Event and Bottle Review | 46% ABV

Score: 7/10

**Very Good Indeed.**
***TL;DR***
*Hughie chose this birthday gift well*

Whisky Live Paris 2025

Remember my last review? Where I told you that some whiskies are best enjoyed in solitude? Well, ditch that.

I’m writing this from the comfort of my couch, the Tuesday after Whisky Live Paris, 2025 edition. If you haven’t read my account of last year’s edition, where I do a small presentation of what the event is, you can find it here. The festival this year was just as big, reaching a scale where you’d need at least a full week of diligent tasting to check out every stand. There was also the usual plethora of unicorn drams, from all the best spirits producers.

There was however a small change for me this year; I was not alone. Pedro, also known as Brazil’s finest Scotch connoisseur, and our own Hughie, whom you’ll know as our Dramface Italian ambassador, made the trip to Paris to join me for the weekend. A small change, but one that ultimately massively altered the experience for me, in a very positive way of course. The fact that people occasionally travel a thousand, or even many thousand, kilometres to come to my hometown and join me on a whisky frenzy for just a few days blows my mind. I’m immensely thankful for and humbled by those people who have taken days off from work, made plans in advance and paid good money - all in order to join me to attend a whisky festival.

I must say I was a bit frightened that they wouldn’t find it all worth it; thus I tried hard to make the trip memorable for them - because of course, those kinds of events are much more enjoyable when experienced in good company. I think that in the end this fear was proven futile, as from my point of view, this was the best edition of Whisky Live I’ve been to, solely for the fact that the company I was in was top class.

It was not, though, the most prolific edition in terms of stellar whiskies and number of exhibitors. I won’t give you a detailed account of the weekend’s events like last time, just my general opinion of the show.

The festival was still absolutely massive and there were plenty of gems to be uncovered, but I think that the recession the industry is facing was palpable, and one could see signs of it when looking closely. Some whisky exhibitors who were there last year were not present this year, for example. Some stands which were decadent looking last year were less eye-catching in 2025. And most importantly, a good chunk of the drams that we collectively thought were standouts, weren’t whisky. We had some stellar cane-based potable rocket fuel from our Polish friends The Colours of Rum. Some utterly delicate and ancient Cognacs by Grosperrin. And even what are probably the best fruit eaux-de-vie I’ve personally ever tried - poured directly to us by Gianni Capovilla, a distilling legend, and a man who at a venerable age definitely does not need to attend a three-day long spirits festival, yet still does.

In the end, we made the best of what was presented to us, and there were still more than enough whiskies to keep us entertained and amazed, from under-the-table unicorns to new-wave, quality-focused Irish or German distillers.

We left on Monday evening tired but happy, and headed to a nearby bar to finally be able to sit our tired backsides on a chair, have a pint, or two, and to ultimately try to make our weekend last a bit longer.

There is nothing I would love more than to make Whisky Live Paris a yearly event for friends from all around the world to attend. We were only three this year, but there is potential for additional events and meet-ups that I would love to organise, if just a few more people bothered to make the trip. I say - let’s make WLP an event for the community. It could be almost as great as Glasgow Whisky Festival or the Independent Spirits Festival. Well almost, it’s not in Scotland after all.

That said, it might be easier to convince your non-whisky-drinking significant other to fly to Paris over Glasgow!

I will now stop my rambling on, and push Hughie onto the stage for his take on things, if only to give you more reasons to consider making the trip. You’ll find me at the bottom of this page for the obligatory whisky review, one that almost feels unnecessary, as I’m still just buzzing about this past weekend.

Hughie on WLP

I have to smile at the concern; was there any risk we wouldn’t find it worthy?

Thanks Ainsley for the stage, but, much more, for the fantastic hospitality over the Whisky Live Paris extended weekend. The company alone would have made the trip worthwhile. The event itself made it doubly so. The least I can do as thanks is to take up the baton and give you a few more reasons to reinforce Ainley’s hope to make WLP another event in our social whisky calendar.

