#7.1 Dramming around begins

Road-trippin in the US

How a bad weather day throwed us into the world of whisk(e)y!

So, how did a couple of Italians, whose families’ drink of choice has been wine for (probably) generations, get caught into the fabulous world of whisky? Well, thanks to a road trip in the United States South and to a very nice host. But let’s not go ahead of ourselves and proceed in order.

Before 2016, we did not have much idea about what whisk(e)y was nor how it was made. In 2015 Gianluigi moved to Illinois, right in the middle of mid-west. One evening, a friend poured him something that he never forgot, something new: a Laphroaig. That prompted him to purchase a couple of scotch bottles (two because he first bought a Glenfiddich 12y, thinking that it would have been the same…how dare him!). Besides that, not much…whisk(e)y was just another spirit. Teresa was a bit more experienced (so to speak), as from time to time she would end an evening with friends with peated whisky instead of amaro.

Comes 2016, Teresa arrived to Illinois for the summer holidays. We had decided to take a road-trip, our favourite style of vacation. This time, a really big one: the mighty South! From Illinois down to Kentucky (through Indiana), Nashville, the Appalachian Mountains, Charleston SC, Savannah GA, then straight West to New Orleans, up to Memphis, St. Louis, and back to Illinois.

First stop: Louisville, Kentucky (KY)…you probably already see where this is going. At the time we were still using AirBnB (later we decided to stop because of the increasing cost of living that this and other short-term rent companies are causing to locals, who struggle to find affordable flats, in particular in cities like Edinburgh) and we stayed in a typical American suburbia house, hosted by a very nice couple. While having a relaxed chat in the evening, he poured us some bourbon and suggested us to take the exit 112 from the Interstate 65, because there were a few open distilleries just 10 to 15 minutes away. We looked at each other and thought: “why not”?

The day after came, and the weather was not exactly a delight. So, a further reason to take a few hours for the “bourbon detour”. First, we tried the farthest from the highway, the Heaven Hill Bourbon Heritage Center, in Bardstown. We were unlucky there, as the tour had just left, but a tasting would have started soon enough. In the meantime, we could admire the huge rickhouses on the rolling hills outside the visitor centre.

The tasting was very informative, covering the history of the distillery and all the brands they had acquired, in particular after the prohibition era. The line-up was made of four drams, the first one (a rye) promptly necked by Teresa despite the guide telling us to take a wee sip… of course Gianluigi shared his afterwards. There was also an Elijah Craig bourbon, while the final dram was a very “woody” example of how, sometimes, too long maturation can go wrong. At the visitor centre, we spotted the Kentucky Bourbon passport, which we both took and put the Heaven Hill stamp on.

A new challenge ahead: getting all the distillery stamps!

We tried our luck at the next distillery: Four Roses (actually, the warehouse and bottling plant in Cox’s Creek). Again, no luck, the tour had just started, so we did the tasting, again. We had their three main bourbons for the (ridiculous) price of $5.00: the Four Roses Bourbon, Small Batch and Single Barrel. While Teresa loved the latter, Gianluigi preferred the middle one, but overall we were surprised by how good it was (Gianluigi in particular, as he remembered a drunken night of over a decade earlier fuelled by an unpleasant Four Roses bourbon).

Back in the car, we headed towards the third and last distillery (for now), Jim Beam. Here we were finally able to take the tour (hurray!).

It was a great experience, the guide was very funny and prepared, a great start for newbies like us. We could understand how whiskey is made, and walk inside one of these huge rickhouses we kept seeing around, and all the rules of bourbon and rye (>50% corn/rye, new oak barrels, etc). At the end we could choose two or three drams in their huge product range (great favourites, Baker’s and Knob Creek).

Here, by trying several expressions next to each other, we could fully appreciate how bourbons (and whisky in general) can be very different despite being produced on the same site. And in this moment, folks, the seed of our curiosity towards whisk(e)y was first planted in our mind, taste buds, and heart, paving the way to what would have happened next.

