Which are the best Whisky Tours in Scotland? I will be staying in Edinburgh, Inverness and Glasgow in May 2026 and was wondering what Scottish whisky distillery tours others recommend that are near these major cities I'll be staying in (I will have a car). I am not a Whisky drinker, but would like to try it and understand its cultural significance to the Scottish experience. I wasn't a Guinness beer drinker either until I visit the Guinness Brewery while in Dublin. Thanks!
Posted by
Duluth🌲
9965 posts
You might want to check out the Rabbies whiskey tours. They are highly recommended here on the forum, and offer quite a few whiskey tours. Most of them begin in Edinburgh but there are two starting in Inverness, and one in Glasgow.
Note that they are varying lengths. Most are 1 to 4 days long, but there are some that cover quite a bit of area and are 12+ days long
https://www.rabbies.com/en-gb/tours/scotland/whisky?departure=Edinburgh%2CGlasgow%2CInverness
Posted by
72 posts
You might consider going to the Scotch Whisky Experience in Edinburgh. It looks like it would give a good introduction to whisky for someone who doesn’t know anything about it. They will explain what you’re smelling and tasting. Once you understand that, trying whiskies becomes much more enjoyable. There is such a wide variety that the only way to figure out which whisky you like, if you like it at all, is to try them. And you can always order a wee dram from any restaurant or hotel bar.
The RS Best of Scotland tour I was on went to Dalwhinnie distillery for a tour which looks to be about an hour away from Inverness.
Posted by
OP
12 posts
Thank you both for the suggestions. Greatly appreciated!
Posted by
London
547 posts
I really recommend visiting one of the Scotch Malt Whisky Society locations (two in Edinburgh and one in Glasgow) to learn about/try/appreciate whisky. Parts of their locations are members-only but parts are open to the public: https://smws.com/venues
If you're looking for distilleries to visit near the cities you mentioned, I like Auchentoshan which is just outside Glasgow: https://www.auchentoshan.com/distillery-tours/experiences
I think a Rabbie's whisky tour would be good as well. We once had them take us to Glenfarclas (Speyside region) which we really enjoyed.
Posted by
Central Coast CA, USA
305 posts
My husband is going to be in Glasgow in February for a conference and I am tagging along. I am in the midst of exploring/planning which distilleries to visit. We will be based in Glasgow the entire time, and use public transportation. We are still in the process of research, and this map has been useful:
https://www.visitscotland.com/things-to-do/food-drink/whisky/distilleries
I think we will visit Glengoyne and Clydeside distilleries; perhaps another one but not sure which one. Auchentoshan, Deanston and Rosebank are possibilities.