Distillery Number 9

On to the Dalwhinnie distillery on the road to Inverness. From where the bus drops you off to the distillery itself is a 45 minute walk. I received a free tour, tasted three whiskies, and was given a free dram glass. This is is because I had my passport that was started at Glenkinchie distillery. The three whiskies tasted were:
Dalwhinnie 15 year old: sweet and fruity with a nice finish
Dalwhinnie Distiller's Edition: more pronounced taste, smooth finish
Dalwhinnie Cask Strength 59 % Alcohol: similar taste with a bite at the back of the throat at the finish
All three of these whiskies are very worthwhile and would be welcome in my drinks cabinet.
This was a very busy distillery in terms of visitors. On the walk back to the bus stop I was able to find a restaurant and have a nice lunch. The bus took me to Aviemore where I stayed at a hostel. It was a bit of a walk but the room cost 27 pounds a night, so I was pleased.

On to Speyside and the official Whisky Trail! There are big signs welcoming you to the Whisky  Trail. When I started down the highway it was raining a light drizzly rain. The rain stopped. The sun came out and a beautiful rainbow stretched across the valley. The next turn of the road revealed a huge sign Welcome to the Whisky Trail! And the angels sang!

Distillery Number 10  Glenfiddich

This is the largest single malt distillery in the world. There are 27 copper stills, an excellent tour and tasting program and a great shop. The distillery is located right in Dufftown and it a short walk to Mrs Barclay's B&B where I stayed. The four whiskies I tasted were:
Glenfiddich 12 yr old - light and pleasant
Glenfiddich 15 yr old - more flavourful
Glenfiddich 18 yr old - baked apple, toffee, cinnamon
Glenfiddich 21 yr old - very smooth and flavourful
All of these whiskies are most welcome in my drinks cabinet. Dufftown is a great place. They have whisky festivals and there are several pubs and restaurants to help with whisky exploration.A short bus ride away is the Highlander Inn and the Craigellachie Hotel. I found the Highlander to be a great spot to expand my knowledge of whisky.

This is a photograph of the Spey river. It's a very scenic area.

Distillery Number 11 Glenlivet

The Glenlivet distillery is quite a ways out of Dufftown. Fortunately I recruited a driver who was killing time before he had to head to Inverness to catch a flight. We toured the distillery - no charge for the basic tour - and enjoyed the beautiful scenery. The still room has a glass wall looking out over the highlands. A spectacular view. The one dram that we tried was:
Glenlivet 21 yr old - very flavourful and smooth. This bottle is most welcome to come and join my drinks cabinet.

Distillery Number 12 Macallan

With a driver I was able to be dropped back at the Macallan distillery where we said our goodbye. This was a very pleasant tour. We had a small group and an excellent guide.
The two whiskies that I sampled were;
Macallan Fine Oak 12 yr old - light and smooth
Macallan Sherry Oak 12 yr old - light and sweet
Welcome additions to my drinks cabinet.

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Distillery Number 13  The Glen Grant Distillery

The Glen Grant distillery has lovely gardens and scheduled tour times. I walked around the garden and ate a scone at the coffee shop before we got down to business. There was a German couple, a Spanish couple, and yours truly. The tour was very well done. In the tasting room there were bottles on the table and we were invited to "Go ahead and pour yourself  a dram." I do believe that this is one of the very nicest sentences that the English language has to offer. An the angels sang! The whiskies sampled were:

Glen Grant - The Major's Reserve non aged - golden colour a lovely light whisky

Glen Grant 10 yr old 80% bourbon, 20% sherry - tasty and nice

These two lovely expressions of the whisky making art are most welcome in my drinks cabinet