[If you are only interested in our whisk(e)y journey, you can skip the rest and go to the second episode. Otherwise keep reading about our road trip]

The trip continued not as smoothly as we would have liked. Nashville was great, although the Music Broadway was a bit too fake for us (in three out of four bars we entered the band played “Sweet Home Alabama”, in all four “Take me Home, Country Roads”). That was compensated by an early morning visit to Jack White’s Third Man Records store and a delicious fried chicken lunch!

The Appalachians and the Smokey Mountains were also great. After driving through Chattanooga and before the Blue Ridge Highway, we stayed near Sylva (NC) where our friend Matt (if you want to know all the coolest things about plant ecology, he is the guy! here his website and podcast) brought us to taste delicious beers at the local Innovation Brewing.

After a detour to Charlotte (NC) to pick up two Pearl Jam tickets and before visiting the stunning Charlestone (SC), we had our first setback: bed bugs! We left the motel (clearly too randomly picked) in the middle of the night to avoid being eaten alive (fortunately we had not opened our luggage to avoid our clothes smelling like cigarette…not sure about calling that luck). But the real issue happened the day after: 10 minutes before reaching our (more carefully picked) motel right outside Savannah (GA), we got rear-ended by a distracted lady on the highway! We were intact, the car not so much, and we had to spend half of the next day trying to get another one from the closest open (it was Saturday…) car rental branch. Thankfully this didn’t translate into a huge financial issue, as we were covered by the roadside assistance insurance. Since then we have always included it in our rentals!

That was the last bad thing happened to us during the trip (hurray!).

Savannah was truly gorgeous, a shame we could not stay more. At one point we were having a beer on the river side, and a guy asked Gianluigi if he could take a picture him and his gilrfriend. “Of course”, the prompt reply. The phone was filming a video, however, and when Gianluigi was about to tell the guy, he realized that the guy was proposing to his (soon) fiancé. Gianluigi could not hold back a loud “holy s**t!”, ruining the proposal video forever. Teresa laughed at the idea of the two showing it at the wedding.

After driving through the Florida Panhandle (if for any reason you happen to be in Fernandina Beach, close to Jacksonville, get a sandwich at the Hola! Cuban Cafè: OMG!!!), we finally arrived at the most awaited stop-over: New Orleans.

We both fell in love with the city, its atmosphere and the music which seems to permeate every bit of life. Even Gianluigi, contrary to Teresa not a big jazz fan, couldn’t stop speaking of how great that was, in particular after a concert at the Preservation Hall. Following NOLA, another music city: Memphis, one of the cradles of Blues, with a capital “B” (and the best pulled-pork we have ever had!).

Spectacular Missisipi river side in Memphis!

Final stop: St. Louis, once an important industrial centre, now a tale of two sides: it is staggering, and frankly very sad, the difference of livelihood between neighbourhoods, sign of deep inequalities (to be fair, that was a constant of all cities we visited during this and other trips in the US).

What about the other KY distilleries? Well, you’ll have to wait until next week. Stay tuned and sláinte!

Kentucky Bourbon Distilleries – Links
https://heavenhilldistillery.com/#3
https://fourrosesbourbon.com/
https://www.beamdistilling.com/

[No summary box this time. We visited these distilleries almost 6 years ago, so we figured it’d have been too out of date.]

#4 Tales from a Tuscan detour

Wine not?

For the first time we visited a winery in the Bolgheri area in Tuscany…with a Scottish connection!

Because of you know what, we haven’t visited our families for over a year, skipping the Italian Christmas for the very first time in 2020. Almost unforgivable!

This year, we made up by staying over a month between Piacenza (in the Emilia-Romagna region) and Florence. Both areas are famous (well, one more than the other…) for great food (of course, the lesser famous is the one with better food…Teresa might disagree with this statement) and delicious wine. This makes visiting our families even nicer. The only problem is the lack of whisky distilleries, with the next whisky trip planned weeks ahead. Nonetheless, we found a way to keep our palate trained with a different kind of experience.

