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February 8, 2019

Let's start with gin and Two Fat Ladies.

Our friends at Two Fat Ladies in the City have teamed up with The Gin School Scotland for a gin and food matching event on Wednesday 13th February.

The Perfect Match Gin Tasting will match some of the best gins Scotland has to offer with small plates from the Two Fats kitchen.

Gin expert David Hughes from The Gin School Scotland will give a gin tasting workshop over the course of the evening while Two Fat Ladies will be serving small plates to complement the gins. 

The event begins with a cocktail and canapés on arrival followed by a tasting of four specially selected Scottish gins.

Each gin will be served as a tasting measure to enjoy neat, or with a splash of premium tonic. Small plates of freshly prepared and expertly cooked seafood will be served during the tasting to complement the flavours of each gin. 

Guests can then enjoy their favourite gin of the night as a full drink with premium mixer and garnish or opt for a perfect serve of a surprise gin provided by The Gin School Scotland.

Tickets are priced at £30pp.

Of course, you can always book in to Two Fat Ladies in the City via 5pm. Their £16-for-two-courses-from-the-set-menu-plus-a-glass-of-wine offer is always popular.

Tickets snapped up early

Sticking with Scottish drinks but heading up North, tickets for the Spirit of Speyside Whisky Festival were in more demand than ever when they went on sale on Tuesday 5th February.

The festival generated sales of £209,449 in the first 24 hours of release – with 173 events completely selling out in that time.

Ticket sales hit a high, beating last year’s total by more than £55,000, and making it another record-breaking launch for the festival.

Whisky lovers snapped up the opportunity to gain behind-the-scenes access to distilleries that are not usually open to the public.

There is strong demand so far from the US, the Netherlands, Germany and Sweden, as well as from visitors from the UK. However whisky lovers from Canada, Denmark, Norway, Japan, Spain, Austria, Sweden, Switzerland, Turkey, Russia, Romania and Australia are also among the early bookers.

Early demand for tickets has become a trend of the festival. This year’s bumper results have been warmly welcomed by organisers who stress that with over 600 events making up this year’s programme there are still many different experiences and adventures to be had for a wide variety of events.

Phenomenal demand

Festival chairman James Campbell said the phenomenal early demand for tickets was a great endorsement of the 20th anniversary event.

He said: 'The Spirit of Speyside Whisky Festival remains a massively popular event with visitors from around the world and we are delighted that so many people are eager to get their tickets as quickly as they can.

'We have an excellent reputation for putting on a world class event, and people are making sure they get in early to get tickets for the activities they really want.

'As with previous years, the exclusive distillery tours are among those that have sold out first. The real whisky acolytes seek out very special experiences that are unique to the festival, so tours of distilleries not usually open to the public, went within minutes.

'We’re confident that the hugely encouraging sales over these first 24 hours will be maintained, and with over 600 different events included in the programme, there are still plenty of tickets available.'

Event providers from across Speyside – the spiritual home of Scotland’s malt whisky production – have lined up a host of exciting and unusual events for both whisky connoisseurs and first-time visitors from May 1-6.