WhiskyFest Is Worth It, Even If You're New to Whisky

Most whisky tastings in New York are a free pour of a couple of bottles from one distillery, at a liquor store. WhiskyFest is a ballroom at the Marriott Marquis with 49 brands, more than 100 pours and a ticket that starts at $295.

This year, on November 20, it opens with afternoon seminars featuring bottles most of us have never tried, like Highland Park 40 and Dewar's 38. It's a lot of money and more whisky than you can taste in one night, but it happens once a year, and only in New York. Even if you're just getting to know whisky, it's worth considering.

"It's like Disney World for adults," David Savona told me. Savona is Editor-at-Large at Whisky Advocate, the magazine that runs WhiskyFest. You walk into a ballroom, "surrounded by all these glorious booths," and the person pouring is usually a brand ambassador or someone from the distillery. "You can ask questions and they love to give you their knowledge," he said.

What I remember from the whisky festivals I've been to is trying whiskies side by side. You can taste how age changes a whisky, and what a finish does to it. You can compare regions, or two distilleries in the same region.

The seminars

The seminars are where the side-by-side tasting gets serious. You can taste Highland Park 30 next to the 40, and Yamazaki 18 next to the Yamazaki Mizunara 18, to see what a different barrel does. The list also includes a Dewar's 38, a Michter's 20, a 33-year-old from Littlemill, a distillery that has since closed, Glen Scotia 25 and two Midleton Very Rares. "The seminars are kind of ridiculous," Savona said. People from the companies present them too. At the Michter's seminar, that's the owner, Joe Magliocco, and one of his blenders, talking about "not just what's in the glass but the whisky process."

I've had one of these bottles: a glass of Yamazaki 18 at the distillery about ten years ago, the most I've ever spent on a whisky. Savona, who rates whisky for a living, hasn't had the Highland Park 40 or the Mizunara 18.

In the past, seminars have run during the tasting, so going to one meant leaving your friends on the floor. "It takes you away from the party," Savona said. This year the seminars come first. Also new this year: Whisky Advocate will announce its Whisky of the Year at the show.

The tickets

The seminars and the evening tasting are separate tickets. The evening tasting starts at 6:30 and costs $295. The seminars start at 2:00 and also cost $295. A $550 package gets you both, plus entry to the evening at 6:00. For $725 you also get a private lounge pouring bottles like Hibiki 30 and Port Ellen 1975. If you're new to whisky, I'd buy the $295 evening ticket.

If you're new to whisky

Once you're in, have a plan. I never did, and I always tried to taste too many. I regretted it the next day. "We proudly offer too much for everybody," Savona said. His advice was "first and foremost: don't try to drink a hundred whiskies in one night." "You can spit," he said. "When I taste whiskies for the magazine, I spit."

Pick one kind of whisky and stay with it. "Choose a path," Savona said, whether that's bourbon, rye or Scotch. That also gets you the side-by-side comparison, because you're tasting similar whiskies one after another. Tell the person pouring that you're new and ask what to try. They'll "point you in the right direction," he said.

Eat something too. The buffet runs all evening, and it helps, as Savona put it, "to defend yourself against having too much whisky."

One night a year

WhiskyFest has been running since 1998. Other big whisky events in New York haven't lasted, so I asked Savona why this one has. "It's a heck of a party," he said. He has been to many WhiskyFests. "I don't think I've ever seen anyone frown at a WhiskyFest." He also pointed to the range. "I've got friends who love whisky, but they can't stand Scotch," he said. "I'm like, really?" There's plenty of American whiskey for them, and plenty of Scotch if that's all you drink.

It used to run in other US cities too. Now there's one a year, and this is it. "If you miss this one, you're going to wait a year," Savona said.

It's on Friday, November 20, at the Marriott Marquis in Times Square. Seminars start at 2:00 and the evening tasting at 6:30, and tickets are on sale now .