I am not going to harp on the charme of Paris, that would be stating the obvious. And I’ll avoid the considerations on how easy it is for many of us outside the UK (and for some in the UK as well) to get to Paris. We don’t necessarily go to whisky festivals because they are easy to get to, of course, sometimes quite the opposite. But what makes me want to go back to WLP next year is something else altogether.

The two days passed by as a whirlwind, and only after we shared our last beer and I finally made my way home did I have the chance to really reflect on what we had experienced together. As I sat on my six hours train ride home while looking at the beautiful French countryside, followed by the majestic Alps, two overwhelming thoughts stayed with me, beside the memories of the tens of spirits sampled.

The first is, as always when our community meets - be it a few or many - is the feeling of welcoming camaraderie and the joy of sharing experiences. “Whisky is better when shared” might feel like a corny trope to those looking from the outside in, but it is only because they haven’t experienced it… yet. And as the saying goes, the more, the merrier. So why not make Paris an opportunity to share with more of you.

The other thought that kept going round my head is that WLP was a much needed and healthy challenge to my whisky bubble. I know I spend too much time reading and watching fellow whisky fans who share my view on what whisky should be, how it should taste and what the best distilleries are. And looking mostly at Scotland (with the occasional Rye distraction).

Whisky Live Paris offers a great opportunity to take a peek outside of that bubble with its wider international whisky representation and areas dedicated to other high-quality spirits. Somewhat unsurprisingly the challenge to my echo chamber came from outside of whisky and outside of Scotland.

Once I remove some of the rare, pricey - and at times pure unobtanium - Scottish bottles which stole my heart, the approachable whiskies that stay with me after Paris all came from outside of Caledonia: from Ireland to France, Germany to Brazil (thanks to a great tasting organised by Pedro, but that’s a story for another review). That’s not to say that they are better than some of my favourite everyday Scottish sippers. But they are strong competition, and at times completely unique, like Ireland’s Ardara peated Triple Distilled single malt, dark and smoky and the opposite of what the words ‘triple-distilled’ conjure in my brain.

But it is the spirits, those mentioned by Ainsley earlier, that really made me question some of the things I take for granted. Some of the rhums completely changed my perception of funk. As did the vibrancy of some of those Grosperrin Cognacs in regards to ageing, still vibrant and fresh after close to a century. But most of all it was Gianni Capovilla’s words that are sticking with me. “90% of my work” he told us “is sourcing the best ingredients for my distillates, the rest of the work only makes up for the remaining 10%”. Simple, disarmingly modest and to the point. Who needs celebrity testimonials or pretentious marketing messages when your spirit speaks for itself?

If you feel like your whisky bubble needs a little shake up, you could get that in a neat single yearly dose, shared with like-minded whisky lovers. Paris might just be the medicine for you.

Review 1/2 - Ainsley

Ledaig 14yo, Cadenhead’s Original Collection, bourbon casks, non chill-filtered, no added colour, 46% ABV
£75 and still some availability in regions supported by Cadenhead’s

I’ve chosen this whisky to review as Hughie actually gave it to me when he arrived, along with way too many other presents. He had heard my birthday was just a week before, and as such decided he was going to get me a very, very nice bottle of whisky, though prior to that we had only met in person once.

Hughie, I wish to be able to be as generous as you are one day my friend.

Nose

Quite peaty (duh). Algae, earthy peat, nori flakes, ashes and soot. Burning lemon oil. A bit farmy. Rose petals?! No they’re gone now. Seawater - it does have a smell: Lapsang souchong.

With water: more minerals. Doesn’t change it much though. A bit more lemon oils, and beurre blanc sauce with dry tarragon.

Palate

Quite thick and oily. 46% works really well with this whisky, I’m not left wanting for more oomph. Huge peat density. Nice malty sweetness too. Malt extract. Pretty good length for the ABV.

With water: again, cleaner and more mineral. Much less smoke on the palate, even if it retains that earthy-peaty element.

