This year, the festival will offer something for everybody over the age of 18, including whisky workshops plus many new interactive innovations.
One of the world's leading Professor de Parfums, Dove has taken his passion for all things olfactory to exclusive heights, with his Roja Dove Haute Perfumerie at Harrods, and his partnership with whisky distillers, The Macallan.
Working with David Cox, director of brand education at The Macallan, Dove created The Macallan Aroma Box, a collection of 12 scents that help whisky drinkers identify the olfactory highlights in the distiller's range of products. The first six scents showcase the more common characteristics of whisky, arranged in pairs of opposites to intrigue and educate on the power of aroma, while the next six represent Dove's interpretation of the essential sensory character of The Macallan matured in Spanish oak, sherry seasoned casks and American oak casks, seasoned with both sherry and bourbon.
Local brand ambassador for The Macallan, The Famous Grouse and Highland Park, Candice Baker, will present The Aroma Box, at The Macallan Aroma Zone. You can learn to identify and describe key aromas found in The Macallan range, as well as how wood affects the colour, flavour and fragrances of its different whisky expressions. Three workshops will be held each evening in The Macallan Aroma Zone and will operate on a first come, first served basis.
Whisky education remains a key focus, giving festival-goers the opportunity to discover the magic that goes into whisky making, which, in turn, uncovers new and interesting ways to enjoy every dram. This year's attractions include:
• Blended perfection: The newly launched Compass Box Art of Blending Zone gives you a taste of something unique in the Compass Box whiskies as inspiration, then allows you to blend your very own dram
• Pleasure distilled: The Glen Grant Distillation Zone gives you Dave Akker, Edward Snell's master distiller, in Cape Town, and Glen Grant master distiller Dennis Malcolm in Johannesburg, who will host three interactive and informal workshops per night, helping you understand the significance of copper stills in the whisky distillation process
• Feeding the soul: The Pick n Pay Canapé and Whisky Pairing Zone offers a taste sensation by showcasing the art of pairing the sublime flavours of whisky with delectable canapés. International food whisky guru Martine Nouet will be co-hosting these hands-on whisky canapé cocktail parties with Pick n Pay chefs showing you how to make up three canapés using fresh PnP ingredients, and pairing them with whiskies for the ultimate cocktail party, that you can re-create at home
• The Choice of Royalty since 1783: The Schweppes Art of Whisky Cocktail Making Zone will teach whisky lovers the art of whisky mixing using Schweppes mixers. It will also challenge you to create your own cocktail masterpieces
• Become a Sommelier with Valpré: Valpré will be giving whisky lovers an experience that will help demystify the art of mixing water and whisky. Learn how much Valpré Spring Water to add to your tipple, how to pour it into your glass, and what guidelines to follow to "release the serpent" (the esters and floral notes previously held captive in the dormant aged liquid)
• Whisky workshops: The FNB Whisky Live Festival Whisky Workshops regularly sell out thanks to the opportunity to taste unique whiskies generally unavailable in the Tasting Hall or even in South Africa. More than this, these one-hour tutorials, led by whisky experts with a knack of explaining whisky jargon in simple everyday language, will completely revolutionise the way you taste and value whisky
• Become a collector: Each year, the festival releases a unique, now highly sought-after, FNB Whisky Live Special Bottling - this year The GlenDronach gives you its special collector's limited edition
• Luxury lifestyle: The new-look Volvo Whisky Lifestyle Lounge will be the place to see and be seen. Partnered with the festival as the official lifestyle and transport brand, Volvo will provide the perfect setting for networking and client entertainment or meeting up with like-minded friends in a relaxed and stylish atmosphere. Plus, it will offer tastings of whiskies unavailable in the main Tasting Hall at the exclusive Whisky Boutique Bar. A hospitality package includes access to the Volvo Whisky Lifestyle Lounge and Whisky Boutique Bar, a whisky cocktail and a light dinner - plus the opportunity to spend some time with Volvo representatives with whom you can request to set up a test drive of the Volvo range
• The ultimate guided tour: The popular Connoisseur's Experience, "The Ultimate Guided Whisky Tour", sells out within hours of tickets opening each year. Newly sponsored by Volvo, this experience offers festival-goers the opportunity to be chauffeur driven to the festival in a luxurious Volvo where you will then join a guided tour to savour rare whiskies not widely available
Tickets can be bought from Webtickets, which can be accessed via the festival's website, www.whiskylivefestival.co.za.