In scotch whisky, red wine cask finishes are a relatively recent trend. Surfing the web, we realised that for more experienced whisky aficionados this might be still an unusual, and not always welcome, finish/maturation. Instead, for people like us that have been into whisk(e)y for a few years only, this feels pretty normal. Indeed, we were able to connect more easily with many red wine cask finished drams, such as the Arran Amarone cask, the Port Charlotte MRC, the Ledaig Sinclair Rioja finish or the Longrow Red(s). In our experience, French wine casks seem to be the most prevalent, but we are seeing more and more Italian wine casks.

Two drams that recently surprised us came from GlenAllachie: the first was a widely distributed 11y single malt, bottled at 48%; the second was again 11y, but cask strength and only available at the distillery (click here for more about that trip!). Both were finished in red wine casks from the Grattamacco winery, located on the hills in the Bolgheri area (Livorno Province), an officially recognized wine geographical denomination. In recent years (well, recent in “scotch time”) Bolgheri wine has become really popular, with over 60 wineries now active in the area. All of this just to say that one morning we woke up and said: “Why don’t we just try to check that out?” “Wine not?” (wink-wink).
So there we go! We booked a tour, took the car and drove! We left Florence quite early and after a quick stop for gas and to allow Gianluigi a second breakfast with a delicious pistachio custard croissant, we were on our way to discover a new place! The ride was almost two hours but quite smooth, in fact we arrived early. We thought about taking a walk, but after realising how frickin’ cold it was, we just rang the winery’s bell.

Taking pictures of the vineyard while freezing.

Michela, our guide, was already waiting for us. After our vaccination passes’ check, the visit started in the tasting room, which featured an amazing view on the hills and the Tirreno sea. Michela told us the story of the winery, which was founded in the late 70s by a guy from Lombardy, and sold in 2002 to the Colle Massari company. Compared to other wineries in the area, the estate is at a slightly higher altitude (around 2-300m on the sea level), therefore with a slightly different micro-climate.

The fermenting vats of the Grattamacco winery

After the introduction, we moved to the main production building. They harvest several grapes: Cabernet-Sauvignon (which is the main component of their red wines), Cabernet-Franc, Sangiovese, Merlot and Vermentino. Grapes are mechanically soft-pressed and cleaned to get the must, which is fermented in two types of vessel: metal big tanks or wooden 500 litres open vats (which smell great!). Then, we visited the cellar, where the casks are stored, divided by vintage. All casks are from the Taransaud tonnellerie (cooperage) and are of course made of French oak (Quercus robur)…the smell down there was amazing too! We could also take a look at what Michela called “the library”, where all the vintage bottles (starting from the early 80s) are stored. They use the casks up to four times, before selling them to other smaller wineries or to distilleries to make awesome whiskies (like the GlenAllachie). The vinaccia (leftover of the wine production) is sent to a distillery in Veneto region to produce Grattamacco grappa, and they also grow olives to produce olive oil.

And now, the wine tasting. First off, a white wine, made 100% with Vermentino grapes. We were both pleasantly surprised by how good it was (both not huge fans of white wines, but this one…WOW!). Second, the Bolgheri Rosso, made with four grape varieties (Cabernet-Sauvignon, Cabernet-Franc, Sangiovese and Merlot), fermented in the metal tanks, and aged 5-6 months. The third and fourth were the stars of the tasting: l’Alberello, single vineyard (less than 2 hectares, Cabernet-Sauvignon and Cabernet-Franc grapes) and aged for almost 18 months. Finally, the long awaited Grattamacco: fermented in oak vats, aged 18 months, mostly Cabernet-sauvignon (~65%) with an addition of Merlot and Sangiovese, with the percentages varying each year. These two wines were both sublime, and it was really hard to decide which one was the best! Anyway, thanks to this visit we sorted out a number of Christmas gifts.

Before going back to Florence, we had a nice lunch in a nearby restaurant (an “agriristoro”, actually), with delicious local food: wild-boar and beef roast. We slowly drove to the (quite small) Bolgheri village, where we took a walk, had a coffee and another glass of wine for the non-driver (Gianluigi): the mighty Sassicaia (mighty also for the price).

