Chart your way to Speyside for a whisky caching experience, in what is a Festival first – and possibly a UK first, offering routes on which secret drams can be discovered.
A first for Speyside as whisky caching offers liquid treasures to Spirit of Speyside Whisky Festival goers
Treasure seekers will be hunting out secret stashes of the amber nectar during the Spirit of Speyside Whisky Festival as the five-day whisky celebration offers its own take on the worldwide craze for geocaching for the very first time.
In a dramtastic twist, the popular outdoor pursuit comes to the Festival and will reflect the global obsession with geocaching, often referred to as a modern-day treasure hunt.
A trail of three caches is being set out by Angels’ Nectar Blended Malt Scotch Whisky, which will provide an initial 200ml bottle, perfect for sharing, in each location. Thereafter whisky cachers are asked to replace the dram they take with a miniature of their choice to be discovered and enjoyed by the next cacher.
Festival chairman James Campbell says, “We are always keen to add new and dynamic offerings that will appeal to our visitors who travel from all over the world to enjoy the Spirit of Speyside Whisky Festival.
“There’s huge interest in geocaching and we expect the same to be true for whisky caching which is being offered for the first time this year. It is certainly something different and an attraction that we expect will generate considerable curiosity, as we suspect this could be the first dedicated whisky cache trail in the UK, and one which will only be in operation during the Festival.
“What could be better than the chance to explore the great outdoors, soaking up the beauty of Speyside with the prospect of discovering a hidden dram along the way? These may be secret routes, but they will follow picturesque paths, be relatively easy for people of all abilities to enjoy and of course have the lure of discovering a special dram.”
Sometimes referred to as a high-tech treasure hunt, geocaching has become a global phenomenon and there are more than 2 million geocaches worldwide. It is done in towns, cities and rural locations with geocachers using a GPS device and other navigational techniques to hide and seek containers called caches which contain a logbook with a pen or pencil.
Geocaching appeals to all kinds of people, including those who enjoy technology, competitive people seeking to be the first to find the cache; and older people who want to add a different aspect to enjoy the great outdoors.
Speyside’s whisky version does not require GPS, as clues to guide the route to the cache will be issued on registration, but outdoor footwear and sensible outer clothing are required. As well as recording the visit in a logbook, participants are asked to share their experience, and tasting notes, on social media.
Whisky caching will be offered daily throughout the Festival and participation is free and tickets can be reserved on the Festival website. Once registered the first ‘clues’ will be given out.
It’s one of almost 500 events that make up this year’s Festival programme which takes place from April 27 to May 1. It includes everything from tours and tastings to heritage walks, whisky and food pairings, river canoe trips, ceilidhs and crafts workshops, all celebrating Speyside’s most famous product.
Based in the heart of Scotland’s malt whisky country – home to more than half of all of Scotland’s distilleries – Spirit of Speyside Whisky Festival has events from Kingussie in the south to Forres in the west and Buckie in the east.
Situated directly between the cities of Aberdeen and Inverness, Speyside is the base for many high-profile international brands.
More information about the event is available at http://www.spiritofspeyside.com/ and tickets are also available to buy on the website. The Festival is active on social media – facebook.com/WhiskyFestival and @spirit_speyside on Twitter and Instagram. Use the hashtag #dram17.
Notes
The Spirit of Speyside Whisky Festival is committed to promoting responsible drinking. Visitors travelling to and from Festival events can take advantage of a range of transport options. Spirit of Speyside Whisky Festival has received funding from Event Scotland and is also financially supported by many other private and public partners.
The Spirit of Speyside Whisky Festival is part financed by the European Regional Development Fund Programme 2014 to 2020. The Scottish Government is the managing authority for the European Regional Development Fund Programme.
EventScotland
EventScotland is working to make Scotland the perfect stage for events. By developing an exciting portfolio of sporting and cultural events EventScotland is helping to raise Scotland’s international profile and boost the economy by attracting more visitors. For further information about EventScotland, its funding programmes and latest event news visit http://www.eventscotland.org/. Follow EventScotland on Twitter @EventScotNews.
EventScotland is a team within VisitScotland’s Events Directorate, the national tourism organisation which markets Scotland as a tourism destination across the world, gives support to the tourism industry and brings sustainable tourism growth to Scotland. For more information about VisitScotland see http://www.visitscotland.org/ or for consumer information on Scotland as a visitor destination see http://www.visitscotland.com/.
