Manchester Whisky Festival 2025

If you haven’t been to one of our festivals before you are in for a treat! If you have then you know what to expect, only this year we are back bigger and better. As well as the usual shenanigans, we have a few more surprises for you….

You’ll get to sample the best home-grown whiskies from Scotland, as well as all corners of the globe. The Manchester Whisky Festival attracts the finest distillers and bottlers from all over the world!

Simply approach any of the exhibitors stands, ask politely for a dram and you shall receive a tasty glass of whisky (it really is that simple!). Every exhibitor knows their whiskies inside out and it’s well worth taking advantage of this knowledge.

Sessions and tickets

We deliberately set specific session times so the festival doesn’t get overcrowded, meaning you can sip and swallow at your own pace.

Friday 21st November 2025

6pm-9.30pm

Saturday 22nd November 2025

1st Session: 12pm-3.30pm

2nd Session: 5.30pm-9pm

A full session ticket includes;

Entry to one session - Friday, 6pm-9.30pm, Saturday 12pm-3.30pm or 5.30pm-9pm (select which above)

Glencairn tasting glass

ALL WHISKIES SAMPLED IN MAIN HALL (not including 'The Dram Table')

Festival Masterclasses

Friday

6.30pm Annandale - John Coombes - Celebrating Single Casks - £10

John Coombes, Brand Ambassador for Annandale Distillery, and thoroughly nice bloke, takes you through a tasting of single casks that helps to illustrate how casks, even from the same year and type, will taste quite different to one another. This is a fascinating tasting for those interested in the finer details of maturation.

7.45pm Eddie Ludlow - The Whisky Lounge at 20 - £20

Founder of The Whisky Lounge (and Manchester Whisky Festival!) presents a tasting of the latest TWL bottlings and possibly a surprise dram... Eddie will entertain you with stories from the last 20 years of Whisky Lounge events and happenings and has promised to behave himself... Also included in the ticket price, is the newly released TWL book - 'Bringing Whisky to the People since 2005', which is available separately for £12.99.

Saturday (1st Session)

12.30pm - Benbecula - Brandon McCarron, Creating New Distilleries and Distinctive Spirits - £10

Join Brendan McCarron, one of the most respected whiskymakers in the world, for an exclusive masterclass. Now Master Distiller at Benbecula Distillery, Brendan has led whisky-making at some of Scotland’s most renowned distilleries, including Glenmorangie, Oban, Bunnahabhain, Deanston, and Tobermory.

Brendan offers rare insight into the craft of building a new distillery from the ground up. In this intimate session, Brendan will explore how a distillery’s spirit is shaped from its very first concept, from ingredients and distillation methods to sense of place and community.

Guests will taste:

Benbecula New Make Spirit – vibrant and complex, distilled using techniques not seen for centuries, featuring seaweed-enriched Bere barley from founder Angus MacMillan’s Hebridean croft and heather-peated smoke.

Prophecy Whisky – a special preview whisky, personally curated by Brendan, offering a glimpse of Benbecula’s future single malt as it matures.

1.45pm - Eddie Ludlow - The Whisky Lounge at 20 - £20

See Friday for details

Saturday (2nd Session)

6pm - Tri Carragh, with Ryan McCafferty
Stravaig Spirits launched in 2022, by Ryan McCafferty & Ola Lopatowska, bringing to market their multi-awarding winning Tri Carragh single cask range and Glenlaird small batch single malts. Hosted by Ryan - you will discover their passion, history and vision. To date they've released 22 expressions - of which they have been awarded 10 IWSC medals, 3 Gold & Category Winner at the World Whisky Awards, awarded best Single Malt at the Scottish Food and Drink awards, and finalists in 5 Categories at the Scottish Whisky Awards .. it's safe to say these guys ensure they only bottle from the very best casks they come across.

7.15pm - Eddie Ludlow - The Whisky Lounge at 20 - £20

See Friday for details

The Festival Shop

As in previous years, we will have a retail shop in the show to take care of all your purchasing needs and selling every whisky that you will find in the show.

Exhibitors…

…will keep appearing here at regular intervals, please keep checking back to see what distilleries are in store for you!

The Boring Bit

Please, please ensure you buy tickets for the right session. We set strict limits on the number of tickets for each session so visitors can enjoy their whisky at their own pace. We are unable to swap tickets on the day. But, we’re mostly all human, so if you do buy the wrong session by accident, email info@thewhiskylounge.com as soon as possible and we’ll do our best to sort out the muddle.

Code of Conduct

We will not tolerate any kind of abuse, whether it be racial, gender-based or anything else. We do not allow potentially offensive clothing or behaviour. We reserve the right to refuse entry and remove any offenders.

Just be a kind and decent human!

Please note: ‘last pour’ is always 15 minutes prior to the session end time. This is non-negotiable!

All attendees must be 21 or over – photo ID may be required.

This venue does have disabled access via an appropriate ramp and/or lift. If in doubt or you have any questions, please contact us at info@thewhiskylounge.com