Definitely happy to try something different!

Overall, this was an amazing day and no less fun than the trips we usually do, the ones where we end up saying: “we should do this again asap!”! Being our first winery, we felt like total newbies again, but it was a great educational experience (btw, please correct us if we wrote anything wrong!). We have learned so much about this amazing nectar which has been on our families’ tables since we were kids. And the wine spoke for itself!

Grattamacco Winery Tour and Tasting

Price: 35.00 EUR pp (December 2021)

Tasting: 4 glasses of wine – Grattamacco Vermentino (white), Bolgheri Rosso (red), L’Alberello DOC single vineyard (red), Grattamacco Bolgheri (red)

Target: anyone

Value for money: looked good to us, but we can’t really tell as this was our very first winery tour

Highlights: the view from the tasting room, the tour in the cellar and the wines…pretty much everything!

Things we did not like: nothing

Link: https://www.collemassariwines.it/estates/grattamacco/

#3.3 Campbeltown Loch, I wish you were whisky!

How things are done!
(Day 3 & 4)

A day at Springbank and Glengyle distilleries, plus a Glen Scotia tasting.

(missed Day 2 or Day 1?)

And finally it’s the Springbank-Glengyle day! During our first trip here, back in 2018, we only visited Glen Scotia and opted for the Cadenhead’s Warehouse tour instead of the Mitchell’s company distilleries…what did we miss! Fortunately, the folks at Springbank were nice enough to offer us a tour on a Saturday, which is normally closed (many thanks to Mary for that), and a tasting at their newly build Washback (spoiler: the bar is made of an actual wooden washback!).

Since we were the only group, we could tour the distilleries all together. First off, Springbank. We started off with the malting facility, which they still do 100% on their own (and we realised how this is the bottleneck of their production size, but also their strength). There was barley drying on the malting floor, one of the first times we actually saw this stage of the process happening live. Of course, it is all done like in the old times, and as a testimony of this there was also a hi-fi system (go 90s!) to keep the workers company.

Moving outside, another thing new to us: a pile of dry peat and one of wet peat. The knowledgeable Mary told us that they are used in a slightly different way depending on the product they are producing. The kiln is run for 30h with hot air when they are producing the unpeated Hazelburn (10% of their production), for 6h with peat and 30h with hot air for Springbank (80% of their production), and up to 48h with peat smoke for the (quite heavily) peated Longrow (another 10% of the production).

In case you need a recap about distillation.

Moving to the next production stages, the mashtuns, (actual) washbacks and stills, we could again see how hands-on are all the processes here: no computers, everything very manual. In a world moving too fast, it is comforting to find a place where time seems to slow down, and where people definitely take their time to do things. And rightly so, since their bottlings normally fly off the shelves like pigeons after a gunshot. Next up, the warehouse, which is of course the best smelling place of the distillery, as always…eheh.

Glengyle brought us back to slightly more modern times. Opened in 2004, one of the reasons being to circumvent a rule of the SWA (Scotch Whisky Association) which wouldn’t allow to call an area a whisky region with only 2 distilleries. The stills came from the defunct Ben Wyvis distillery, dismantled in 1977. The distillery looked more “conventional”, although still way less automated than many distilleries we visited, which looked like they could be run by computers…maybe in a dystopian future that will happen and the machines will take control on humanity by poisoning the booze! Don’t worry, we are not becoming sci-fi writers, and going back to Glengyle distillery we could spot the window which inspired the Kilkerran Single Malt logo: a selfie was a must!

Glengyle, or the second distillery tour in less than two hours.

At the Washback bar we picked a Hazelburn and a Longrow flights, since they included drams we were not very familiar with. Both awesome, in particular the former: the Hazelburn Cognac SC knocked our socks off! And among the latter, the (at the time) just released Longrow 18 was outstanding.

The smile only a flight of Hazelburns can give you!

