Whisky is traditionally thought of as being made from three ingredients: water, barley and yeast. Some people also include oak casks, but there is one more important factor that is often missed: time.

In this tasting, malt master and blender Brian Kinsman will showcase the development of his whisky, from youthful vigour to aged excellence. He'll be deconstructing Glenfiddich 26 Year Old Excellence, a perfect example of whisky mellowed and transformed over years of maturation.

We'll be trying cask samples drawn specially for the class along with the finished Excellence, comparing them to see how the whisky changes over time.

Excellence is matured exclusively in American oak casks, which allow the spirit to develop and mature without overpowering it with oak. The result is a complex whisky that shows the different flavours that can develop during ageing – which you'll discover in this masterclass.

Brian Kinsman has years of experience in shepherding Glenfiddich's spirit towards maturity and this is rare opportunity to see him deconstruct the process of creating one of the distillery's flagship whiskies.

Glenlivet is one of the biggest names in Scotch whisky, and behind every bottle sits master distiller Alan Winchester. Over the past forty years, Alan has worked his way through every part of the distillery, from tour guide to master distiller.

For the past yen years he has held the keys to Glenlivet and he'll be bringing a selection of his favourite drams to The Whisky Show to celebrate his fortieth year in the whisky world.

If you're a fan of The Glenlivet then you can't miss this. And if you're not, an hour in Alan's excellent company will change your mind.

New to whisky? Want to learn a bit more before launching yourself into the show? Have some burning questions about whisky that you need answered? This is the tasting for you.

Join Whisky Exchange ambassador Billy Abbott for an introductory class to help you get ready for the weekend. We'll have a selection of drams to taste to get you warmed up and help you identify your favourite styles of whisky.

A one hour course on how to taste and enjoy whisky – just the thing if it's your first time at the show.

American whiskey has exploded over the past decade, with hundreds of distilleries opening and producing bourbon whiskey. With so many names, both new and old, you need a guide to start your exploration of American's most popular whiskey – step forward Justin Sloan.

Justin is co-publisher of The Bourbon Review, co-owner of Justins' House of Bourbon – America's premier bourbon shop – and a fountain of whiskey knowledge. He'll lead us through the world of bourbon, pulling out a variety of favourites that you shouldn't miss.

Scotch whisky fan looking to learn more about bourbon? Bourbon fan looking for something you won't find on the stands at the show? This is the class for you.

Pairing whisky with cigars is a long-running tradition – they are natural companions. However, a cigar changes its flavour as it is smoked, so a whisky that is a perfect match at the beginning may not be by the end. Join The Whisky Exchange's Diego Lanza and Hunters & Frankau's Dan Pink and Jimmy McGhee to explore how the flavours of a cigar change over time and how to pair whiskies with each stage.

In this class, they will be matching the Glengoyne range – 10 Year Old, 18 Year Old and 21 Year Old – with a Vegas Robaina Famosos.

We will also be tasting Chicchi di Cafe chocolates from Rococo, to add coffee and chocolate flavours to the class.

Since 1845, the Robaina family has farmed tobacco on its vegas (fields) at Cuchillas de Barbacoa, situated in the San Luis district of the Vuelta Abajo tobacco zone.

Vegas Robaina cigars were introduced in 1997 as a tribute to Cuban tobacco farmers and legendary farmer Don Alejandro Robaina – in his day, he had an incredible reputation for producing the finest wrapper leaves. The brand honours all the anonymous tobacco growers whose knowledge and skill make Havanas what they are today.

The Famosos is a sturdy shape, a shade longer yet slightly thinner than a robusto, that draws well. It is considered by many to be Vegas Robaina's outstanding vitola and is medium-full in strength.

Pairing whisky with cigars is a long-running tradition – they are natural companions. However, a cigar changes its flavour as it is smoked, so a whisky that is a perfect match at the beginning may not be by the end. Join The Whisky Exchange's Diego Lanza and Hunters & Frankau's Dan Pink and Jimmy McGhee to explore how the flavours of a cigar change over time and how to pair whiskies with each stage.

In this class, they will be matching the Glengoyne range – 10 Year Old, 18 Year Old and 21 Year Old – with a Hoyo de Monterrey Hermosos No. 4 Anejados.

We will also be tasting Chicchi di Cafe chocolates from Rococo, to add coffee and chocolate flavours to the class.

