Everything you need to know about attending the New Brunswick Spirits Festival

New Brunswick Spirits Festival is Canada’s oldest spirits festival, celebrating its 28th anniversary this year. The event takes place in Fredericton (New Brunswick, Canada) and spans five days in November.

The festival is bustling and energetic, bringing together whisky appreciators from across the country and producers from all around the world. Repeat visitors and newcomers gather to share their love for the liquid gold, reconnect with past friends, make new acquaintances over meals, and restock their collections at the on-premise shop.

New Brunswick Spirits Festival 2026 dates: November 17-21. Ticket prices are from 2025, listed for quick reference.

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This trip was hosted by Tourism Fredericton who did not review or approve this story.
All images by Kateryna Topol.

The Irish Whiskey Lunch by HYDE Irish Distillers, New Brunswick Spirits Festival.

What is New Brunswick Spirits Festival?

The festival was launched in 1998 by a Fredericton local, Frank Scott, who at the time was also the owner/operator of the Lunar Rogue, one of Canada’s best whisky pubs. Scott wanted to bring the world of whisky to his home province while also stimulating local tourism during the slowest travel month of the year. 

Hosted in partnership with the New Brunswick Liquor Board (ANBL), the New Brunswick Spirits Festival (NB Spirits Festival) attracts renowned global brand ambassadors and welcomes promising new producers annually. The festival event lineup includes curated dinners, masterclasses, and the famous Friday showcase, where you can taste and learn your way through a room full of whisky producers.

Scott’s appreciation and knowledge of the spirit are recognised by the whisky community, so much so that in 2016, he was invited to Blair Castle in the Scottish Highlands to be inducted as a “Keeper of the Quaich” (quake), the most prestigious appointment achievable in the Scotch whisky industry. In early 2026, the festival was also chosen as the Best Whisky Festival in Canada by The Whisky Explorers People’s Choice and Community Awards.

Whisky is always the hero spirit, but some gins, tequilas, and rums do also feature.

Where is NB Spirits Festival held?

The events are hosted at the Delta Fredericton by Marriott and completely take over the property throughout the week. Between masterclasses and lunches, festival attendees gather in the hotel lobby for snacks and cheerful chatter with cold pints, craft cocktails, and off course, more whisky. The rooms at the Delta sell out well in advance, so if you plan to attend, it is strongly recommended to book those right away.

The hotel is located a short drive or half-hour walk from Downtown Fredericton. At the hotel, guests have access to a fitness centre, pool, hot tub, and a barrel sauna, for a dash of wellness between the drams.

NB Spirits Festival founder and chairman Frank Scott at the Closed Distilleries Master Class.

NB Spirits Festival events & Tickets

Festivalgoers can attend as many or as few events as they like. All events are individually ticketed and can occupy a full-day itinerary. Happenings are listed on the festival’s events page and sold through Eventbrite.  

Tickets go on sale in autumn (October in 2025), with perennial favourites selling out quickly. You will want to make sure to set some time aside on the ticket release date to build and secure your wishlist. Each ticket also includes taxi fare home if you opt to stay outside of the hotel. 

As and added bonus, a pop-up Alcool NB Liquor Store is built in one of the hotel’s conference rooms. Open daily, the shop is where collectors can find (nearly) every featured whisky at the festival. Naturally, many of the popular (read: allocated) whiskies sell out quickly and can even prompt early morning lineups through the hotel lobby.

Tip: Keep an eye out for updates on the festival Facebook page or Instagram.

Curated meals

The festival kicks off with two special dinners. Last year it was The Rum Dinner, hosted by Chairman’s Reserve Rum, and The Whisky Dinner, hosted by Aberfeldy Whisky. These events have a business casual dress code, include a few presentations, and always have assigned seating – a great opportunity to meet new people. The festival closes with The World Whiskies Dinner, last year hosted by Suntory Global Spirits. All dinners begin with a cocktail reception. 

The NB Spirits Festival team also hosts a series of daily lunches. Like the dinners, these are three-course seated meals with a guided spirits pairing. For 2025, attendees had the option to enjoy a guided lunch with Hyde Irish Whisky, Douglas Laing, Hayman’s Gin, and Gin Lunch, hosted by whisky educator Johanne McInnis.

All meals are thoughtfully planned and prepared by the Delta Hotel’s executive Chef Mindy Trail, and Martine Nouet, one of the world’s leading whisky writers and a specialist on whisky and food pairing. Nouet, a long-standing collaborator of the festival, had taken a step back from working on the festival’s complex culinary program but was ushered out of retirement for 2025 by Frank Scott.

