Spirits high at NB Spirit Festival

Photo courtesy of Christina Snyder on flickr.com

Good drinks and good food raised the spirits of more than 650 people Friday night at the Delta Hotel in Fredericton.  Glasses of high-end whisky, Scotch, and vodka, (also called spirits) clinked together at this year’s New Brunswick Spirits Festival.

Vendors came from all over the country to showcase their products at this annual festival, including one Scotch whisky with a  price tag of $1557.00! Twenty different vendors lined the ballroom of the Delta this year. Although there wasn’t room for dancing, people never stopped moving as they went from booth to booth eating food, dessert and tasting samples of liquor.

The festival started 14 years ago with an idea and a group of people who loved whisky. Frank Scott, co-owner of the Lunar Rogue Pub and organizer of the festival this year, has been there since the beginning. He said the showcase is a win/win situation for both the participants and the vendors.

“You could go and stand in a liquor store all day long to sample high-end Scotch and you might get 10 people come in. But tonight, you’re fishing where there’s fish so it’s worth their time to promote products at a show like this because they can see the value of talking to people who are interested in those products,” said Scott.

Photo courtesy of Liz Dail

Vendors aren’t the only ones who came from away to experience this festival. Leslie Jones is a part of a whisky lover’s society in her home city of Ottawa. She and her husband got involved with whisky and Scotch tasting because of his Scottish heritage. Although the trip is a long one to make every year, this is their third time and they say it’s well worth the trip.

“It’s a bit of a crutch but it’s still a great experience. It’s the best whisky festival in the country,” said Jones.

Although it seems to appeal to a certain crowd, high-end whisky and Scotch may not be exclusive to the elite middle-aged crowd any longer. The gates of spirit tasting are opening to a wider range of clientele. Charlotte Boone, an NB Liquor employee says she sees more and more university and career-aged participants at this event every year.

“The younger crowd usually start out with things like [vodka]; sweeter things. So they come to the show to try those and they start trying the other stuff that maybe didn’t think they’d like. And they’re opening them up and saying ‘Ok, maybe this is something that I might like to try,’” said Boone.

And young people are open to the experience and the education. Nick DiFeo from Montreal says he doesn’t mind that he doesn’t know much about high-end drinking.

“But it’s not like you have to know something about it to enjoy Scotch right?” he said.

Photo courtesy of Liz Dail

Enjoying spirits takes time, say expert nosers and tasters. There is even a guide to it in the program of the festival. Nosing and tasting are about color, taste, and aroma. But according to Scott, it’s not only the technique behind drinking; it’s the company.

“Anytime you’re sharing drinking, a glass of anything, it’s social. And one of the things about whiskey is it really is sharing and discussing and talking about a product,  sitting around home by yourself drinking and maybe reading a book on a Friday night. That’s nice. But I really like sitting down taking a drink with somebody and talking about the drink and sharing our thoughts,” said Scott.

Although the ticket price of $50 in advance may seem hefty for penny-savers, Scott said the price is well worth it. Tickets are usually sold out a week before the event. Scott said people want to learn about high end products like whisky because they are drinking for quality instead of quantity.

The price includes a cab ride home in the greater Fredericton area. Scott said this is a way of keeping everyone safe and promoting responsible drinking. Making sure people get home safe, he said, is in step with the spirit of the festival.

“It’s about the sharing of the product with other people.”

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Posted by Liz Dail on Nov 22, 2009. Filed under News, This Week's Edition. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. Both comments and pings are currently closed.