Brighton Whisky Weekend arrives this summer
Heads up, festival fans, the Brighton Whisky Weekend is taking place from 26 to 28 June 2026 and turning the city into a three-day dram crawl.
A Brighton whisky festival has somehow never existed. A seaside city full of good bars, curious drinkers, and people who already like staying out late. Feels like an oversight.
That changes this summer.
Book your tickets for Brighton Whisky Weekend now!
Brighton Whisky Weekend arrives this summer
At the centre of it all is a tasting expo at The Old Market on Saturday 27 June, where more than 30 whisky producers will pour samples for attendees. Expect big names, indie bottlers, and newer producers trying to charm you with a glass. You’ll be defenceless in the wake of all the loveliness and will simply have to oblige. Oh, the humanity.
The ticket covers the drams, which means no tokens, no awkward maths, no one pretending they understand token systems. You get a tasting glass, wander around, talk to the people who made the whisky, and drink it. Easy peasy, squeezy the lemon into my Highballzy.
Food will be on site, bottles will be available to buy, and there will also be an exclusive festival bottling for those who want a different/additional souvenir other than a stick of rock.
A great city deserves a great whisky festival
Not just another tasting room shuffle
The organisers clearly realised people rarely travel for a single whisky tasting anymore. They want an experience. A weekend to soak it all in.
So Brighton Whisky Weekend spills out across the city with bar takeovers, masterclasses, whisky dinners, and pop-ups. Expect Highballs in Hove, bourbon by the beach, and various questionable decisions made somewhere around midnight.
This is not a conference hall seminar, it’s a whisky city takeover. I’m planning on planting a massive Master of Malt flag on Brighton beach. Assuming they don’t read this and uninvite me.
Brighton’s Cut Your Woolf Loose is one of our favourite whisky bars
The people behind it
The festival comes from three people who know the whisky scene well.
Richard Foster, who runs events like Croydon Whisky Festival and English Whisky Festival, brings the festival experience and strong links to craft brands and indie bottlers.
Seb Woolf, founder of Brighton whisky bar Cut Your Woolf Loose and indie bottler Artful Dodger, brings the local whisky community and hospitality scene.
And Rosie Lees, co-founder of drinks PR agency N94 and Lecce Cocktail Week, brings the industry connections and the idea that Brighton deserves something bigger than a single tasting room.
The goal is to create a whisky festival that actually feels like Brighton. They’ve got the goods, I reckon.
See you there!
When and where
The Brighton Whisky Weekend runs from 26 to 28 June 2026.
The main tasting event takes place at The Old Market on Saturday 27 June, with city-wide events across bars and restaurants throughout the weekend.
Tickets and updates are available at brightonwhiskyweekend.com, with the full schedule still to come.
The Brighton Whisky Weekend finally gives the southeast a proper whisky festival. I can’t wait. See you there!