The Hoyo de Monterrey plantation is in the town of San Juan y Martinez, which lies at the heart of the Vuelta Abajo tobacco zone. 'Hoyo' literally means 'hole' and in this case describes the low-lying position of the plantation on the fertile banks of San Juan y Martinez river. The name was first used as a brand of Havanas in 1865.

The flavour of Hoyo de Monterrey’s blend makes it an attractive choice for those who seek a delicate yet aromatic Havana that is lighter to the taste but with great elegance and complexity.

'Anejados' are an relatively recent concept: the cigars have been box aged for between five to eight years in the Cuba – the perfect levels of humidity for ageing a cigar. This will gives the cigars a mellower, more refined taste, as the blend of the leaves meld together over time, allowing them to realise their full potential.

Pairing whisky with cigars is a long-running tradition – they are natural companions. However, a cigar changes its flavour as it is smoked, so a whisky that is a perfect match at the beginning may not be by the end. Join The Whisky Exchange's Diego Lanza and Hunters & Frankau's Dan Pink and Jimmy McGhee to explore how the flavours of a cigar change over time and how to pair whiskies with each stage.

In this class, they will be matching the Glengoyne range – 10 Year Old, 18 Year Old and 21 Year Old – with a Vegas Robaina Famosos.

We will also be tasting Chicchi di Cafe chocolates from Rococo, to add coffee and chocolate flavours to the class.

Since 1845, the Robaina family has farmed tobacco on its vegas (fields) at Cuchillas de Barbacoa, situated in the San Luis district of the Vuelta Abajo tobacco zone.

Vegas Robaina cigars were introduced in 1997 as a tribute to Cuban tobacco farmers and legendary farmer Don Alejandro Robaina – in his day, he had an incredible reputation for producing the finest wrapper leaves. The brand honours all the anonymous tobacco growers whose knowledge and skill make Havanas what they are today.

The Famosos is a sturdy shape, a shade longer yet slightly thinner than a robusto, that draws well. It is considered by many to be Vegas Robaina's outstanding vitola and is medium-full in strength.

Pairing whisky with cigars is a long-running tradition – they are natural companions. However, a cigar changes its flavour as it is smoked, so a whisky that is a perfect match at the beginning may not be by the end. Join The Whisky Exchange's Diego Lanza and Hunters & Frankau's Dan Pink and Jimmy McGhee to explore how the flavours of a cigar change over time and how to pair whiskies with each stage.

In this class, they will be matching the Glengoyne range – 10 Year Old, 18 Year Old and 21 Year Old – with a Hoyo de Monterrey Hermosos No. 4 Anejados.

We will also be tasting Chicchi di Cafe chocolates from Rococo, to add coffee and chocolate flavours to the class.

The Hoyo de Monterrey plantation is in the town of San Juan y Martinez, which lies at the heart of the Vuelta Abajo tobacco zone. 'Hoyo' literally means 'hole' and in this case describes the low-lying position of the plantation on the fertile banks of San Juan y Martinez river. The name was first used as a brand of Havanas in 1865.

The flavour of Hoyo de Monterrey’s blend makes it an attractive choice for those who seek a delicate yet aromatic Havana that is lighter to the taste but with great elegance and complexity.

'Anejados' are an relatively recent concept: the cigars have been box aged for between five to eight years in the Cuba – the perfect levels of humidity for ageing a cigar. This will gives the cigars a mellower, more refined taste, as the blend of the leaves meld together over time, allowing them to realise their full potential.

Whisky is an excellent foil for food. Sweet and savoury, you can always find a dram that will pair well with whatever you're eating. One of our go-to whiskies for matching with a bite to eat is Old Pulteney – it's mouth-watering maritime tang almost demands a food-pairing.

For this tasting, we'll be joined by brand Ambassador Lukasz Dynowiak, who'll lead us through the recently updated Old Pulteney range, pulling apart the whiskies' flavours and matching each with a delicious food pairing from the artisanal food partners at the show.

Pairings to include salmons from Loch Fyne, cheeses from Paxton & Whitfield, cured meat from Cannon and Cannon and dark chocolate from Rococo.

Step aside wine: whisky is the new food-pairing king. This is the perfect class for those interested in learning how to pair food with whisky or those who already love doing so.

The theme of this year's show is The Future of Whisky, and we've been talking to the new generation of whisky makers who are already creating the whiskies of the future. We'll be joined by Diageo's Aimée Gibson, Ardbeg and Glenmorangie's Brendan McCarron, and Whyte & Mackay's Gregg Glass - experienced whisky makers who'll each bring along three drams for us to enjoy:

• a favourite whisky of theirs
• a whisky they've created
• something created specially for the tasting

We'll have whisky writer Dave Broom on hand to keep things on track as we learn about what's next in the world of whisky.

