Croydon isn’t a place you’d expect to find a whisky festival – and that’s kind of the point. The original goal of Croydon Whisky Festival was never to make a destination show that people would travel to. It was organizer Richard Foster trying to build something in his local area where there were plenty of people, but not much whisky activity. Four years in and Croydon Whisky Festival has a reputation far beyond South London and we suspect it’s only going to grow. 

All But Drams waxed lyrical last year about Croydon Whisky Festival and we gave our Festival of the Year award too. There’s been a few changes this year that I’m going to dive into for the enthusiast crowd but if you’ve never heard of Croydon Whisky Festival before then allow me to recap.

Croydon Whisky Festival is a show full of small distillers, bottlers and distributors of whisky and other spirits. There’s none of the big brands you’re used to seeing on the supermarket shelves or behind the bar in your local pub. For newcomers it’s a fantastic opportunity to learn about whisky from people who are incredibly passionate and for enthusiasts it’s a spring get-together, a chance to catch-up and try the newest bottlings.

Croydon is a place that feels “far away” for many Londoners and that’s a quirk of how the city’s transport system has built out over the centuries. Croydon Whisky Festival is a show that people in places like Reading, Brighton, Chelmsford and Stevenage can reach in under 90 minutes by public transport, even if a few pockets of London would take longer. This makes it a comfortable day trip for many who aren’t in the area, but popularity comes with a price.

Last year we said the festival had outgrown its venue and that feedback remains the same. Stanley Arts was built as a music hall at the turn of the 20th century and whilst it’s pleasant to look at it’s a place designed to carry noise meaning the show gets loud. Crowds were the biggest issue last year and whilst steps have been taken to reduce them by splitting the show into two sessions and having less people in each the difference wasn’t noticeable and the show was tougher to navigate this time around. Perhaps it was the weather? Rather than a warm day like last year it was bitterly cold meaning few people were using the outdoor areas.

If you aren’t good with busy crowds then there are other London whisky festivals that will suit you better. However, if you’re okay with saying “excuse me” a lot then I must stress Croydon is worth the bustle! The quality of what’s pouring is still incredible and there’s more to try than you can get through in both sessions combined. The offering at festivals like Croydon will change each year depending on which exhibitors want to attend and this year saw a shift away from World Whisky towards Scotch and it will be interesting to see how that shifts again next year. Here’s the full exhibitor list for reference:

• Caskshare
• Compass Box
• Cooper King Distillery
• Cotswolds Distillery
• East London Liquor Company
• Fielden
• Glasgow Distillery
• Henstone Distillery
• Isle of Raasay Distillery
• Kingston Distillers / Becketts
• Lochlea Distillery
• Ludlow Distillery
• Macaloney’s Island Distillery
• Torabhaig Distillery
• Milk & Honey Distillery
• Retribution Distilling Co.
• Sacred
• Saltire
• Spirit of Birmingham
• The Heart Cut
• Unkiltered
• Welsh Whisky Society
• White Peak Distillery
• Woven

The biggest change this year is the splitting of the festival into two 3 ½  hour sessions versus the single 5 ½ hour slot of past shows. A single session this year cost me £27 versus the £38 I paid in 2024 for the full day. Splitting like this means Croydon Whisky Festival is worse value for consumers, but if you put it into the context of the wider whisky scene in London then there’s little to complain about. Whisky Live, a show with a comparable amount of whisky if not less, currently costs £51 for a three hour session.  Harrow Whisky Festival is a similar boutique show and costs roughly the same for an all-day Saturday ticket but is half the size. Ultimately, Croydon Whisky Festival remains better value than most of the competition and this is a way to have an accessible entry price whilst still remaining commercially viable.

The split into two sessions does have other benefits. The hour break is an enforced pause in seven hours of drinking that gives both body and palate a break from booze. It also gives the exhibitors a rest too. Many of the folks pouring the whisky at Croydon are not full-time Brand Ambassadors but volunteers or distillers themselves. I think we can all agree distilling is a hard job so imagine putting in all these event hours on the weekend too! This break gives them all a chance to relax and happy exhibitors means a better show. If you want to be selfish about it – happy exhibitors are more likely to share with you any secret stuff they’re hiding under the counter.

There was a magic in the air at Croydon Whisky Festival last year and paying a few quid more hasn’t killed it off. We heard from the exhibitors that Croydon Whisky Festival is a favourite of theirs. They told us it’s hard to think of another festival that’s as diverse in both the drinks on show and the people attending. The pop-up nature is also appreciated as a leveller where everyone’s popularity is dictated by what they have brought to show, not how fancy their stand is. 

Everything at Croydon Whisky Festival is low-fi and intentionally simple. There’s no “dream dram” tokens, but some old and strange whiskies are floating about under tables and in pockets (shush). Cocktails? Not really a thing, but some of them appeared regardless. When organizer Richard stands on the upper balcony to announce things via megaphone there’s a ripple of amusement and a grounding reminder that what we’re all doing is actually rather strange. Gathering in a hall at Saturday lunchtime to dive deep into the craft of whisky isn’t what most people imagine doing when they fancy a few drinks. Yet as a whisky fan, when I’m at Croydon, I really can’t imagine being anywhere else.

[Whilst our 2024 award was used with permission to promote the show, All But Drams did not receive any free tickets or other incentives from Croydon Whisky Festival / Exploring Whisky]