Pure: A unique music and whisky festival in London
Grab your whisky, not Wellington boots, for Pure: A unique music festival in London
If you were worried that you would have to wait until summer 2012 – through the long, cold winter and spring – for your next festival hit, fear no more.
For this weekend there is a unique event in East London that is sure to warm your cockles – and you can leave your Wellies at home, too.
Because the first Pure Festival, held at The Garage in Highbury Corner on Saturday and Sunday, will see scores of top bands and musicians fuse with whisky tasting – a heady combination, I’m sure you will agree.
Pure Festival in East London: A festival of whisky and music – but watch out if you do it in that order!
Headline acts include the Danish pop-noir duo The Raveonettes, James Yorkston, Steve Mason, Smoke Fairies, Kassidy and Electric Soft Parade.
And they are joined by Martin Rossiter, Hatcham Social, Sissy and the Blisters and more.
Meanwhile, included in the £28.50 ticket price is the chance to sample and learn about single malt whisky, blended whisky and Bourbon.
Whiskies on offer include esteemed Scottish single malts such as Ardbeg, Talisker and AnCnoc, Irish whiskey from independent distillery Cooley and premium blends such as Whyte and Mackay and Dewar’s.
Meanwhile respected whisky writer Dominic Roskrow will present The World Whisky Masters Medal Winners, and there will be plenty of award-winning whisky for all to sample.
Roskrow is an authority on whisky, author of the World’s Best Whiskies and recipient of the scotch whisky industries highest honour; Keeper Of The Quaich.
He will be bringing a number of medal winners from the recent World Whisky Masters, a rare opportunity to sample some of the finest blends from around the globe.
Whisky sampling will take place with distillers leading Pure festival goers through their individual whiskies between 4pm and 7pm.
Revellers will be able to move at their leisure from one distiller’s stand to another, sampling whichever whiskies they wish to taste as part of their ticket price and enjoying the music.
A spokesman for the festival said: ‘Pure aims to educate people on whisky in a fun and informative way and the festival is a unique opportunity to sample a number of fantastic whiskies in a relaxed, informal setting.
‘Brown spirits are enjoying a huge renaissance in the UK from both male and females and there is a real demand to know more about the origins and the marked differences in different brands.‘
Go to www.purefestival.com for more information and to buy tickets – doors open at 4pm, while whisky tasting is from 4-7pm