After a few extra drams, the party moved to another bar, were we took turns wearing a “90s Meg Ryan” wig…We’ll spare you the pictures! We had dinner at Number 42 – great food quality (probably one of the best fish&chips tried so far), although not ideal combination of small portions and high prices. The night still ended on a high after a few drams at the Ardshiel.

On the last day we had a free morning. Many (including Teresa after a run and a shower) joined Justine in a lost distilleries’ hunt – Benmore, Argyll and so many others! Meanwhile, in preparation for the upcoming half marathon, Gianluigi went for a 24k run on the hills around the town. Fortunately, the weather wasn’t too bad, so he could actually take some (far from decent) pictures!

In the afternoon we attended the last event of the trip, a Glen Scotia tasting with Ian MacAlister at the Ardshiel Hotel. We started with the 10y, a very new bottling destined to grocery stores. This is why it is bottled at a 40% abv, like their other NAS supermarket release, the Campbeltown Harbour. Similar to this, and in spite of the 40%, it is a quite drinkable sweet dram, very well engineered for a broader audience. The other three drams – Warehouseman’s Edition (2005 recharred American oak finished in first fill oloroso, 56.2%), Single Cask Shop Bottling (2013 highly peated 1st fill bourbon, 61.4%) and Master Distillers Edition (2002 refill American oak hothead, 57.3%) – were all outstanding, with the Single Cask Shop Bottling being the one we liked the most. At this point, Ian surprised us with two more drams. The first one was a 2002 single-cask refill PX, which he (and us) loved – too bad there isn’t enough for a bottling, it was quite unique! The second was their new festive bottling, a 12y cask strength which has spent some time in heavily charred and oloroso casks, frankly delicious!

Last but not least: the Glen Scotia tasting!

We were all quite happy (well…you know), and the party naturally moved to the Ardshiel bar, with Ian staying with us for a couple of pints and many chats. Dinner was booked there as well: delicious and again great service, strongly suggested! Back to the bar, our friend Cath started playing the guitar and singing. At some point Gianluigi was invited to play the guitar, but it was not a great success since Tool and Mastodon songs are not quite as sing-along songs as he would think, who knew! He somehow managed to remember Don’t look back in anger and Everlong to accompany Cath solid effort, before passing the guitar back to her. Probably because of the many drams, we went to bed quite early, although it felt like 1am!

The day after was smooth, returning back to Edinburgh with only a quick stop at Fyne Ales to grab a few of their sour beers, with anything notable happening. As a first group trip, we really enjoyed it. And it was awesome to spend time with people sharing our same whisky passion and which up to now we had mostly met on Zoom. Going to Campbeltown again was great, and put back in perspective how whisky can (and should) be enjoyed at a slower pace, after all the FOMO and online hysteria which went crazy during the pandemic. Can’t wait to go back!

Springbank Tour

Price: £10.00 pp (October 2021)

Tasting: a 20ml of Springbank 10 and a 50ml of Springbank Distillery Visitors bottling (NAS 46%), and a sampler glass

Target: everyone, literally!

Value for money: Great

Highlights: the malting floors

Things we did not like: nothing

Link: http://springbank.scot/

Glengyle Tour

Price: £10.00 pp (October 2021)

Tasting: a 20ml of Kilkerran 12 and a 50ml of Kilkerran Distillery Visitors bottling (NAS 46%), and a sampler glass

Target: everyone, literally!

Value for money: Great

Highlights: the malting, but the distillery overall

Things we did not like: nothing

Link: https://kilkerran.scot/

Glen Scotia Tasting*

*Since this was a bespoke tasting, we won’t make a summary card.

Link: https://www.glenscotia.com/

#3.1 Campbeltown Loch: I wish you were whisky!

A warehouse at the end of the road (day 1)

Billie Joe Armstrong wrote: “Wake me up, when September ends”, but he forgot to add: “because we’ll be in Campbeltown!”

(Jump to Day 2 or Day 3 and 4)

Since our last trip to Speyside and Highlands almost two months have gone by. In the meantime, we: worked, got covid, recovered from covid, ran, got our smell and taste back, worked a bit more, a couple of tastings, some tenth phone calls to British Gas, worked again. The usual.

