The Cotswolds Distillery in England will host the second World Whisky Forum in June, following the Forum’s successful first year at Box Distillery in Sweden.
Created by Jan Groth of Box Distillery in conjunction with Ingvar Ronde of the Malt Whisky Yearbook and acclaimed whisky writer Dave Broom, the aim is to bring together key figures in the whisky world to foster cooperation and knowledge exchange across the industry. By bringing together small producers and much bigger players from whisky-producing nations both established and new, ideas can be shared and progress made, both in terms of the industry and the product itself.
Founder and CEO of the Cotswolds Distillery, Dan Szor, attended the first conference and was struck by the spirit of cooperation and curiosity that fuelled the Forum. He asserted, “The 2017 Forum was an eye-opening experience that demonstrated that, unlike many industries today, the whisky world is one filled with passionate individuals keen to share ideas and cooperate, irrespective of national borders or corporate allegiances. With the World Whisky movement in full flight, we are thrilled that we’ll be able to host some of our friends and heroes, and show them our own perspective on bringing something new to the whisky world. Our Cotswolds Single Malt has only just been released, so this recognition of our place in the World Whisky community makes us incredibly proud.”
The theme for this years Forum is ‘Whisky 2020’, with guest speakers addressing innovation in whisky and the future direction of the industry. The 12 speakers this year include Jota Tanaka of Fuji Gotemba distillery in Japan, Tristan Stephenson of Fluid Movement/Black Rock, Miika Lipiäinen of Kyrö Distillery in Finland and the Cotswolds Distillery’s own head distiller, Nick Franchino. Returning as moderator is Dave Broom, editor of ScotchWhisky.com and author of The Way of Whisky: A Journey around Japanese Whisky.
There are a limited number of spaces available to attend the Forum, and these are open to anyone working in the whisky industry. More information on how to book and the full speakers schedule can be found via www.worldwhiskyforum.org.
