drink tickets. The Malt Whisky  Association of Finland will be selecting “Whisky of the Year”  and most likely winners in different geographic subcategories as  well. Much of the details are still in the planning phase  (arranged transport to the event from central Helsinki, hotel  packages etc). 
 
 I will gladly update you on further details as the planning  progresses.
 
 Sincerely,
 
 Mika R. Jansson
 Chairman, MSP Whisky Society (sub-division of Malt Whisky
 Association of Finland)
 Board Member, Malt Whisky Association of Finland

 Email mika.jansson@nsn.com