We are very excited for this trip: it is the first time we are going to do a “whisky holiday” as part of a big group, and not just the two of us or with a couple of friends. We went as part of the Facebook-based Edinburgh Whisky Group, managed by the tireless Justine from Kask Whisky. Since the first lockdown this group has grown substantially (guess not much else to do, uh?) and we did a good number of tastings, often directed by brand ambassadors or distillers. We had planned this weekend for a while, and we decided that Campbeltown was the perfect destination for a group of whisky aficionados: 3 distilleries, 2 independent bottlers, a long whisky related history and heritage, enough pubs and restaurants, and everything at walking distance. What else?

For the two of us it is the second time we land in this hidden gem of a place. The first time was exactly 3 years before, at the end of September 2018, when our whisky journey was still in its infancy. That was also the first time we visited a scotch whisky distillery together (Glen Scotia, specifically), and the Warehouse tasting we took at the time was quite a surprise.

Back to the trip, being a large group, we had to take part to some tastings separately because of Covid-related safety issues. We were in the first group (group A), which meant we needed to be in Campbeltown in the early afternoon, which in turn meant we had to leave Leith in the early morning. Justine came to pick as up at 9.30, sharp as razor, with her glorious car Clifford (Cliff for friends). The ride was smooth (not according to some squirrels, apparently) and quick, not too much traffic in Glasgow, and no queue for gasoline (at that time the biggest news on the British press was the gasoline shortage, which thankfully didn’t affect us). We stopped in Inveraray for a quick lunch: in line with our Italian culture, we prepared food at home. Less in line with that, we prepared Spanish tortilla sandwiches, which are always lovely. Back in the car, the second leg was even smoother than the first one. So around 3pm, we finally arrived at our destination! So excited!

We parked the car at the Ardshiel Hotel, but instead of doing the check-in we immediately went to the Cadenhead’s shop, just to look around on what was there (we felt like kids in a candy store after months of diet). We resisted to the temptation to buy anything rght away (HOLD!) and we moved on to the site of our first activity: the Cadenhead’s Warehouse tasting! Those sweet 7 words every person wants to hear the most: “Please, follow me down to the warehouse”!

Casks pyramids outside Springbank, always a nice view.

The first time we attended this tasting was in 2018, and we remember that we had at least 7 or 8 drams in a very informal setting, with the guide drawing the liquid directly from the casks. This time the set up is a bit more structured (everyone has a well-distanced barrel holding a glass and a bottle of water in front of them), and Jenna McIntosh, usually their sales manager, is going to guide us through the 6 drams for this one. First off, a delicious Glen Elgin, 12 years of age in a first fill ex-bourbon cask, and a 9y Glen Garioch, with 3 years spent in a Tawny port cask, betrayed by a pink-ish colour common to other drams matured in similar casks. Moving on, a grain: Cameronbridge distilled and casked in 1989 and a 18y Glenfarclas, coca-cola coloured because of a 2y finish in an ex-PX sherry cask. Finally, the two peated drams: one just lightmy peated, a 12y “Orkney”, the other quite peated 9y Caol Ila, both in ex-bourbon casks.

Cadenhead’s tasting aka best way to start a whisky trip.

While the Glen Elgin (very clean dram, crispy with vanilla and coconut notes from the bourbon cask very prominent) and the Caol Ila were both delicious, they were somehow “known” to us (we have a SMWS 13y Glen Elgin in our cabinet and a 10y Thompson Brothers Caol Ila, both very similar in taste), the Glen Garioch and the “Orkney” were something new to us, which we quite appreciated: fruity and spiritely the first, farmyard-y and smoky the latter. The grain was delicious too, as many grains of that age, while the Glenfarclas was a bit disappointing for a dram that old: thin and not very flavourful.

