A WHISKY festival will take place in Alloa next year to share the history of distilling in the Wee County and raise money for charity.

Alloa-based SlanjEvents has announced the first annual Clackmannanshire’s Whisky Festival will take place at Alloa Town Hall on April 2 and 3, 2022.

The unique three-pronged festival concept will be a first for Alloa with the event celebrating not only the variety of flavours and the popularity of whisky, but the extensive heritage of its production, operations and innovation particularly in the local area over the past 200 years.

The festival has partnered with Diageo to deliver a coopering demonstration at the festival where skilled craftsmen will show how casks are made.

In addition to more than 30 exhibitors stationed in the town hall for all sessions, and 12 exclusive masterclasses taking place in break-out rooms across the two-days, the not-to-be-missed jewel in the crown of the festival will be the Clackmannanshire Showcase, delivered in partnership with The Edinburgh Whisky Academy.

This exclusive one-off masterclass and sampling session will offer ticket holders a very rare opportunity to taste whisky from some of Clackmannanshire’s distilleries that have long since closed.

Together with visiting the exhibitor stands in the main hall, attendees will have the chance to view and contribute to an interactive heritage timeline celebrating the people, whisky distilleries, brands and employers from across Clackmannanshire through the years.

Scott Abercrombie, co-founder of Clackmannanshire’s Whisky Festival, said: “We want to use our exciting new festival to shine a light on just how important Clackmannanshire has always been to Scotland’s whisky timeline.

“Combining this celebration of whisky and heritage with our work promoting wellness will deliver a truly unique festival concept that is already proving hugely popular to confirmed within the industry with five months still to go.”

SlanjEvents has also announced Clackmannanshire’s Whisky Festival has teamed up with suicide prevention charity Neil’s Hugs Foundation with the partnership for the first year of the festival dedicated to helping raise awareness of the foundation’s vital community support work.

Donna Paterson-Harvie, who founded Neil’s Hugs Foundation in memory of her son Neil, said: “Having a platform like Clackmannanshire’s Whisky Festival support our foundation to reach a wider audience locally is hugely helpful.

“We want to let men across Clackmannanshire know, not matter your age or circumstances, that we are here to help, even if it’s just for a cuppa and a hug.

“We are also very grateful to the organisers and the event sponsors who have so far raised over £2000 which will be ring fenced to fund our meetings and support services in Clackmannanshire.”

Tickets for the festival are available to purchase now.

Visit slanjevents.scot/tickets for more information.