Sample more than 200 types of whiskey in Fort Worth at this debut festival
Whether you’re a whiskey connoisseur, a whiskey drinker who aspires to aficionado status or just a confused consumer unsure of what to buy when you walk into a liquor store, the first-ever Fort Worth Whiskey Riot will have something to offer.
On May 24, Bobby Finan, founder of a distillery in Upstate New York, is bringing his whiskey festival to The Social Space in Fort Worth at 205 S. Calhoun St. The event will feature approximately 50 vendors serving around 200 varieties of bourbon, rye, scotch, whiskey and whisky — and, yes, there’s more than just a spelling difference between those last two.
A little over a decade ago, interest in premium, artisanal and small-batch whiskey exploded, and today whiskey drinking isn’t just a social activity; for some, it’s an obsession, a pastime where devotees collect rare bottles like people collect baseball cards or fine art, investing thousands of dollars.
That cultural shift opened the door for a slew of new labels and new products from established brands, making it difficult to know where to start when you’re looking for the best whiskey. And unlike with craft beers, it’s cost-prohibitive for most people to take a flier on an unfamiliar bottle.
“It is intimidating to try one of these spirits, these bourbons, if you don’t know what to look for,” said Finan. “That’s why Whiskey Riot is great. For maybe the price of what two bottles would cost you, $90, you can go try a bunch of stuff, try products side by side. That’s really when you can tell what you like and don’t like.”
What to know if you go to Whiskey Riot
Fort Worth Whiskey Riot runs from 4 to 7 p.m. on May 24 for general admission ticket holders and from 3 to 7 p.m. for early entry ticket holders.
General admission tickets are $90 plus fees and taxes, or you could save and get a four-pack of tickets for a bit of a discount. Early admission tickets are $120 each plus fees and taxes.
A general admission ticket will get you samples of more than 200 types of whiskey, a complimentary tasting glass and sample-sized whiskey cocktails. The early admission ticket includes all of the above, plus an exclusive tasting hour with premium access to every whiskey brand featured as well as special access to some whiskeys that won’t be available during the general admission time.
Where to begin with whiskey
When asked for advice for whiskey newbies, Finan said the first thing you should do is read the class and type designations published by the U.S. Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau. There you’ll find a chart detailing how spirits are classified.
Finan said this is a good starting point for those interested in knowing the difference between, say, a blend of bourbons and a blended bourbon. In this example, a blend means the bottle contains bourbons from different states. A blended bourbon is mixed with a neutral spirit, typically vodka, to dilute it. The former can be really good, while the latter is generally what you find in plastic bottles on the bottom shelf at liquor stores for a value.
“People are like, ‘I like whiskey, but I don’t like bourbon,’ or ‘I like bourbon, but I don’t like whiskey,’” Finan said. “Well, whiskey is just a category, like beer, and underneath it there’s bourbon, rye, scotch, wheated, and when you read the federal government categorizations of the different products, you’re like, ‘Oh, okay, so bourbon is this, a blended bourbon is that,’ and that allows you to be able to read the labels in the liquor store and be like, ‘Oh, I’m not getting duped here.’”
As with most things, alcohol sales are driven in large part by marketing, so the most expensive and most popular brands, of course, aren’t always the best. The goal, said Finan, is finding one that’s good but doesn’t yet have a lot of hype around it. Those are the brands that can give you the best bang for your buck.
Another piece of advice from Finan is this: When exploring whiskeys, start broad with age categories. Maybe you’ll find you like ones that are aged for more than six years, or perhaps you’ll like the spicier flavor of a younger whiskey.
Fort Worth joins Dallas, Austin, Houston and San Antonio
While this is its first year in Fort Worth, Whiskey Riot has been going strong in its current iteration for about five years. The first Dallas Whiskey Riot was in 2022. In 2025, there have already been events in Austin, Houston, San Antonio and Dallas in addition to ones in Florida and New York. After Fort Worth, there’s a Whiskey Riot scheduled for Oklahoma City in October.
Fort Worth Star-Telegram service journalism reporter Ella Gonzales contributed to this report.