Passion + Education + Determination.

Heart + Brain + Soul.

Plus a wee dram or two...  

My name is Melissa McKinney and I'm the proud founder of Victoria Whisky Tastings & Experiences. 

No matter what my work was, I always seemed to have a boozy side hustle going on. Whether bartending,  being involved with vineyards, creating custom cocktails for events, I found myself drawn to the liquor industry. From a young age, I was taught to appreciate the science of wine and dedicated a lot of time to studying it and enjoying it. Eventually I felt I wanted to move onto a new drink and whisky caught my eye. 

I had drank whisky periodically in my life but never took much time to study it. It was very clear to me as soon as I started to learn how much there was to know about whisky, that I was in loooove.  

I then dedicated myself to learning all I could, taking whisky courses (Certified Whisky Ambassador), attending whisky schools at different distilleries, reading, and of course drinking it all from the goooood stuff to the not so good stuff. Without knowing what you don’t like, how will we know what we like?

Through attending different whisky events (best of which is the Victoria Whisky Festival, it is NOT to be missed.) I started to learn about the Victoria whisky scene. 

We have got it good here with so many amazing collectors amongst us with vast amounts of knowledge and the best part is, they love to talk about it! 

Everything happened very organically and one day I was racking my brain trying to figure out how I could get into the whisky industry, and the next I realized it was already happening. 

I officially launched Victoria Whisky Tastings in Jan 2018 and it has been a wild ride!

I've put on some gorgeous public events, got to curate stunning private parties, expanded my own whisky knowledge (& collection), and grown in ways that amaze me daily. 

Now, I get to share all of this with all of you! So whether you want to attend a public event, hire me for a private event, or just have a whisky question, reach out! I love talking whisky and sharing my passion.