The Whisky Show is heading to Melbourne to celebrate the city reopening with a Breakout Edition featuring 40 different whiskies, most new to the Australian market this year.

Two three-hour sessions have been organised, with one large room dedicated to whisky for aficionados to taste their way through. 

Founder of The Whisky Show David Ligoff (above) said: “We’re super excited to announce the return of The Whisky Show to Melbourne. We’ve been coming to Melbourne for 10 years now, and with last year switching to virtual whisky shows due to lockdowns, we’re thrilled to be returning to one of our favourite cities, one that loves their whisky, to share some new and exciting drams with you all.

“Following the recent success of the Breakout Whisky Show held in Sydney last weekend, where we trialled a more intimate and boutique format. This proved that whisky lovers prefer enjoying whiskies in a more relaxed atmosphere. We’ll be bringing this new format to the Melbourne show too and can’t wait to hear what fellow Melbournites say.”

Sessions will be held on Saturday, December 11 at Batman’s Hill on Collins (Opposite Southern Cross Station). Session 1 will run from 1– 4pm (150 tickets), with Session 2 from 5-8pm. (150 tickets)

Tickets are on sale now at $99 each. Head here to book: wsky.me/melbshow

Celebrating successful Sydney Breakout event

The Whisky Show held a Breakout Edition event for Sydney-based whisky lovers on November 12-13 at the Sir Stamford Hotel, Circular Quay.

The sold out event saw 300 people try more than 40 different whiskies from all over the world.

“My favourite part of last week’s show was witnessing the sense of community among show attendees,” Ligoff said. “Strangers became friends over the course of the session, as they compared ratings of their whiskies in the Show app, as well as notes on what to try next.

“It’s been fantastic to see Sydneysiders jump at the chance to visit a physical whisky show again. It’s always a pleasure seeing everyone’s smiling faces and engaging in deep conversations with each whisky brand. If you’ve never attended one, but enjoy whisky, it’s highly worth it.”

Brands on display included Bunnahabhain, Deanston, Tobermory, Ledaig, Springbay, Reservoir, Benriach, The Remnant Whisky Company, The Highlander Inn, Stellum Spirits, Headlands Distilling Co, The Firkin Whisky Co, Barrel Craft Spirits, Dram Mor, Westward Whiskey and Rolling Cask.

Drinks Digest attended the Sydney Breakout event and enjoyed the more intimate format. We were lucky enough to have The Whisky List‘s Oliver Maruda (above) to point us in the direction of some of his favourite drams at the event and run us through a tasting of Reservoir whiskey.

Reservoir is located in Richmond, Virginia, and utilises custom alligator char quarter casks for aging the whiskey. Its core range includes Bourbon, Rye and Wheat whiskies, each distilled 100% from the one type of grain and bottled at 100 proof (50% ABV). 

Oliver explained that the distillery also produces half-size bottles (375ml) of each whiskey and encourages consumers to experiment with mixing their own blends.

Our favourite whisky at the event was the unique Tomintoul Distillery Speyside Single Malt, which had an almost kombucha-like tang to it that sparkled on our tongues.