WATCH: Speyside Distilled showcases the best of Moray and Speyside food and drink
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THERE was a buzz in Elgin Town Hall as Speyside Distilled returned to the scene on Friday night.
The showcase of local food and drink producers opened last night and concludes today (Saturday) with two more sessions from 12noon-4pm and 6-10pm.
Many of Speyside's top whisky brands, gin producers and local breweries were in attendance.
Spirit of Speyside Whisky Festivals chairman George McNeil was delighted with the attendance at the opening night, after some initial nerves about whether people would come back following the Covid pandemic and now with the cost-of-living crisis.
"We were a wee bit worried in the early days with the ticket sales. The last two nights we saw a good spike in ticket sales and we are probably about 20% behind where we would want to be but to get 80% capacity is good," he said.
"The confidence has returned. There is a buzz within this place and it is fantastic to see.
There were a number of foreign visitors and Mr McNeil said the international footprint, as well as the domestic market, remains important to busiensses.
"A lot of these brands what is important is they internationalise themselves and events like this, even although it is very much a localised audience, we are still seeing a foreign market. There are groups here from Holland, America.
"There are two brands showcasing for the first time and one of them is 125-years-old because they know the power of a local audience who will almost become like brand ambassadors and take the message internationally."
Asked how much rising energy and fuel costs had impacted on the food and drink and other business sectors, Mr McNeil, said: "It is not a small sum and there comes a point where businesses are having to swallow some pain so they are not passing everything on to the consumer.
"I think the challenging time is still to come. It is great that we can get some small businesses into here (town hall) and get them showcased, so hopefully they can get some turnover."
He said the drinks industry in Moray and Speyside has proved to be incredibly resilient over the years.
"These are businesses that put stock down for 10, 20, 25 years and beyond. It is a business that has to think long-term. People can drink a dram in this hall tonight that is probably older than us.
"When you have a business that has got to think that way, yes these blips will come along but there is a very resilient industry there with some very strong brands. It will be tough but the majority of them will ride the storm.
"We have gone through the 2008 crash, we have come through Covid and a lot of lessons have been learned. Governments have a role to play in how they can be supportive."
Mr McNeil said the beauty of Speyside Distilled is large brands displaying alongside some newer players.
"We have the big worldwide brands showcasing, sitting alongside some small to medium enterprises, who are just start-ups and they have that recognition and support for each other.
"It is a whole community coming together and working together. It is fantastic."
Distilled was originally planned to be four sessions over three days, but that was scaled back to three sessions over Friday and Saturday. However, Mr McNeil said that looks to have worked well and the opening session was still very busy.
If you want to attend any of the Saturday sessions from 12noon-4pm and 6-10pm go to https://www.spiritofspeyside.com/festivals/distilled
