The Very First Whisky Live Manila Held at Shangri-La BGC

Wazzup Pilipinas!

The very first Whisky Live Manila was an outstanding success! Even during the first hours of the event, hundreds of attendees, both enthusiasts and newcomers to the world of the dram, sampled the many available whiskies within the ballrooms of no less than the newly opened Shangri-la Hotel, Bonifaco Global City in Taguig, Metro Manila, Philippines on October 28 and 29, 2016.

Whisky Live Manila opened its doors to a huge number of whisky enthusiasts for two days. Manila is the world's premier whisky tasting show's 5th venue in Asia, and we are fortunate to be among the lucky media attendees invited to taste the whiskies and witness the other happenings including learning a little more from industry experts, and took it a step further by attending some of the organised master classes conducted by whisky experts like Jim Murray, author of the bestselling Whisky Bible, the world's leading whisky guide containing over 4,600 whiskies tasted, evaluated and rated.

I am amazed at how the event was promoted as there were a lot of foreigners, celebrities and other VIPs who attended the event. Some of the personalities that were at the event were Philippine Volcanoes team captain Jake Letts, veteran character actor Joel Torre,  fashion designer, columnist and socialite-philanthropist Tessa Prieto-Valdez, Uno Magazine editor-in-chief and Mercator Centrale owner RJ Ledesma, Model and son of governor Imee Marcos-Manotoc Birgy Manotoc, actor and Persia Grill restaurant owner Kian Kazemi, and a lot more.

The liquor industry leaders like Ralph Lim Joseph, and some of the other generations of Josephs were also there since the event, aside from The Booze Shop, was also mainly organized by Grand Cru Wines and Spirits. The Philippine Wine Merchants also had a booth there plus they have foreign experts whom we had the chance to get some video messages to orient us about their whisky specialties.

We also visited each brand's booth so we can truly say we explored most of the best whisky possibilities available in the market. Aside from whiskies, there were also the very popular rum brands like Don Papa and Tanduay, and some other cocktail concoctions at some booths. Speaking of cocktails, there was also a cocktail competition going on throughout the duration of the event.

Kudos also to the organizers for a very good method of keeping the attendees still at their best poise by giving them red chips that they can use to try the whiskies. To make sure the attendees do not go over their limit, a breathalyzer examination was required before they are given additional red chips that they can use to continue their whisky adventure.

Also, there were a couple of bigger chips, white and blue, to serve as their vote for the best booth that they've visited, and the best whisky that they've tasted.

There was also someone dressed up like that from the great Scottish highlands and playing the bagpipe. I met that guy, Roy Espiritu, before from a nautical and boats expo where he was part of the exhibitor showcasing affordable wooden boats.

Attendees were allowed to experience the whisky festival until 12 midnight, but the crowd was still so plenty, and some people were still coming in, even until closing time. My companion and I stayed almost at the last minutes because we were intrigued who else we will be seeing at the event.

Thank you to the organizers of Whisky Live Manila for having Wazzup Pilipinas at the event. See you again next year!

More photos can be found at our official Facebook fan page at http://www.Facebook.com/wazzuppilipinas

Videos can also be seen at our official YouTube video channel at http://www.YouTube.com/user/wazzuppilipinas