Islay

Guided Islay Whisky Festival Experience May 2026

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Join us at Feis Ile 2026 for the Ultimate Islay Whisky Festival Experience!

Join us on the Hebridean island of Islay during the Islay Whisky Festival 2026 where you will be part of a small group of enthusiasts visiting each distillery open day and enjoying tours and tastings at as many distilleries as possible.

Week Long Experience Hosted by Industry Experts

When you join us on Islay at Feis Ile on our Guided Islay Whisky Festival Experience I will be your host for the week. I’m David Wood and I have worked in the whisky industry for more than 30 years. I’ve been involved in every aspect of the industry from managing iconic distilleries to bottling, marketing and retailing my own brands of whisky. I was a manager at the iconic Lagavulin Distillery and Distillery Manager at the mighty Caol Ila Distillery so I make the perfect host.

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Islay Whisky Festival Accommodation

Our Guided Islay Whisky Festival Experience is a week long trip. If you join us you will benefit from accommodation in a beautiful farmhouse on the Rhinns of Islay not far from Port Charlotte and Bruichladdich. During the week all of your meals will be prepared by our talented chef, John Moir. There will be a cooked breakfast every day, a full evening meal and a packed lunch too.

Guided Islay Whisky Festival Experience Dates

Our Guided Islay Whisky Festival will commence at 5pm on Saturday 23rd May 2025 and run through until 9am on Saturday 30th May.

Complimentary transport will be arranged for you for Saturday 23rd May from either the ferry terminal where you arrive or from Islay Airport. Complimentary transport will be provided for you to get to each of the distillery tours / tasting and festival days on the itinerary that we will provide.

Whats Included In The Guided Islay Distilleries Experience?

  • Beautiful, well equipped accommodation with stunning Islay views
  • All food specially prepared for guests by our chef John Moir – breakfast, packed lunch and evening meals
  • Complimentary transport to and from distillery events and complimentary transfers to and from the ferry or plane
  • A full itinerary of distillery tours and tastings, and visits to island beauty spots and places of historic interest
  • Myself David Wood, former Caol Ila Distillery Manager as your host for the week

What Is The Cost of the Guided Islay Distilleries Experience?

We think that this is an exclusive experience. It is an opportunity for you to join a small group of whisky enthusiasts on Islay at the greatest whisky festival in the world with an industry expert as your host for the week. You will be staying in the very best of accommodation that the island has to offer and you won’t need to make any arrangements for food or transport whilst you are with us as it will all be provided for you. Please send us an email to enquire about availability and cost.

Guided Islay Distillery Experiences

I shall be putting together a comprehensive itinerary which will ensure that we visit each distillery during the week so that guests have the opportunity to buy special Islay Whisky Festival bottlings where available. We will then take part in tours and tastings at all of the distilleries.

Whisky Tour

Comprehensive Island Tour

During this exclusive trip to Islay, we will ensure that guests see as much of the island as possible in between distillery visits. We’ll take you to all of the islands beauty spots and sites of historic interest.

Contact Us

If you would like to make an enquiry about our Guided Islay Distillery Experiences, please give David a call on 07875 405 980

Book us for a Whisky Tasting for your Stag Party in the Peak District in 2025!

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Whisky Tastings in the Peak District with Distilled Events

If you are planning a Stag party in the Peak District National Park and you would like an exclusive activity a whisky tasting is the perfect way to keep your group entertained.

I host whisky tastings in the Peak District as well as everywhere else in the UK and sometimes further afield. I used to be Distillery Manager at one of the largest malt whisky distilleries in Scotland the mighty and iconic Caol Ila Distillery on the Hebridean island of Islay, so my tastings are as authentic as can be as well as fun and engaging.

The Whisky Tasting

Each of our whisky tastings are different and I can tailor it to fit your itinerary of activities. Usually when I host a whisky tasting for a stag party it will last for around 90 minutes during which time guests taste 6 special single malt whiskies from around Scotland.

I often present whiskies that have been made in places I have lived or worked, or from distilleries that I have visited and particularly enjoyed. See the bottom of the post for links to some of the distilleries I often feature in my tastings.

What is Included in Your Stag Party Whisky Tasting

  • A 90 minute tasting experience including 6 single malt whiskies
  • Whisky industry expert to host the tasting
  • A brief history of Scotch whisky and how it is made
  • Plenty of time for all your whisky related questions to be answered
  • All glassware provided

Prices start from just £30 per person based on a minimum group size of 12 people.

Contact us!

If you would like more information about our whisky tasting experiences in the Peak District, please give me a call on 07875 405 980, alternatively please complete the form below and I will get back to you as soon as possible.