Photo of Edradour Distillery number 8

If you ever find yourself in Pitlochry and there is only time to tour one distillery, what a terrible plight, choose the one up the hill: Edradour. It is small and personable with a fine gift shop. The guide that took our group through was top notch. I arrived early at 09:30 despite my abysmal cycling and I observed this older lady with a cane arriving. She gave me a very pleasant hello and went on in. As it transpired, this lady was our tour guide, no cane in evidence. Just being around whisky is very healthy for you! She is a natural comic and responded to impertinent questions with mock ferocity and a "Coca cola for you!" When our guide was being asked in the gift shop what the little 200 ml bottles of whisky were for, she deadpanned "Those are just the right size for washing your pills down in the evening." This lovely little distillery knows how to run a tour. We paid 7 pounds, 50 pence and sat through a nice video. Then we were given 2 nice drams of whisky in a Glencairn glass and told to keep the glass (a 4.99 value in pounds). I can't find the pound symbol on this keyboard.  It was at Edradour that the inspiration for this College came to me. An earnest young Swiss man who was touring through with his father asked me what my story was since I was travelling on my own. I told him that I was studying for my masters degree in whisky appreciation from the Canadian College of Whisky Knowledge. This field trip to Scotland is an essential part of my whisky education. When the tour came to a close in the tasting room I confessed that the Canadian College existed only in my imagination. The Swiss fellow thanked me for my honesty, told me that I was most entertaining and bought me a dram of 26 year old Edradour which is one of the best drams I have had the privilege to enjoy. The tasting room is not open to the public, but those who have come through the tour can linger as long as they wish and buy 26 year old whisky by the dram. My tasting notes give "buy them" ratings to the 10 year old Edradour, a nice light floral dram, the Sauternes Cask Matured, light, sweet, bites at the finish, 18 year old Oloroso Sherry Cask Matured bottle # 49 of 599 59% alcohol natural cask strength, vanilla, sweet, smooth finish, 26 year old matured in oak for 20 years, then 6 years in a sherry cask. Lovely, sweet, it purrs down your throat! As you may recall I arrived at 09:30 at Edradour. By the time I zipped down the hill it was 2:00 pm and I Had done my best  to know what the distillery has to offer.  

This photo was taken on my walk around the Blair Athol Distillery. The seventh distillery on my visit has a basic and enhanced tours like many of the distilleries. The way that I prefer to travel with my flight home being the only certain booking, I did not book ahead to see a distillery unless it was the only way in to the distillery like Aberlour in Speyside.

The downside of this is the lost opportunity for a wide scope of tastings at a given distillery.
 If you prefer a more scheduled tour, I would recommend you buy a copy of the book called
"Discovering Scotland's Distilleries" by Gavin D. Smith and Graeme Wallace.

The big question then becomes 'Who will drive today?"

Distillery number seven Blair Athol offered a 12 year old single malt as part of their standard tour. It was a lovely fruity sweet dram that I would be happy to have in my drinks cabinet.

Blair Athol distillery had Bell's Whisky signs displayed prominently. This is a blended whisky that they help produce.

The eighth distillery is up the hill from Pitlochry. I was told that it's a short bike ride. It was indeed short because I was off the bike in no time pushing the dratted thing up. Living in the flat part of Southern Ontario has me deconditioned for this kind of activity. Please pardon the break, a whisky tasting is about to intrude!

Aberfeldy Distillery home of Dewars Whisky

The road from Creif to Aberfeldy was a lovely twisting adventure through the hills. My taxi was a Jaguar so of course I had to have a picture of it and pretend it was just added to my imaginary fleet of fine automobiles!

Glenturret Distillery in Creif

The fifth distillery that I toured was the Glenturret distillery in Creif. There were pictures of The Famous Grouse everywhere. My photos all have people in them, so I will not post them without their consent. When it was time to taste the house single malt, a 10 year old Glenturrett there was no Glenturret to try due to an "EU labelling dispute." As part of the standard tour I was offered my choice of Famous Grouse, Naked Grouse, Black Grouse or Snow Grouse.  I chose Snow Grouse. It was served cold and had alcohol in it. Tasting notes are pointless. Later in the day at a pub called The Curly Coo, I had some 10 year old Glenturret. It is a nice light whisky. I would be happy to have it in my drinks cabinet

The next distillery that I had the pleasure of visiting was Glenkinchie. There is an excellent Museum of Malt Whisky Production located there and I found it to be most educational. The distillery is part of the Diageo pic holdings. If you sign up for their friends of malt whisky program, you receive a very nice passport that will allow you into other Diageo pic distilleries at no charge.  This is a Lowland whisky. The malt is lightly peated and the water comes from a well that is on the property.

Tasting notes
12 year old Glenkinchie- a pleasant light dram with some fruity flavours
Cask Strength Glenkinchie-very flavourful with a bite at the finish due to more alcohol in it

Tullibardine distillery is next to a shopping centre. There is a coffee shop that is part of the distillery. It is called "Cafe 1488" because a king had a beer here back in 1488.  They sold me 3 drams for 10 pounds sterling which was a good value. This was my most favourite distillery of the first four. The malt is unpeated.

Tasting Notes
All of these whiskies' names start with Tullibardine.
6 year old John Black - nice flavours, bites at the back of the throat
8 year old Aged Oak - an excellent flavourful dram with a smooth finish
18 year old - a very excellent dram sweet and fruity with vanilla and spices
24 year old - comparable to the 18 year old. Two very excellent whiskies
9 year old with a port finish - a sweet dram to end with

I would not purchase the 6 year old John Black Whisky for my personal use. All of the rest
of the whiskies would be most welcome in my drinks cabinet.

United by the love of Whisky!
Chairman Bill