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Balvenie Craft Fair and Winter Picnic Festival takes over Sydney's Strand Arcade

Clare Sibthorpe

Whisky and crafts are coming to the Strand Arcade.
Whisky and crafts are coming to the Strand Arcade.Supplied

Handcrafted single malt whiskey Balvenie and local artisans will unite in Sydney's Strand Arcade this week for The Balvenie Craft Fair and Winter Picnic Festival.

For four days from Thursday June 25, visitors can head to the festival's pop-up bar to taste Balvenie 12-year-old DoubleWood or join hourly master classes, which will feature whiskies paired with handmade treats from restaurants throughout the arcade, including Italian restaurants La Rosa The Strand and Pendolino.

Balvenie's marketing manager, Mark Little, says the event is a chance for people to sense the intimacy and care that goes into handcrafting single malt whiskeys.

"[It] allows the crafts people to really bring that human intuition to it. By turning the malt by hand using the shovel, they can really sense when the barley is ready, which adds that extra quality."

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Other craftspeople will also be showcasing their talents.

These include clothing designer Jac + Jack, hat-maker The Strand Hatter, shoemaker Andrew McDonald, leather maker Hunt Leather, jeweller Dinosaur Designs and jewel designer Cinnamon Lee.

The arcade will become a European marketplace, with cafe seating imitating the streets of Paris, and activities such as live nut roasting and mulled wine tasting.

"Up on the first floor there'll be a Parisian cafe feel where people can sit down and enjoy the nuts and the handcrafted chocolates," Little says.

"They can get their little picnic basket ... and put together a little crafted winter picnic for themselves."

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The master classes will run hourly from 6-9pm on Thursday, 12-5pm on Friday and Saturday, and 12-4pm on Sunday.

412-414 George Street, June 25-28. Open Thursday 12-8pm, Friday 10am-6pm, Saturday 10am-5pm, Sunday 10am-4pm.

Tickets are $15 and can be purchased at eventbrite.com.au.

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