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Some of My Favourite Distilleries

Each of my tastings are different. I am totally independent so I can present any whiskies that I wish. I do however have some favourites that appear quite regularly in my tastings. I’m lucky enough to have lived on the Isle of Skye for a while and I love Talisker. I worked at three different distilleries on the Isle of Islay, Bunnahabhain, Lagavulin and Caol Ila so they quite often make an appearance in my tastings.

I host week long Guided Distillery Experiences in Scotland for guests from all over the world so I’ve visited many distilleries. If I’ve visited a distillery and particularly enjoyed the experience I’ll often present their whiskies too. Here are some links to some of the distilleries:

David Wood

07875 405 980

Glasgow University Whisky Tasting Experience

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Whisky Tasting in Glasgow

We were delighted to be asked to host a whisky tasting experience for 200 delegates from all over the world at a conference at Glasgow University recently. We presented 4 single malt whiskies from all over Scotland, each representing regionality and different flavour profiles.

We set up four whisky stations around the room so that delegates could move around easily, speak to us about the whiskies and about the whisky industry before moving on to the next dram. I was joined by two industry colleagues, Justina and Rebecca to help engage with as many conference delegates as possible during the evening.

At the beginning of the tasting I spoke briefly to the whole group to explain how the tasting would work and a little about the Scotch whisky industry in general and how single malt whisky makes the incredible journey from field to table.

It was great to be able to engage with so many people at such a great event and to enthuse about all things Scotland and single malt Scotch whisky. Our tastings showcase Scotland’s gift to the world and are a great way to encourage people to get together, have fun, socialise and relax.

Glasgow Whisky Tasting – The Single Malt Whiskies

We selected four single malt Scotch whiskies to help demonstrate both regionality and the difference in flavour profiles. Two of the whiskies were from the Isle of Islay where Justina and I used to work. One of the Islay whiskies was smokey / peaty, whilst the other was rich, maritime and fruity. The other two single malt whiskies were from the Highland region and Speyside.

Here is the set list for our whisky tasting experience in Glasgow:

  1. Tomintoul 10 year old Speyside single malt whisky 40%abv
  2. Glengoyne 12 year old Highland single malt whisky 43%abv
  3. Bunnahabhain 12 year old Islay single malt whisky 46.3%abv
  4. Caol Ila 13 year old Islay single malt whisky 43% bottled by Gordon and MacPhail

Whisky Tastings in Glasgow

We would love to host a whisky tasting for your event in Glasgow or anywhere else in Scotland. If you would like more information or if you would like to check availability for a whisky tasting, please call David on 07875 405 980.

Alternatively, please complete the form below and we will get back to you as soon as possible.

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Distilled Events & Friends in the USA

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Single Malt Whisky Tasting Experiences in the USA

A few months ago I was asked by my friend Bob who has joined many of my week long whisky experiences in Scotland, if I would be interested in hosting a series of Scotch whisky tastings in the USA. I had never been to The States before so I jumped at the chance. I dug out my passport, booked my tickets and off I headed to Indiana followed by an extensive tour of the Bourbon distilleries of Kentucky.

I’m hoping to write about the trip over a series of blog posts so watch this space if you would like to read about my tour of many distilleries in Kentucky.

Whisky Tasting Experience for Storied Company in Indianapolis

First up for the series of events was at a great shop in Indianapolis called Storied Company. Storied is a fantastic wine and spirits merchants which is ran by Denis Lynch and Simon O’Grady. Denis and Simon like to stock wines and spirits that have been produced by smaller, independent wineries and distilleries especially those that have an interesting story to tell.

I hosted two sessions at Storied, for around 40 guests in each. The tasting took place with myself and the guests lined up with glasses of whisky ready to taste on a table that ran all around the balcony on the upper floor. Each tasting session lasted around an hour with an hour in between to set up the second event.

The room in Storied was beautifully lit and made for a relaxing ambience for our whisky tasting guests. Being relaxed, our guests asked lots of great and interesting questions which always helps to make a tasting go really well.

