Just before the world went into lockdown, we began working with artisanal French spirits producer Maison Villevert on their newly acquired Celtic Whisky Distillerie. Two years down the line, and we’d delivered a full brand refresh, including new motherboard identity, new bottle design, and various packaging designs through the growing product line.

Anyone who knows TDC knows we are people people. With a thousand miles between us and only Zoom to bridge the distance for two long years, an in-person meet was long overdue. Whisky Live was the perfect chance to do it. Cue the TDC Paris field trip 2021.

On the morning of Whisky Live the heavens opened, which seemed perfectly fitting for the water of life.

The set-up for Whisky Live is very different from what we are used to over here. The stand layout and the open glass venue made it feel more like Bar Convent Brooklyn than The Whisky Show or Imbibe. Its hosted in a modern exhibition centre, and activating at the same time was a cocktail festival (like a mini LCW village) alongside some street food vendors.

And this really was the pièce de résistance. It had the feel of the London Cocktail Week Village with drinks, DJs and interactive stands, as well as takeovers by venues. Simply put, the cocktail village and food arena made Whisky Live feel like a real event. Somewhere you could spend a day dipping in and out of different experiences, rather than just traipsing a loop from stand to stand.

The merging of the three events also seemed to bring together a diverse and dynamic crowd, and felt miles apart from the whisky crowd we are used to seeing at shows in the UK. Dare we say it, but UK whisky events (for trade or consumer) can be pretty old fashioned.

Admission to Whisky Live included a couple of cocktails each redeemable anywhere in the cocktail village – and they were well worth using! The space was open and bright. The music was banging. The crowd included excited 20-somethings to Parisian pensioners, and everyone in-between.

Interestingly this outside area seemed to be focused on anything but whisky. A sense that the serious business of spirit tasting was inside and outside was for fun more consumer friendly activity.

Starting inside, our first stop of the day was, of course, to visit the Celtic Whisky Distillerie to see the brand world and products we’ve designed for them over the last 18 months for the first time in the flesh. It was so rewarding to see lots of consumers at the stand, and enjoying the juice!

With The Whisky Show London on our horizon, and TDC-designed stands for several clients well into production, Whisky Live was also a great opportunity to learn what, and how, they do these things on the continent.

When it came to the stands themselves, many had the usual printed backdrop, but some brands had really invested in engaging creative and dressing. These were typically newer brands, or those aimed towards a younger audience. We’re looking at you Ailsa Bay, Waterford, Glenmorangie!

Like UK shows, the main focus was Scotch, but with a decent proportion of floorspace given to other regions, and other spirits – the prominence of which made the show feel much more inclusive and accessible.

We were technically there for the consumer day, but it felt like the bulk of the show still had a trade or connoisseur audience – there was an expectation of whisky knowledge. The culture of the show definitely seemed more focused on learning about the spirits rather than just drinking. Spitoons were available on every stand as well as in the aisles, and they were well used. Yes, the word itself and the concept of ejecting your drink in public is a bit gross. But look at it like this: is there anything attractive about a room full of half-cut whisky drinkers who will probably forget everything they tried after 3pm?

A lot of larger brands were noticeably missing. Especially outside of Scotch, this wan’t one for the big name Bourbons, although some more artisanal American brands were present. The general vibe was that Whisky Live was about accessing the more unusual drams, and finding something new.

We spent a good few hours wandering around show, sampling and chatting where we could. Having qualitative conversations proved a little challenging as every stand (small and large) had a lot of footfall, but we chatted to some brilliant brands and sampled some great whisky

And, of course, we made good use of the Cocktail Village, even managing to catch up with our favourite new Parisian bartender for a few drams! One of the most interesting things we discovered here was that the local bartenders’ view of Whisky Live differed drastically from our own. They saw the audience as dated and out of touch, and much of their footfall seemed to be friends and colleges coming to say hello.

As with UK trade shows, a lot of the trade focus was on the after parties. Many of the bartenders and brands we spoke with seemed to be more excited by those events than the show itself! Next year, we'll definitely try and stay about to crash the best ones...