There’s something magical about seeing a humble beer garden get turned into a celebration of whisky. Summerton Whisky Festival in St Albans is a reminder that all you need is some tables, a canvas to keep the weather at bay, and some really good bottles. Okay, yes, a lot more goes into organising an event like this but it’s proof of how important mastering the basics is and there’s a peaceful vibe here that bigger festivals just can’t replicate.

For those that don’t know: Summerton Whisky Club is a subscription service and online members club that delivers a full bottle every other month to its members. For someone who is not in the Summerton Club (I think they’re lovely folks, I am just a “try before you buy” whisky person), the USP for their festival is that distillers and brands present have the endorsement of a serious group of whisky lovers. The trust of the membership in Summerton is so high that they’re willing to put up £300 a year on unknown whiskies so you don’t have to.

Even as someone who goes to a lot of festivals there were products here I’d never tried before including triticale whisky (a wheat/rye hybrid) from Black Fox in Saskatchewan, a big selection of Starward’s Australian malts and Firkin’s range of Scottish single malt finished in custom wine casks. The number of bottles at this show was small overall but balanced with representation from England, Ireland, Scotland, Canada, USA, Sweden and Australia.

The layout of Summerton Whisky festival was quirky as a result of it being laid over the beer garden at the Lower Red Lion pub. Two rows of tables under white awnings with many picnic tables in the centre and a couple of stands inside. Whilst stands got busy as it was a popular show the outdoor space meant it was quiet and cool and easy to move around to something else. Had the weather not been kind to us then the whole thing may have gotten crowded but that’s the gamble every outdoor festival takes. The food on offer was Indian street food which was a similar price to most street food in St Albans and went down incredibly well with the drams. 

There is frankly only one fault we can find with the festival – the lack of spittoons. You can read why we care so much here. Even at a small festival there is a lot of alcohol to manage and with it being free-pouring there’s also the chance someone gives you a hefty serve of something you don’t enjoy. After discussing with some other folks the only solution we had was just to retreat from the stands to tip our glasses onto the gravel. This was the mildest of inconveniences at such a relaxed festival but there was an odd shame of tipping glasses onto the floor rather than into a nice black bucket. Summerton have said they’ll look into providing them for next year which is fab to know.

Summerton Whisky Festival cost me £36.71 as a super early bird price with that going up to £48.95 later on. At first glance that feels like a lot for a show with a dozen exhibitors but it’s unfair to judge this festival by the benchmark of its London peers like Croydon Whisky Festival or The Whisky Event. It’s a whisky club doing what it wants to do in it’s hometown and drawing up a heavily curated range of quality whiskies you won’t find on the supermarket shelves. Often the bottlings available to try were Club exclusives and The English Distillery even brought two show exclusives: An American Oak Single Cask and a Rye Single Cask which both promptly sold out.

Folks in St Albans and the surrounding area can in theory get more for their money if they jump on the Thameslink into London to a bigger show, but if  “cost per available dram” were the sole measure of a whisky festival then these reviews would be redundant. There’s magic here in the detailed curation and the simple presentation – it’s a low stress (and dog-friendly) day out down the pub, not a marathon expo full of FOMO and drunken crowds. You’ll get to spend plenty of time with each exhibitor and really learn about their product. The love they have for Summerton Club came across in swathes too.

If that’s not enough to justify the price then know this – the Summerton Club are building a community that celebrates quality whisky and it extends beyond the people giving them subscription money. Whilst I’m not a member of the club I owe them a great debt. Every year they collate all the UK whisky events into one convenient list that’s kept up to date. For us at All But Drams this is an essential document and we salute all they do for the community!