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WLF Newsletter: December 2009 |
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After seven years, FNB Whisky Live Festival is still the best
Year-seven of the FNB Whisky Live Festival has cemented its reputation of this festival being the biggest festival of its kind in the world.
And the response we have had from visitors and exhibitors is that this year's event was our best show ever.
We are also delighted to say that, despite the economic downturn, we still managed to improve our visitor numbers overall, which speaks volumes about the growing popularity that whisky is enjoying in South Africa.
This year's event attracted a lot more consumers who were genuinely interested in growing their knowledge of whisky.
In our ongoing efforts to demystify whisky, and make it more accessible to a wider audience, it's encouraging to see that the number of younger attendees and women has increased across the different cultures that make up our country.
Workshops were more in demand this year whilst the Whisky Lifestyle Lounge and the Lexus Tours were both sold out before doors even opened.
Our challenge as organisers will be to continue to grow the show with more whisky brands but our exhibitors' creative brand innovations each year certainly keep the show alive and we have received positive endorsement of both this year's layout and the experiential and educational value of the show.
The interaction between consumer and brand was much stronger and consumers certainly left with far more value and knowledge.
For the first time, we decided to extend the show to include a Saturday, a gamble that we're happy to report paid off. Picardi Rebel had particularly good turnover on the Saturday night, and the demographics for that night were the most encouraging with a much wider diversity of people in attendance - going to prove that whisky really is for breaking boundaries.
New innovations, the Macallan Maturation Zone and the Schweppes Art of Cocktail Making, were a huge success and will undoubtedly remain a feature of the show. And we hope we can tempt Whyte and Mackay to own the "BLENDING ZONE" next year again!
Despite tough economic times, the huge success of this year's the FNB Whisky Live Festival seems to be mirroring global whisky trends, which, according to research in the latest Impact International Scotch Report published last year, people are much more reluctant to give up their tipple - even when money is tight.
While the growth being experienced in mature whisky markets is nowhere near the double-digit growth experienced when the world was on an economic high a few years ago, the global whisky market is still seeing tremendous growth that is close to double-digit territory.
South Africa, for example, is the fifth-largest importer of Scotch whisky in the world, which is only too well demonstrated in the size and success of the 2009 FNB Whisky Live Festival and the high calibre of people who attended the event.
The FNB Whisky Live Festival, which will be going into its eighth year, will again take place in the first two weeks of November 2010.
If this year's festival was anything to go by, and the demand for whisky and related products continues to grow, we can expect an even bigger and better experience for attendees next year. We're very excited to see what 2010 holds not only for the festival, but also for the whisky industry as a whole.
According to Dave Broom, contributing editor of Whisky Magazine: "Once again, Whisky Live South Africa demonstrated why it is regarded by the global whisky industry as the biggest, liveliest and most fun show in the world, and one which acts as a template for many other shows in far more 'developed' markets."
"I was struck this year by how quickly this young market is maturing: there was a new desire on the part of attendees not just to enjoy themselves but also learn about whisky. Roll on 2010!"
Provisional dates for the eighth FNB Whisky Live Festival are 3rd to 5th November 2010 in Cape Town and 10th to 13th November 2010 in Johannesburg.
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During the two events that happened in Cape Town and Johannesburg, we went around asking a few of you what you thought of this year's events.
We're very happy to report that the responses we got were overwhelmingly positive and that it looked like you enjoyed the new features and brands we managed to secure for the event.
Here's a little of what you told us:
"I was pleasantly surprised. I'm not really a whisky drinker, but my palate has been educated and I'm definitely a convert. I even bought my first bottle of single malt here!" Steffano, Bedfordview
"I have a new respect for whisky makers. There's so much passion poured into every single bottle of whisky here" Thumelo, Northriding
"Before I came to the festival, I thought that Bourbon only went well with passion fruit cordial. Over ice or with soda it's also fantastic" - Andries, Plumstead
"I love whisky so this is the best thing to happen for me every single year. Keep it up" Fazel, Camps Bay
"Great food, great entertainment, an overall great experience. I'll be back next year" Angelo, Roodepoort
If you'd like to send us some feedback, you can do so by clicking here and drop us a line! We're looking forward to hearing from you!
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Over the duration of the Festival we ran a number of exciting competitions and we're very happy to announce the winners:
1st Prize Nine day Best of Britain tour for two people, including flights, courtesy of Insight Vacations and Visit Britain.
Stephan van Niekerk, Cape Town
2nd Prize Two night getaway for two people in a Marina Room at the One&Only, Cape Town
Carl Loggenberg, Bloubergstrand
3rd Prize 12 month Traveller 40 Membership with Roadtrip
Sello Tseka, Noordwyk
Congratulations to you all!
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Whisky's new image young & stylish |
Glenfiddich on display |
Touch screens in the Liquid Chefs Lounge |
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Liquid Chefs doing what they do best.... |
The Sensory Zone, where whisky and emotion meet |
Mr.Daniels. We know him as Jack... |
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The new Lexus IS250 convertible on Display in the Lexus Lifestyle Lounge *drool* |
The Lexus Lifestyle Lounge. Swanky |
What would a whisky festival be without pipers? |
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Scotland comes to JHB |
Brothers in Scotch! |
Who said whisky was just for old guys in smoking jackets? |
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Savouring the nose |
More yumminess....in the bottle that is! |
Your name on a whisky bottle. Could there be anything cooler? |
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Whisky, friends, fun |
FNB Whisky Live Festival where even the professionals can learn something |
It's like pouring liquid gold into a glass |
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Whisky is fun. Especially when you mix |
Hey there good-lookin'! |
Richard Patterson - "The Nose" |
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How NOT to pour whisky |
Young, classy and sophisticated |
The...er...luck of the Irish! |
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The Whisky Festival, C/o NC Connect, PO Box 12420, Die Boord,
Stellenbosch, South Africa, 7613
Email: karen@ncconnect.co.za / sian@ncconnect.co.za
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