Whisky Live Paris is preparing to put on its biggest show yet in 2024, the year it marks its 20th anniversary.
First launched at the Palais Brogniart in 2004 by La Maison du Whisky, Whisky Live Paris has developed and grown over the past two decades into a seminal annual event for industry professionals and whisky consumers alike. Hosting 21,000 visitors in 2023, it is now the largest whisky tasting show in the world.
It has grown from 58 exhibitors in 2004 to 250 in 2023, with names including Gordon & MacPhail, Glenfiiddich, Ardbeg, Nikka, and Blanton's involved from the start. In 2016, during its second year at Paris' Cité de la Monde, the show offer brands personalised and immersive staging for the first time, something which has come to define the event and set a template for others. It was also in 2016 that the show's Cocktail Street was launched, paying tribute to the importance of mixology in the spirits world.
The event moved to its current venue, la Grande Halle de la Villette, in 2019. At 15,000sqm, it is four times the size of its original home at the Palais Brogniart.
Whisky Live Paris 2024 will host 300 distilleries and brands from more than 40 countries. Among the whisky exhibitors will be 60 brands from Scotland and more than 20 from America, showing off their latest releases. The show will also make space for other spirits with the return of the Rhum Gallery, Sake District, and Gin Lane, a new Agave Patio, and a space dedicated to France's regional spirit categories of Cognac, Armagnac, and Calvados.
There will be a dedicated VIP area for premium ticket holders, and a programme of masterclasses taking place across the weekend. For those who wish the purchase a bottle to take home, a pop-up shop will be available. And there will be plenty to explore, with an estimated 2,000 bottlings available to sample.
In a further celebration of Whisky Live Paris' 20th anniversary, the World Drinks Awards — run by the owner of Whisky Live Paris and Whisky Magazine — will make its debut in France in 2024. The World Drinks Awards France will shine a spotlight on French whisky in four style categories (single malt, single grain, single cask, blended) and gin in two style categories (classic and contemporary).
Whisky Live Paris will take place from Saturday 28 to Monday 30 September 2024. It will be open from 1.30–7pm Saturday and Sunday (with early access for VIP ticket holders one hour earlier). Monday's session will be exclusively for industry professional and will run from 10am–6pm.
For tickets and more information, go to whiskylive.fr/en/ticketing.