Aimée Gibson, winner of the International Spirits Challenge Rising Star award in 2017, is blender for Diageo. She works closely with master blender Jim Beveridge and the Johnnie Walker team, specialising in innovation and creating a new generation of whiskies, including the Johnnie Walker Blenders' Batch range.

Brendan McCarron is head of maturing whisky for LVMH, owner of Glenmorangie and Ardbeg. He works with Dr Bill Lumsden, the company's head of whisky creation, and was responsible for the recently released Ardbeg An Oa and second edition of Glenmorangie's much-loved Astar.

Gregg Glass is a blender and whisky maker for Whyte & Mackay. He works with master blender Richard Paterson and is training to take over when/if Richard ever retires. In the meantime, he looks after the company's blends as well as single malts from Dalmore, Jura, Tamnavulin and Fettercairn.

Closed since 1983, the intervening 35 years have seen Port Ellen's reputation grow, and whiskies distilled there now change hands for thousands of pounds. However, earlier this year it was announced that the cult closed distillery would be revived, reopening by 2021.

For this tasting, we'll be joined by former Lagavulin distillery manager Georgie Crawford, who is leading the project to rebuild Port Ellen, and Diageo whisky ambassador Colin Dunn for an epic vertical of eight official releases of Port Ellen – from the 9th to the 16th edition.

Launched each year until 2017 as part of the annual Diageo Special Releases, the Port Ellens are the most sought after of the range. At the first Whisky Show in 2009 Colin Dunn led a legendary tasting of the first eight editions, and he is returning now, 10 years later, to present the next eight.

Port Ellen is hard to get hold of and now that it is no longer part of the annual Special Releases, it's going to get even harder. This is an excellent chance to see what the fuss is about and hear from Georgie what's coming next.

Two spirits. Two experts. 60 minutes.

Join whisky and rum ambassador Stef Holt as she MCs a showdown between whisky and rum. In the whisky corner is Whisky Exchange co-founder Sukhinder Singh, and for rum we have Velier president and rum expert Luca Gargano. They'll each be bringing a selection of bottlings that show why their spirit is the best, but in the end only you can decide...

Whichever triumphs, in the end it'll be a win for great-tasting spirits!

Are you a whisky fan who wants to learn more about rum? This is the perfect opportunity, with Luca and Sukhinder going head to head to show us the similarities and differences between these two spirits.

Andrew Symington is a veteran independent bottler, who started his own company back in 1988. Over the past thirty years he has built up a reputation for bottling some of Scotland's best whisky and having one of the country's best-stocked warehouses, onsite at his distillery: Edradour.

To celebrate Signatory Vintage's 30th birthday, we're very pleased to welcome Andrew to the show. He's bringing a selection of incredible whiskies from across the decades, ready to show us how he has gained his impressive reputation.

A truly once-in-a-lifetime – some of Scotland's best whiskies presented by the man who bought the casks and nurtured them to their point of perfect maturation.

Each year at the show we have released a range of show bottlings, from long-aged Port Ellens to fruity Irish whiskeys and zesty young Islays. To celebrate our tenth birthday, we have asked show director Sukhinder Singh and Elixir Distillers whisky maker Oliver Chilton to look back across the archives and choose their favourite whiskies from the past ten years.

Sukhinder and Ollie have been responsible for choosing the bottlings for the show, and have the laborious task of tasting hundreds of samples each year until they find the perfect whiskies. In this tasting, we'll be tasting Ollie and Sukhinder's highlights – the six whiskies of the decade. 

Show veteran or newbie, it doesn't matter – these are our all-time favourite whiskies bottled for The Whisky Show, and they're well worth tasting, whether it's for the first time or if you were at the show when they were launched.

The distilleries are at the heart of life on the Hebridean island of Islay. They are loved by whisky fans around the world and the people who work in them are key members of Islay's close-knit community.

Our three hosts are Port Ellen site manager and former Lagavulin Manager Georgie Crawford, Ardbeg visitor centre manager Jackie Thomson and Bruichladdich sales manager Lynne McEwan.

They are all well-known members of Islay's whisky community, and each is bringing a selection of drams from her distillery to share with us in this masterclass. Tying in with this year's show theme, we've asked them to choose three whiskies representing the past, present and future of their distilleries. See below for the line-up – they've chosen some great drams.

Join us for some great whiskies and an insight into life on an island awash with whisky.