San Francisco ranks as the country’s thirteen largest city and Northern California’s cultural, financial, and commercial hub. Apart from its impressive buildings, museums, beaches, and parks, the city has a booming whiskey-producing industry with plenty of top-rated distilleries. The city hosts an all-important festival called WhiskeyFest San Francisco each year, attracting hundreds of spirit enthusiasts. This is the ultimate guide to all you need to know about the event, plus the top attractions you can tour while in the city.

About the festival 

The WhiskeyFest San Francisco primarily educates whiskey lovers about the spirit. Representatives from distilleries worldwide will be at the pouring booths, ready to explain how they make their spirit brands. Attendees can meet master blenders, whiskey distillers, and other industry experts. 

You will also taste; blended scotch, Japanese, Bourbon, Rye, Canadian, Craft-distilled, Tennessee, and Rye whiskies in one spacious ballroom. The festival also has seminars where experts can answer all your whiskey-related questions.

Spirit brands participating in WhiskeyFest San Francisco

• 1792
• Frey Ranch Whiskey
• Old Fitzgerald
• A. Smith Bowman
• FUJI Whisky
• Old Pulteney
• anCnoc
• Gentleman Jack
• OMAGE Brandy
• Ardbeg
• George Dickel
• Omar Single Malt Whiskey
• Awayuki Japanese Strawberry Gin
• Oyo Vodka
• Balblair
• Glen Moray
• Paul John
• Parker’s Heritage Collection Wheat
• Bardstown Bourbon Co.
• Basil Hayden and more 

WhiskeyFest San Francisco Tickets

The festival has two sets of tickets: VIP Admission costing $375, and General Admission, $295. Note that each ticket has a base $4.75 service fee. Let’s look at what each ticket offers.

General Admission

Holders receive a gift bag, pen, program booklet, and entry to all seminars (though it’s on a first-come, first-served basis, if the seminar hall is full, you won’t be able to join). You will also get a gourmet buffet and a chance to sample hundreds of whiskeys.

Additionally, you will receive a program book at the festival gate containing two whiskey lists. One list’s all the whiskeys available according to the booth number, and the other has whiskey brands in alphabetical order.

VIP Admission

Ticket holders get all the general admission benefits and entrance to the festival an hour earlier, which provides more time to taste the spirits and talk to master distillers. Registration of VIP ticket holders starts at 5:00 p.m., and the ballroom entrance is at 5:30 p.m., whereas General ticket holders register at 6:00 p.m. and enter the ballroom at 6:30 p.m.

Other things to do in San Francisco

After the festival, you can take time and visit some of the city’s top attractions that, include:

Alcatraz Island

Arguably one of the world’s most famous island prisons, Alcatraz has hosted internationally known criminals like Robert Stroud (The Bird Man), George Kelly (Machine Gun), and Al Capone. The prison also housed many other convicts that law enforcement regarded as escape risks, violent and dangerous. To get a tour in Alcatraz, you must buy tickets well in advance as they sell out fast. We recommend you pay for a professional guide tour, including a ride around the whole island and entry to sections you can’t access with a regular ticket.

Crissy Field

Previously an army airstrip, Crissy Field later became a national park in 2001. You get spectacular views of Marin Headland, Alcatraz, and the Golden Gates Bridge at the park. You can also go hiking, hold picnics, walk on its expansive beaches, or go bird watching at Crissy Marsh.

Ferry Building Marketplace

To indulge in some of San Francisco’s delicious food, you must stop by the Ferry Building Marketplace. On Tuesdays and Thursdays from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., there is a farmers’ market where ranchers and farmers sell meats, flowers, vegetables, and other bites. Inside the building, shops sell artisanal products from companies like Heath Ceramics, Far West Fungi, and El Porteno Empanadas. To complete the experience, enjoy a meal in one of the numerous restaurants and food stalls at the marketplace.

Mission Dolores

Built alongside El Camino Real, Mission Dolores has experienced two earthquakes (1906 and 1989) and is the city’s oldest building. At the mission, you’ll find a cemetery holding the remains of the people that built it, the first California settlers, Spanish settlers, and 5000 Miwok.

Cable Cars

San Francisco is a city full of hills, so the early settlers invented cable cars to help them move around town faster. Nowadays, these cable cars are a tourist attraction as only three lines remain. Two lines, Powell Hyde and Powell Mason, connect Fisherman’s Wharf to downtown and are the most popular among visitors. The third line is also thrilling as it goes over North Hill and is a steep route. At the Cable Car Museum on Mason Street, you will see the massive underground workings powering the cars.

Angel Island State Park 

Considered by most as San Francisco’s hidden gem, Angel Island State Park (only accessible by ferry) is an ideal location for camping. From 1910 to 1940, the island was an active immigration station where police detained Chinese immigrants after President Chester A. Arthur passed the Chinese Exclusion Law in 1882. Today you can see poems the detainees carved on the barrack walls. You can take a guided tour through the island while enjoying views of the city’s skyline, Alcatraz and Richmond-San Rafael.

Frequently Asked Questions

Where and when will WhiskeyFest San Francisco be held?

Hotel location: San Francisco Marriot Marquis, 780 Mission Street, San Francisco, CA 94103. Event organizers are yet to announce the particular date.

How do I order tickets?

You can buy festival tickets online or call the SquadUp number 800 – 210-0689

Will food be available?

There will be a buffet throughout the evening, and we recommend you eat occasionally.

Do you reserve press tickets?

There are press tickets available though they are limited. To attend the event as a member of the press, submit your details to joan@whiskyadvocate.com

Will there be soft drinks or coffee?

In the whiskey ballroom, soft drinks, water, tea, and coffee are in designated stations.

Do you sell tickets to the event?

You can only buy tickets online or through the SquadUp number.

Conclusion

WhiskeyFest San Francisco enables whiskey enthusiasts to interact with expert distillers and taste some of the globe’s top whiskeys. The seminars also provide attendees with deep knowledge of their favorite spirits.

Distillery Nearby is dedicated to providing spirit lovers with all industry-related information, like the best distillery tours, cocktail recipes, and more. Visit our website to learn about other upcoming events.