This year we decided to expand the real world reach of All But Drams. The site would seek out new festivals and experiences to cover across the UK and abroad. Unless an existing festival radically changed (for better or for worse) it wouldn’t get featured, though we could still choose to attend and have a good time. This expansion isn’t just expensive, it’s also risky. Two festivals we planned to attend in 2026 were cancelled and we were lucky to have not lost any cash with tickets or travel costs.

So committing to a 500 mile round trip from London to Newcastle for a festival I’d seen online made me nervous,  despite it being one that’s reliably happened four times already. I am pleased to report that Whisky Indy Love Fest went ahead in 2026. But was it worth the trip?

Whisky Indy Love Fest is all about Independent Bottlers (IBs), companies that buy casks from distilleries and bottle them under their own name. IBs all have their own philosophies of whisky, their own styles and preferences. It’s a market many enthusiasts adore for its diversity and quality. Other than a smattering of distilleries and ‘drams by post’ services this festival was all about the IBs. That means lots of cask strength products, bottled with intent, and little (if any) added colour or chill filtration. The festival itself is independent too, being tied to an informal local whisky club rather than a company. That in and of itself is unusual with many other shows being backed by retailers or magazines that have their own goals beyond connecting brands with drinkers.

The festival runs over three sessions, one on Friday evening, and two on Saturday. Prices are on par with the national average with a peak Saturday session costing me £59 for 3.5 hours of drinking time. The location is less than a five minute walk from Newcastle Station making it easy to get to. Upon arrival there’s only a short queue to get in and a free cloakroom readily available. On Friday the festival even started early so my total queue time was zero minutes. World record levels of efficiency! 

Inside you’re met with some grand Georgian architecture that other attendees compared to Bridgerton. It’s an apt comparison. The Assembly Rooms are a vaulted space decked out in white and gold and with a history that goes back 250 years. If “most dramatic venue” was an award we gave out, this place would win. Between the crystal chandeliers and the plush carpet lies two avenues of messy rollerbanners, black tables and brilliant whisky. It’s a classic setup and works just fine. Never too crowded and never too loud. If anyone did need a break there was a spacious bar next door and the whole of Newcastle just outside.

The whisky on offer at the show was of impeccable quality. All the IBs brought big ranges and not just the usual bits they hadn’t sold through yet. There were plenty of new releases I hadn’t seen yet this year at all the other shows. There were also festival exclusives, regional exclusives, bin ends, warehouse finds, and more. You can browse the pictures in all these galleries to see the full selection. Hundreds of interesting bottles meant there was much more here than I could get through in two sessions. If somehow you only drank sherry bombs or only drank Islay there’d be plenty to justify a ticket in those categories alone. There was also a solid selection of rarer bottles freely on offer, not hidden away or at extra cost. We’re talking older malts between 25 and 40 years of age alongside silent distilleries like Dumbarton, Caperdonich and Imperial. 

However, if you don’t like Single Malt Scotch I’ve got some bad news. Other than a smattering of English and Irish distilleries there isn’t much else. No American, Japanese or other World product. That’s a non-issue if you knew what to expect from the exhibitors in attendance, all of them are Scotch focused and some of them are Scotch exclusively. Surprisingly, rum fans would have a better time, with at least nine decent bottles to try.

There was no retail partner at the festival meaning each brand could offer discounts off of RRP if they wanted and made multi-buy deals with customers if they wanted. We always love seeing shows offer this freedom to exhibitors. The other bargains were the masterclasses. They appear subsidised by the brands attending so as a result they all cost just a tenner. 

I leapt at the chance to attend a London Distillery Company tasting with its MD and Whisky Maker Matt McKay. Being based in London myself I’ve met Matt plenty of times and each one has been educational. He is one of those presenters who takes the time to explain the science and his own thought process. You come away with the ‘why’ of the whiskies being tasted. On offer at Whisky Indy Love Fest were four cask samples freshly pulled from the wood and intended to be the upcoming releases from London Distilling Company. All of them were interesting examples of English whisky and one of them in particular is a future ‘must buy’ for me. 

After a busy Friday of dramming I was surprised to find that consumers aren’t turfed out. Whilst last pours is called and adhered to, it isn’t followed by the usual speedy removal of most festivals. Instead we all head through to the bar for an after-party that lasts about an hour. Here there’s the opportunity to buy drinks from the bar but a few drams are also sneaking about. Whether this is a formal thing or not I cannot say, but it was a great opportunity to continue conversations that get cut short when time is called at other shows. 

I had a delightful time at Whisky Indie Love Fest. It’s unique, one of only two IB festivals in the UK, the other being the newer Independent Spirits Festival in Leith. However, it isn’t a festival for everyone. My reasons for attending were based on the past guest list that featured loads of brands that I’ve never seen in the South of England. Six of them in particular were on my “I will travel to see” list.

Of these six past attendees, none were returning in 2026 (one was listed for a time, but eventually dropped). Now, the rest of the range was incredible of course, but it was all the same folks who come down to London on the regular. I was looking to see those brands who only deign to creep 50 miles over the border to cater to us English. With taste being so subjective, meeting IBs at a show helps you decide if what they bottle matches what you want. Otherwise you’ll make expensive mistakes. 

The range on offer was smaller than the previous year too. 2025 had 31 brands, this year had 21 despite the site promising around 30 when I booked. This attendee list isn’t the fault of the event. Organizers, especially ones that aren’t retailers, cannot control who exhibits and it could be a sign of the times that this show has had a reduced turnout. Festivals are getting much more numerous and distilleries are cutting marketing budgets. We’ve absolutely seen worse dropoffs at other festivals this year alongside the cancellations mentioned above.

The only other weird downside was how grim the toilets were for such a gorgeous venue. The gents had a taped off cubicle, another with a broken lock and a third with piss on the floor. All backed up with a weak hand dryer that was like being breathed on by a dog. And this was an hour into the session. The fact I’m having to dig this deep to find any flaws proves what a great event this is. 

When you think about Newcastle’s size it’s even more impressive, bigger cities have less going on. Yes Edinburgh is 90 minutes by train but that’s only if you live in the city centre, not further up the Tyne or down in Teesside. So if you are local then this is the best you’ll get. The community here loves whisky and the brands attending love them back. I heard from exhibitors that the show is great value for money, sales are strong and they are well looked after by the organisers. In our original review guide for All But Drams we said that the “mystical but ever present vibe” factors into our scoring. Whisky Indy Love Fest’s vibes are immaculate. Toilets aside, of course.

Am I going to come back? Probably not, as I live 250 miles away in London and am spoiled for choice there. Am I going to shout about it to every Northerner I meet? Absolutely!

[Whisky Indy Love Fest provided All But Drams a free ticket to a single session. A second session ticket and all other costs were covered by us].