Whisky Fest 2012??

At first I was shocked when I found out that Whisky Fest (WF) NY would be two days over a weekend in 2012. Even though I went to Whisky Live NY this year WF is the singular event I attend to expand my whisky knowledge and palette. On one hand this scheduling change is a great sign. Two years ago the venue was packed. To their credit the WF team made the choice to sell less tickets while expanding the venue to make the event more comfortable for the attendees. By switching to two days they are able to sell more tickets while keeping the crowding down. On the other hand this does exclude a number (some would argue a large number) of attendees. I’ve heard people suggest numbers as large as 20% - 30% of attendees are orthodox jews. I think this number is inflated and put it around 10%.

I did read a blog that described their first trip to WF. They made an off handed comment that WF is not for the Whisky Geek as the number of “special” pours is limited and many of the offerings are standard stock and widely available. I thought this was a rather accurate description. While I want to continue attending WF I need to attend a broader spectrum of events if I want to grow my palette and knowledge. WF still remains a part of this strategy as many craft distillers come to WF where I taste them for the first time.

I drafted and sent the following letter to the WF team. I encourage other who feel the same to use this letter and pose a similar suggestion to the WF team.

Whiskey Fest Team,

Thanks for a great event. I had a wonderful time and the coordination and organization gets better with each passing year. I thought it was an excellent idea to put the craft distillers in contiguous booths. It gave the opportunity to browse from one to the next without having to run back and forth across the room.


I wanted to share my thoughts about Whiskey Fest 2012. I understand that feedback has indicated a preference for a weekend event. However, the schedule as it currently stands does exclude a section of the attendees. By my own unscientific observations there is a not insignificant amount of Orthodox Jews that attend Whiskey Fest. In the 8 years that I have attend the number has grown.


Ultimately I believe the market should drive your decisions and if more people do attend next year due to the timing all the more power to you. However, allow me to offer the following suggestion. Schedule whiskey fest for _after_ the change from Daylight Savings time. This will allow Sabbath observers enough time to make Saturday evening sessions. Sundown moves up an hour and there is enough time for people in the NY metro area to make it into Manhattan to attend.


Thank you for creating Whiskey Fest it has given me the opportunity to learn, experience and explore things I would have otherwise never known. I hope that I will be able to attend future Whiskey Fests.


Respectfully,

Mendy Berkowitz