One of the most unique meals, if only for its timing, is the Breakfast & Drams. As the name suggests, this is a whisky breakfast kicking off at 8:30 AM. The 2025 addition was hosted by The Spots Irish Whiskey, perfectly pairing Jameson’s Triple Cask with a yoghurt parfait and Green Spot Irish Whisky with a spiced French toast.

Dinner: $110+, lunch tickets: $95, breakfast: $65 CAD.

Breakfast & Drams with The Spots Irish Whiskey.

Materclasses

NB Spirits Festival Thursday is when all masterclasses take place. Starting at 3:30 PM and ending at 10 PM, attendees roam room to room learning about world whisky from global ambassadors and distillers. Between sessions, the lounge is absolutely buzzing with people sharing plans and favourites over drinks. Nearly forty masterclasses happen this day, spotlighting renowned producers and up-and-coming distilleries from around the world.

A small sample of the 2025 masterclass lineup includes: House of Suntory (presented by Tristan Davis), Bruichladdich, (presented by Johanne McInnis), Dewars Family Vertical (Rhiann Ferguson), Sleeman Family’s Spring Mill Distillery (presented by John and Cooper Sleeman), Rare Finds from Scotland’s Legendary Distilleries (presented by Simon Hooper & Ben Lemieux), Bowmore (presented by James Neil), Glenfiddich and Balvenie (presented by Jamie Johnson), Arbikie (presented by Nicolas Stirling), and many more.

See last year’s events list for a more detailed sample of masterclasses and distilleries taking part in the festival.

Related articles: John Sleeman & Sons: The family that wouldn’t stay erased

Specialty tastings 

Whisky & Art: A Feast for the Senses is an annual favourite and often the first event to sell out. For this one-of-a-kind tasting, patrons are shuttled to the Beaverbrook Art Gallery, where Martine Nouet works closely with John Leroux, the Manager of Collections and Exhibitions, on pairing whisky to art. Martine’s whisky stories are followed by John’s incredible insight into each chosen piece of art have the room in a quiet awe, chuckling and gasping from time to time.

This concept might be hard to imagine, but the two of them really make it work: “This painting is by Anonymous, so your first whisky is also anonymous, the bottle isn’t displayed here with the other four. It is lively, fresh, and sort of quiet, if there is such a thing as a quiet whisky, like the serene women in this painting,” Martine explained the pairing, “and the two creepy guys in the back,” John chimed in, causing a wave of laughter across the room. The “anonymous” whisky was later revealed as AnCnoc 12 Year Old. $75 CAD.

Scotland’s singer and songwriter Robin Laing (“The Whisky Bard”) made multiple appearances throughout the festival, including an hour-long tasting titled Songs, Stories and Drams. This afternoon’s tasting included six whiskies accompanied by Laing’s whisky-themed and often comedic folksongs (Old Pulteney 18, Clynelish 18, Bruichladdich Black Art, Talisker Distillers Edition, Glenmorangie The Nectar 16, and Bowmore 18). $40 CAD.

Other speciality tasting event examples include:

• The coveted Springbank Vertical Tasting, showcasing hard-to-find Single Malt Scotches ($125)
• The Chairman’s Dram with Frank Scott, which includes carefully selected bottles from Frank Scott’s private collection, including discontinued and hard-to-find drams ($140)
• Closed Distilleries, which spotlight a mix of bottles from distilleries that no longer operate, this is a once-in-a-lifetime type of session and comes with stories about what makes these expressions still so valuable ($150)
• The Collectors, where a handful of bottles are donated by friendly whisky collectors, offering participants a taste of often hard-to-find expressions only available through private tastings ($75)

Note that these events change year-to-year, depending on the participating spirits partners.

The festival showcase 

This is the “crown jewel” of the New Brunswick Spirits Festival. Producers line up their selection of offerings across long rows of tables, wrapping around the conference room. Each table is fronted by a brand ambassador or a distiller, guiding festival guests through production processes, history, and tasting notes. $125 CAD

The serious collectors choose to enter the showroom early with the NB Spirits Festival VIP Showcase Access ticket ($175 CAD), which gives them an hour head start on the tasting lineup. If time permits, it is recommended to do a full walk around before tasting to get a good sense of the available spirits and planning a route that avoids palate fatigue.

Related article: On the makings of a distillery with Katherine Lanteigne from the New Brunswick Distillery

Getting to & Around Fredricton

Direct flights to Fredericton are available from across Canada. Fredericton International Airport (YFC) is only a 20 minute drive from the host hotel. Given the nature of the festival, you will not need a car and can easily get around with taxis or rideshare (Kari and Uride). NB Spirits Festival also operates a Safe Ride program, so make sure to grab your taxi chit on the way out. The event host will typically remind attendees where and when one is available.

Explore Fredericton beyond the festival with our Fredericton city guide.

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