Nowadays, it seems as if there is literally a day for everything. There’s National Spaghetti Day, National Fun at Work Day, National Poetry at Work Day, and there’s even a National Cook For Your Pet Day. 

While some of these days were simply created for a bit of fun, there’s one in particular that I especially look forward to, and take incredibly seriously, and that is World Whisky Day. 

World Whisky Day may be a bit of a gimmick, but my goodness, what a gimmick it is! Now, I’m sure many of you would agree that everyday is World Whisky Day for a whisky lover and we certainly don’t need a reason or excuse to enjoy a great dram or two (bad pun alert).

Taking place on the third Saturday in May, World Whisky Day is a worldwide celebration of the dram we hold so near and dear. Featuring special releases, distillery Open Days, tastings, nosings, distillery tours, and other whisky-related events and gatherings, it is the ultimate celebration of the ‘water of life’. 

World Whisky Day History

World Whisky Day is one of the most eagerly anticipated days in the whisky calendar, yet it’s a relatively new concept, having been founded back in 2012. 

The world’s very first World Whisky Day took place in March 2012, and was organized by a 21-year-old student at the University of Aberdeen, by the name of Blair Bowman. While he was studying abroad in Barcelona, he noticed how other drinks had their own special day, but not whisky. He noted how World Gin Day was a thing, and how it was trending on Twitter, so why not whisky?

A keen whisky drinker, Blair set out to change that. So he did. He created a website pushing World Whisky Day, and used what social media sites were available at the time to help spread the word.

Back in Aberdeen, Blair had set up his own whisky club in 2008/2009. He loved whisky and wanted to share this fantastic dram not only with his friends, but also with the other students studying at the university. He even managed to link up with several fairly large brands in the whisky world, along with independent distilleries and bottlers. 

In 2012, in the lead up to World Whisky Day, he noticed his posts online starting to gain traction all over the globe. In March 2012, the first World Whisky Day was held. Amazingly, more than 20,000 people took part in the celebrations, in more than 30 countries. Over 180 planned events themed around whisky took place, and Twitter and Facebook were flooded with people taking part, even if that simply meant pouring a dram of their favourite whisky and using the hashtag #WorldWhiskyDay. 

World Whisky Day Today

The event proved to be such a huge success, particularly in Scotland, that it would gain the support of The Scottish Government, Scotland Food and Drink, Visit Scotland, the Scotch Whisky Experience, and plenty more besides. The final dregs of whisky from the weekend had barely been drank, that World Whisky Day 2013 was quickly announced, this time it would take place on the third Saturday in May, which is a tradition still takes place to this very day. 

What’s great about World Whisky Day is the fact that it’s all about the whisky, and that’s it. You can celebrate however you like. This could be touring a distillery and enjoying a dram or two of their latest whisky, released to commemorate World Whisky Day, or it could simply be pouring yourself a wee dram of your favourite Great Drams whisky, and raising a toast to ‘uisge beatha’ (Gaelic for ‘Water of Life’).

Pubs, bars, and distilleries will hold special events, whisky festivals will take place, distilleries and independent bottlers will release drams in honour of the day, and whisky-lovers across the world will hold parties and gatherings with a strong emphasis on whisky. Basically, as long as it involves whisky in some way, you can take part in celebrations, no matter where you are. 

If you’d like to learn more about your favourite whiskies, or simply treat yourself to a dram or two in the process, head on over to GreatDrams.com and take a look at what we have to offer. 

With an impressive selection of limited-edition, rare, and award-winning whisky, as well as heaps of whisky info on our blog, it’s the perfect spot for any whisky lovers out there.