Who doesn’t love an evening in Manhattan at the beautiful and spacious Marriot Marquis hotel? It’s only a 20-to-30-minute walk from Penn Station. I love walking through this iconic city, with its bright lights, attractive signage, food carts, and of course, the crowds.
Once I arrived at the venue for WhiskeyFest NY 2023. I picked up my credentials. Standing in the long VIP line, I made friends with a family from Maryland that adopted me, with their daughter affectionately naming me Uncle Mike. My new “family” and I had such a great time, that our next family reunion is already planned for the fall. We will all meet again at WhiskyFest NY 2024
So many people are unfortunately fixated on having the highly allocated pours such as the Buffalo Trace Antique Collection, Pappy, and Four Roses Small Batch Limited Edition. However, none of those distilleries were at WhiskeyFest NY this year. It’s been several years since the Van Winkle family has been there. For me, it is not something I missed. Don’t get me wrong, I like that these distilleries draw a huge crowd. The benefit is that it makes moving around to the stops I had planned to make during the VIP hour a breeze.
This year, I noticed that the VIP hour was packed, but the crowd thinned out when general admission entered. I really enjoyed myself. For me, it is about trying new whiskeys, having great conversations with the distillers, blenders, and other knowledgeable industry professionals. It’s always fun speaking with WHISKEY LOVERS! Not to mention, I usually bump into a few people that I know.
There was absolutely an abundance of extremely great pours:
- Greg Metz, Mel and team were rocking it at Old Elk. I enjoyed everything Mel was kind enough to share to include the Cigar Cut, Infinity Blend, and Four Grain.
- Middle West stood out as well. They poured everything they brought, and all was excellent. I really enjoyed the Cask Strength Oloroso Wheat and the Sherry Cask finish.
- I was a little disappointed Abraham Bowman was not there, but it makes sense as Buffalo Trace was not attending.
- At Michter’s, I caught a drop of the Michter’s 20, the 10-Year Straight Rye, Shenk’s, and Bomberger’s.
- When visiting Heaven Hill, I had a pour of Parker’s Double Barrel Blend.
- Yamazaki and Hakushu are always enjoyable.
- Ardbeg was great, especially the Traigh Bhan 19.
Other pours of note:
- Jack Daniel’s 10- and 12-Year
- Kentucky Owl Batch 12
- Heaven’s Door 10-Year
- Hardin Creek
- Dewar’s (the 21-year Double Double was my favorite)
- Crown Royal Reserve
- New Riff Single Malt
- Compass Box Art & Decadence
- Benromach 15, 21, as well as offerings from Gordon Macphail
There were so many great whiskeys to sample! I’m sure I haven’t captured them all here in these lists. The food was tasty and in abundance. This paired well with the whiskey above, and I was sure to stay hydrated. Here’s a little secret… rinse your glass out after each pour but sip the water and never pour it out! You get the best of both worlds.
I can’t wait until next year and our unofficial family reunion. See you next time!
CHEERS TO ALL!
