The Whisky Birmingham festival will be back next spring for its third event following a doubling of visitor numbers this year.

Organisers have release 600 tickets for the event on March 7 at The Bond in Digbeth, rising from 200 for the inaugural event in 2013 and 400 this year.

More than 25 whisky brands and retailers are expected to be in attendance including Laphroaig, Buffalo Trace, Macallan and Chivas Regal across two exhibition spaces.

Whisky Birmingham is the brainchild of Amy Seton, founder of the Birmingham Whisky Club, who explained why the event was expanding.

She said: "The festival has taken off brilliantly and it's thanks to the great reception Birmingham has given it.

"People are really interested in learning about whisky, exploring different drams and coming to have a relaxed time.

"The proof has really come in the run-up to Christmas – I've seen many more people buying tickets this year as gifts for whisky lovers."

In addition to tipples from the drink's Scottish heartland, Whisky Birmingham 2015 will welcome representatives from Penderyn in Wales and Paul John, distilled in India, among others.

The 2014 festival saw local artisans pair whisky with chocolate, cheese and cigars. A series of whisky-matching masterclasses is also due to be announced early next year.