2025 MS EDMONTON WHISKY FESTIVAL

On January 15, 2025 I was able to attend the 14th MS Edmonton Whisky Festival as a visitor.

The story of the Whisky Festival goes all the way back to 2010 when my colleague Stephen Richmond of Vines Riverbend Wine Merchants first approached MS Canada with the idea of creating a major fundraiser here in Edmonton. Previously we had partnered with MS at their Gala offering Wine & Food Pairing Dinners, either in my home or the bidder's house or private tastings in our store.

But this was a totally radical concept. You must first realize that Steve is a MAJOR Scotch afficionado (he used to say the "Wine was a passing fad") and second when he has an idea in his mind, nothing will stop him from achieving it. Not only did he have to convince MS Canada Edmonton chapter but also be able to convince agents, sponsors and ultimately consumers to participate!

And it was a success from the word go!. The first , in 2010, was held at the former Edmonton Petroleum Club with the hope of getting about 200 people to come. Boy were we off the mark! It was standing room only all through those 3 hours. A whopping 320 people bought tickets, sampled 150 or more whiskies, chatted with agents and some producers from around the world. While it was very crowded, it was a roaring success. We now only had to find a bigger venue.

The second year, at the Sutton Place ballroom, numbers went up to over 400 and in our forth year we moved to the Delta Inn South with numbers reaching over 500. It was getting better and bigger year after year with more producers from distilleries coming to visit. I

In the meantime Steve had convinced Calgary to come on board which attracted more and more producers, us on the Wednesday, Calgary on the Thursday.

One small snag occurred during Covid when they had to skip 2021/22 but it rebounded well in 2023. People were excited to see it come back to life.

So with over 250 whiskies to sample, the 14th was another success for both Steve and the MS. But unfortunately with the closure of Vines Wine Merchants, Stave has convinced Lionel Usunier from Keg & Cork to take up the reins for future Whisky Festivals.

See you all in 2026!