The Whisky Set List at Storied Company

Here are the whiskies that our guests enjoyed at the Scotch whisky tasting at Storied Company:

  • Elements of Islay LN2 Small Batch Islay Single Malt Scotch Whisky. 59.5% from Bruichladdich Distillery, Isle of Islay. Bottled by Elixir Distillers. This was a single Amercan oak barrel which yielded just 216 bottles.
  • Elements of Islay BN10 Small Batch Islay Single Malt Scotch Whisky. 54.3%abv. Bunnahabhain Distillery, Isle of Islay. Bottled by Elixir Distillers. This was a marriage of 3 American oak hogsheads which yielded a total of 732 bottles.
  • Caol Ila 10 year old Islay Single Cask Single Malt Scotch Whisky. 56.4%abv bottled by Inglered. This was a single American oak hogshead which yielded 295 bottles.
  • Caol Ila 9 year old Islay Single Malt Scotch Whisky bottled by Five Lions. This was an single American oak cask.
  • Laphroaig 9 year old Islay Single Malt Scotch Whisky. 61.4%abv. Bottled by Single Malts of Scotland (Elixir Distillers). This was a single American oak hogshead.
  • Port Askaig 18 year old Islay Single Malt Scotch Whisky. 50.8%abv. Bottled by Elixir Distillers. This was a single bourbon barrel filled in 2000 and limited to 250 bottles.

It was a privilege to present such a wonderful flight of rare expressions and all of the guests loved the whiskies and the event itself. It isn’t often I get the chance to talk about whiskies of such limited supply. All of the whiskies were from either single casks or a very small marriage of casks. Everyone went home very happy indeed.

One guest waited until the end of the second session, and after almost all of the other guests had left the room he came to speak to me. He proudly showed me a photo he had on his phone of his bottle of 30 year old Caol Ila single malt whisky which was released in 2015. At the time it was the oldest Caol Ila ever to be bottled by the distillers and I’m very proud to have my name on it.

“I’ve travelled from Alabama to meet you tonight David” the man said to me and I thanked him for coming after he told me about how much he had enjoyed the tasting. My geography of the USA isn’t very good so I checked with google maps how far the drive was that the gentleman and his partner had made, a journey of 700 miles each way!

I’d like to thank Denis and Simon for having me host the tastings at Storied Company and I very much look forward to coming back in the future.

Whisky Tasting for the Muncie Scotch Whisky Society

After the tasting we headed off towards the town of Muncie, Indiana. Bob was keen to give me a proper US diner experience so we had a late night, and well deserved feast it one of his favourite restaurants, Portillo’s, and very good it was too. The perfect way to end the evening!

The following day we would host a whisky tasting for members of the Muncie Scotch Whisky Society. I’ve posted a couple of photos below but more about this in a future blog post.

Contact me!

I host bourbon tastings as well as Scotch whisky events. If you are interested in a whisky (or whiskey!) tasting experience wherever you are, please call me on 07875 405 980 alternatively, please complete the contact form below and I will be back to you as soon as possible.

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Whisky Tasting Experience for Your Stag Party in the Peak District National Park

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Whisky Tastings in the Peak District with Distilled Events

If you are planning a Stag party in the Peak District National Park and you would like an exclusive activity a whisky tasting is the perfect way to keep your group entertained.

I host whisky tastings in the Peak District as well as everywhere else in the UK and sometimes further afield. I used to be Distillery Manager at one of the largest malt whisky distilleries in Scotland the mighty and iconic Caol Ila Distillery on the Hebridean island of Islay, so my tastings are as authentic as can be as well as fun and engaging.

The Whisky Tasting

Each of our whisky tastings are different and I can tailor it to fit your itinerary of activities. Usually when I host a whisky tasting for a stag party it will last for around 90 minutes during which time guests taste 6 special single malt whiskies from around Scotland.

I often present whiskies that have been made in places I have lived or worked, or from distilleries that I have visited and particularly enjoyed. See the bottom of the post for links to some of the distilleries I often feature in my tastings.

What is Included in Your Stag Party Whisky Tasting

  • A 90 minute tasting experience including 6 single malt whiskies
  • Whisky industry expert to host the tasting
  • A brief history of Scotch whisky and how it is made
  • Plenty of time for all your whisky related questions to be answered
  • All glassware provided

Prices start from just £25 per person based on a minimum group size of 12 people.

Contact us!

If you would like more information about our whisky tasting experiences in the Peak District, please give me a call on 07875 405 980, alternatively please complete the form below and I will get back to you as soon as possible.

Go back

Your message has been sent

Some of My Favourite Distilleries

Each of my tastings are different. I am totally independent so I can present any whiskies that I wish. I do however have some favourites that appear quite regularly in my tastings. I’m lucky enough to have lived on the Isle of Skye for a while and I love Talisker. I worked at three different distilleries on the Isle of Islay, Bunnahabhain, Lagavulin and Caol Ila so they quite often make an appearance in my tastings.

I host week long Guided Distillery Experiences in Scotland for guests from all over the world so I’ve visited many distilleries. If I’ve visited a distillery and particularly enjoyed the experience I’ll often present their whiskies too. Here are some links to some of the distilleries:

David Wood

07875 405 980