Single Malt Distilleries

Go to the closest one that's on your path - - or -- make a detour for a pilgrimage for your brand. They're all about the same. Don't waste time going to two. The Whisky Trail is a bunch of hookum to snocker tourists - - don't bother with it. Walk in. Tours start all the time or everwhen the crowd gets big enough. Samples are free at the end of the tour, or are included with the price of the tour, or are fairly cheap, or are expensive - - get a twelve-sided coin and give it a toss.

Wes, If you are a dedicated lover of the wee dram I would suggest going to the Isle of Islay where there are eight ditilleries. You will ge to visit a good cross section of the industry, the tasting, the people, the lives of country Scot, and the big sheep all in one place. We've been there six times and this is how we go. Fly from Seattle to Schiphol, Amsterdam, fly to Glasgow, fly to Islay. There is a car rental agency on Islay and they will meet you at the airport. We have developed lots of particulars about Islay regarding eating, sleeping, drinking, etc. that we can share. We usually spend a few days in Glasgow and if you are travelling by air, bus and plan we can help with step by step. montesharon@genesee-id.com

I agree with Ed. We have been on a few distillery tours and they are all about the same. There are so many neat things to do/see in Scotland. Don't plan your trip around the distilleries. Just visit one(s) that are close to other things you are planning to do.

Well, yes, they are very much alike and if you're touring the distilleries to learn about distilling you'll catch on pretty fast. But if you want to tour distilleries to taste the whisky, then maybe you want to do more than one. I would say it depends on level of your whisky obsession. ; ) I would recommend that you get your hands on one of my favorite books: Iain Banks, Raw Spirit, The Search for the Perfect Dram. This book will introduce to the variety of distilleries and whiskys and introduce you to Scotland. It's lovely book. If you like driving and whisky you'll find that you have two thing in common with Mr. Banks. I enjoyed my tour of the Blair Athol distillery in Pitlochry. I wished I could have toured Highland Park in Orkney. Someday I want to go to Islay and tour Lagavulin. BTW like in Napa Valley you often have to pay for your tour, but you do get the dram at the end. Also, The Whisky Experience in Edinburgh is not bad. Pam

My favorite whiskies are from the Speyside area. Dalhwhinnie is excellent and their tour is not very expensive. You can take the train or the bus (there is a bit of a walk - especially from the bus stop- but it is well worth it). the Strathislay distillery also gives a good tour, but most of their product is used in the Chavis blended whisky. If you can't make it to a distillery, ask the barman at a good pub to arrange a whisky tasting for you. Friends arranged one for me in Drumnadrochit (at the top of Loch Ness). I got to taste 3 very different whiskies from 3 different regions of Scotland and learned a great deal about what I personally like about certain whiskies and why I don't like others. Learning the sutble differences and what accounts for them was really fun.

The last remaining lowland distillery, Glenkinchie, is in easy striking distance of Edinburgh near Pencaitland. We drove out there in a rental car -- it's easy to find. I am told you can also get there on the bus, but we've not tried it. There are tours every 1/2 hour or so, depending on the season and it's well worth the trip -- they do a great job. You get to see the entire process first hand, and (on working days) the clear spirit gushing out through the "spirit safe" for barreling. They have a fabulous bar for tasting at the end of the tour with a wide variety of Glenkinchie and Distiller's brand options. The staff are very friendly and accommodating. Glenkinchie itself has almost no peat and clear, lemony/cut-grass notes. The sherry cask version is more honeyed.

Thought I'd add some more ideas and some websites for you to check. You might find these sites interesting and/or helpful: (I'm including the websites of my 2 favorite single malts- Dalwhinnie and Bealvenie-12 year doublewood) http://www.visitscotland.com/guide/inspirational/itineraries/whisky/ http://www.maltwhiskytrail.com/ http://www.scotchwhisky.net/distilleries/dist_trail.htm http://www.discovering-distilleries.com/dalwhinnie/ http://www.thebalvenie.com/ http://www.scotlandwhisky.com/distilleries/speyside/ http://www.whiskiesofscotland.com/
www.scotchwhiskyexperience.co.uk/

Also, Wes, if you've not seen it, you might want to check out The Whisky magazine. http://www.whiskymag.com/ Pam

Contact The Scotch Malt Whisky Society in Edinburgh if you are very, very seriously into malts. s

Got to say, did the MacAllan tour and it was great. You have to go to their website and reserve your tour. MacAllan RULES!!!. It is a fantastic Scotch. The reason is it is aged in sherry casks. The oak may come from Georgia or, - even Arkansas. It goes to Spain and then on to MacAllan - where they then use it for their Scotch. The tour will tell you all this. It is in Speyside and is in the middle of no where. We were on small roads and saw all kinds of wildlife - pheasants and such. We used a Garmin to get there - and - it was right!!! It is a beautiful place. You will get a great tour and learn a lot. The making of good Scotch is complicated and very interesting. Good Luck - Bill