October 13, 2008
SFist Drinks: WhiskyFest
By Tiffany Maleshefski
Last week, San Francisco (well, a small fraction of San Francisco) dug in its heels to celebrate WhiskyWeek, a six-day tasting extravaganza that culminated in a blowout conference at the downtown Marriott on Friday, October 10.
That's right, booth after booth of reps pouring whisky, whiskeys, bourbon, and even a smattering of beer and vodka, all for the very low price of $110 ($150 for VIP). OK, so that admission price is damn steep; but, to quote the marketing materials, "the focus is on education, and many distillery representatives will be on hand at the pouring booths to explain how the whiskeys are made." And since we've always been a sucker for education, we were down for a night of smokey, liquid edification.
And this is what we learned at the 2nd Annual San Francisco WhiskyFest:
1. Whisky distillery representatives are, on the whole, total dicks In fact, most of reps (save for the Japanese distillers) were loathe to talk about their products at all. It was almost as if talking about their products would trigger Armageddon.
2. Women are definitely not capable of enjoying whisky. It’s a good thing that we brought our boyfriend, because we are really just there for the free glass and tote bag.
3. Even if you stand politely next to someone the reps know (like the dude at the Woodford Reserve booth who was trying to sell them on the new book he wrote about Guinness) do not expect anyone to even try to make eye contact with you. Seriously, they are trying to ignore you, so if you could play along, your experience will be that much better.
4. When you do begin describing the characteristics you like about specific Kentucky bourbons, expect the rep to be floored and wonder if you are not a spy, terrorist, or sprouting a second head.
5. Expect to leave having neither learned how whiskeys are made, nor feeling educated except on the best way for fielding diss after diss.
With our head jam-packed with this new-found knowledge, we’re happy we have a whole year to wait before the next event. We'll be sure to brush up on our Summer's Eve-sect skills and study hard for the next one.
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Hell hath no fury like a disgruntled amateur at a trade show.
Nothing like finding out about something like this after it's over. Finger on the pulse as always, SFist! Maybe now we can get a review of the Frida Kahlo exhibit, with a capper that the show is highly recommended (or not, as above).
Nice Tiffany! I actually felt a lot like that, myself. Felt like I was missing out on some sekrit language or handshake. If the nice folks at Anchor Distilling hadn't been so accommodating it would have been a complete bust.
You know what's funny? I didn't go to this b/c I was afraid of that exact thing--like, if you weren't a cigar-smoking, older, obviously rich dude, they'd throw lots of "meh" your way. Anyhoo, I might have given it a shot (har-har) had it not been for my own economic uncertainty.
I can say that Whiskies of the World, another SF event, is pretty okay. The only thing is, the classes are a little steep considering that in many ways you are subjecting yourself to an hour-long marketing message, but paying them for it. But, even though I've been to a number of Kentucky distilleries, I at least learned something at WoW, and overall the people who ran it were very warm.
I felt the same way. Did anyone else notice that most of the kilt-clad men weren't actually Scottish?
I guess I lucked out. I had a nice conversations with Evan Williams, the rep for Greenore, the folks at Bruichladdich, and the Jameson reps. I also noticed a number of folks getting some fairly in depth information from a number of reps.
I was there and I'd have to say that for the most part the whiskey reps were a bit standoffish. They didn't seem to have much patience for those of us who weren't experts. I thought the lady at the Old Pulteney table was the only really outgoing rep. She was a hoot. The Canadian Club guys put up with my obnoxious declaration that I wanted to be Canadian (this was the end of the evening, so I was a bit looped), but froze up when I asked them why their product is bottled in Kentucky. Overall, can't complain. I got nice and hammered on some really nice whiskeys.
Oh hang on now...I'm in possession of a vagina, and I happen to enjoy whiskey a heck of a lot. What the heck are you talking about?
I was at the Celtic Whiskeys of the World Expo here in SF last March, which was populated by reps from many of the same companies. I found them to be pleasant and informative, on the whole. Wonder what the difference was between that event and this one?
...or wait, were you saying that the reps act as if women are just there for the tote bag? That sucks. I didn't find that to be the case at the WoW expo, either.
Hmm.