Once upon a time, Birmingham was a whisky desert with very little going on. Now those disappointing days are long gone. In 2025 England’s second city has a healthy whisky scene and even its very own local dram to be celebrating. We’ve visited its three whisky festivals to see what they’re like and to report back on which ones are worth your time.

Midlands Whisky Festival

Annual – September / October

The Midlands Whisky Festival is Birmingham’s biggest show and takes place at TheStudio, just a few minutes walk from New Street Station. It’s been running for two decades this is one of the oldest shows is the UK, organized by one of the countires oldest wine merchants, Nickolls & Perks.

The organization of the festival is top tier with the exhibitors and masterclasses published well in advance alongside guidance for newbies too, its one of the more welcoming UK shows for those just starting out.

With around 400 whiskies available to try each year there’s something for everyone, though the show skews heavily towards Scottish Single Malt. As added bonuses Nickoll’s and Perks bring exclusive bottlings to this show and operate a Dream Dram token system too, allowing guests to access some really rare bottles that can cost a bomb. The recent addition of the Rum Room adds even extra value too.

However, the venue has been used for this event since 2016 and the show has definitely outgrown it. A lot of spaces can get cramped and sweaty so dress light and expect to be saying “excuse me” a lot.

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Whisky Birmingham

Annual – March

Organized by Grain & Glass and their Birmingham Whisky Club, this festival represents the big annual party for the Birmingham whisky community. The Bond in Digbeth is the ex-industrial venue that hosts this show and its a bright, airy space that doesn’t get too hot or crowded, plus there’s a big outdoor area to relax in if the spring weather plays ball.

The festival hosts around 30-40 brands from around the world with a real mix of regions. There’s a good balance between Scotch, English and World Whiskies as well as a lot of great independent bottlers fleshing out the show with harder to find treats.

This popular festival isn’t as well advertised as its competitors and sells out fast so make sure you keep an eye out for tickets. The first batch usually goes on sale in October with a second batch in January. If you’re local you can get a discounted ticket and an essential extra hour of show time by joining the club.

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The English Whisky Festival

Annual – November

Scrolling the images above you might think: “Hey, this looks familiar!” The English Whisky Festival shares the same venue as Whisky Birmingham but takes place in autumn instead of spring and has a very different focus. As we said before, The Bond is a lovely venue for whisky shows and The English Whisky Festival makes the best possible use of the space.

The age of English whisky being a niche are well and truly over. There are over 50 distilleries operating in England and their product is being drunk in more than 30 countries. This festival is a celebration the category’s meteoric rise.

Whilst other festivals have global bottlings and big age statements the magic here is the creativity within English whisky and the stories behind the products. There’s plenty of drams that will remind you of your favourite Speyside or Highland sherry bomb but there’s also all manner of experimentation happening with grains, yeasts and casks that’s contributing to a host of unique whiskies (rums, gins, spirits, and liqueurs too). There’s a genuine warm sense of community here that many other shows simply don’t foster.

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Which Festival is best?

So which festival do we recommend? All of them are great but we hate cop out answers. For whiskies from around the world both Whisky Birmingham and Midlands Whisky Festival will not disappoint but the latter’s size, rare drams, and incredible organization tip the scales. However, if we had to pick one Birmingham festival overall as our favourite it would be the English festival. Yes, it’s limited in scope, but it is a unique and community-led event that is well worth a visit from beyond Birmingham.