The Dregs

This is without the shadow of a doubt a very nice Ledaig. It feels like a cleaner and slightly amped up version of the OB 10yo. Impressive power.

To Pedro. Thank you for the amazing Brazilian spirits you once again shared with us, and for your child-like enthusiasm when presented with whisky.

To Hughie. Thank you for this delicious Ledaig, your generosity, and for translating what Gianni told us.

I’m immensely thankful to be a part of this community. I’m thankful for this bottle of delicious whisky. I’m thankful for the multiple gatherings I’ve been to, whether in Glasgow, Edinburgh or Paris. I of course have already booked my tickets for GWF, and for Leith in March. As many of the Dramface team have - we hope to see you there.

And to round things off, there’s only one question. Are you coming to Whisky Live Paris next year or what?!

In keeping with the French theme, and following a discussion we had this past week-end about an overlap in whisky and metal music, let’s watch Rise Of The Northstar’s performance at Hellfest this year.

Score: 7/10 AF

Review 2/2 - Hughie

Ledaig 14yo, Cadenhead’s Original Collection, bourbon casks, non chill-filtered, no added colour, 46% ABV
£75 and still some availability in regions supported by Cadenhead’s

I am writing this after Ainsley jotted down his review. I must admit I was a bit anxious to read what he thought. On the other hand, I was pretty confident it would at least pass muster. I sampled a couple of drams of this bottling during my last trip to Campbeltown, jotting down a few notes. I liked what I tasted.

And when, a week or so before travelling to Paris, I discovered it was Ainsley’s birthday I knew I wanted to share something with him that I hoped he would enjoy. Sure, the birthday was reason enough. I also wanted to share this bottle with a fellow whisky botherer whose passion and enthusiasm is contagious, be it in person or through his body of work here on Dramface.

As you clearly know, I gifted the bottle to Ainsley, but luckily, I managed to grab a sample which is what this review is based on, with all the caveats that come from that.

Score: 7/10

**Very good indeed.**
***TL;DR***
*Makes me wish for a core release between the 10yo and the 18yo*

Nose

The peat is there, but maybe because my nose is still recovering from the onslaught of drams at WLP, I find it quite gentle, smokey and soothing and slightly medicinal. I find the maritime notes more prevalent, brine, seaweed and with a light chalky minerality. In the background I get a light farmhouse cheese note, some lemon peel and a little nuttiness, which combined with those maritime notes and the peat, immediately comes through as salted smoked almonds.

Palate

The mouthfeel is lovely, not too heavy but with enough heft to feel “just right”. If my nose might have suffered from peat blindness, it is a different story here. The peat is quite powerful, smoky and with some noticeable maritime iodine. Then some vanilla from the bourbon cask together with malted biscuits and just a little green apple. The finish is pretty long, and similarly to what I got on the nose, more maritime than peaty: sea spray, seaweed, wood smoke, and a little musty.

The Dregs

Ledaig is one of those distilleries which took a while for me to fall in love with, in part due to my immature palate when I first came across the distillery, but also in part due to my first bottle of Ledaig 10 coming from an unusually muted batch, which only started opening up well after the liquid in the bottle reached the midway point. SInce then, my opinion has changed for the better and the 10, and the occasional dram of 18 year old, have become part of the peated whisky rotation.

Maybe I am playing fantasy distillery manager here, but that span between 10 and 18 years always seemed a bit too long. Tasting this 14 year old makes me wish Ledaig would add a third age-stated bottling to their core line up to bridge between the two. And if this Cadenhead’s bottling is anything to go by, a 14 (or 15) year old Ledaig at a fair price would be something to celebrate.

And before I go, a deserved thanks to Ainsley and Pedro for the amazing few days. Thanks to all the follow whisky lovers I crossed paths with in Paris and looking forward to more of the same in Glasgow in a few weeks.

And thinking of 2026…. will you join us in Paris?

Tried this? Share your thoughts in the comments below. AF

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