After the tasting, we could grab a couple of bottles at the Springbank shop, one from the cage (a friend’s request) and the 12y cask strength batch 23 released the week before (and, of course, sold out online), before getting the tasting’s bottles at the Cadenhead’s shop. We had dinner at the Argyll Arms pub (coincidentally, the hotel where we stayed on our first trip in 2018) and a couple of drams back at the Ardshiel Hotel. For a first day on holiday, that was plenty, and we called it a night!

Cadenhead’s Warehouse tasting

Price: £35.00 pp (September 2021)

Tasting: 6 cask strength drams. This time ours were: 12y Glen Elgin, 9y Glen Garioch, 32y Cameronbridge, 18y Glenfarclas, 12y “Orkney” and 9y Caol Ila, plus a “perfect dram” glass (similar to the Whisky Exchange ones).

Target: whisky enthusiasts and geeks

Value for money: very good

Highlights: the drams

Things we did not like: nothing

Link: https://www.cadenhead.scot/

#2.7 A very Scottish summer holiday

A trip to Orkney Speyside et al.
(day 10)

The hard climb of Ben Lomond, and our final reward: the Auchentoshan distillery visit.

(Back to Days 7-8-9 / Days 5-6 / Day 4 / Day 3 / Day 2 / Day 1)

The last day of our holidays started early, around 6.30, because we had a great plan for the morning: climb Ben Lomond! So, after a quick breakfast at the van, we put our boots on and took the trail to the summit. The sky was very grey, and we hoped it would clear up a bit later. Spoiler alert: it did not. Actually, after the first couple of km, we got “inside” the clouds, so not only it was cold but also very wet. We took the less steep trail (“less steep” so to speak, because it’s still over 900m of ascent in less than 7k, compared to the other one which is about a km shorter). Despite the harsh climb and the terrible weather, we got to the summit, just to admire the whitest of the view: it looked like we were on Solaris!

The very rewarding view from the top of Ben Lomond.

The descent was a bit more enjoyable because of the view on the lake, which we could finally see after a km past the summit. We arrived at the campervan very very wet, but very very satisfied as well! A quick change of clothing, and a soup at the Clansman, and we were on the road again to go grab our prize for the morning climb, direction: the Auchentoshan distillery in Glasgow!

The distillery was reachable directly from the highway, so after a stop for a coffee and a detour because of roadworks, we arrived there fairly easily. Being a bit early, we had plenty of time for a deep inspection of the distillery shop. A couple of tips: they have an expression of their malt finished in Chardonnay casks (NAS and bottled at 47%), and we also found the cheapest glencairn holders made of cask wood! We were fortunate to get in in time to avoid an almost tropical storm (did someone say “climate change”?), which considering we were at the end of our holidays and that we had already had a change of clothes earlier in the morning, would have been not so great.

The other two guys joining us were not so lucky, and they started the tasting a bit wet. The tasting we had chosen was the Auchentoshan Masterclass. A particularity of this distillery is that, unlike many others in the Highlands which used to dry their barley with peat before the train lines were built, Auchentoshan never did that. Of course, this is because they are in Glasgow, which granted access to coal much earlier. We were very curious about this distillery, of which we already had a couple of bottles. Although the American Oak expression is fair for the money you pay for it at some grocery store, the Three Woods one already shows a bit of character (maybe for the 43% abv instead of 40%?). The tasting was guided by Douglas, which definitely knew his drams! During the tasting we found out that he’s from the same village as the other two guys (and we will find out later that one of the guys’ sisters works in the same institute as Gianluigi, although they never met…the whisky world is smaller and smaller!).

We started with a sample of new make spirit, which is something that we really appreciated as it is a fundamental piece to understand the character of what will become single malt. It did not disappoint: fruity and very light. The second dram was an 18y matured completely in ex-bourbon casks, which they can source directly from Jim Beam and Makers Marks, being part of the same company. A nice dram, a bit underwhelming probably due to the 40% and the chill-filtering (doesn’t look like it’s artificially coloured though, it’s very pale!). By contrast, the next it’s the already known Three Woods (with these being American Oak, ex-Sherry casks and ex-PX casks). A sherry bomb, not bad for being a non-age statement. But the real deal is coming with the last two drams, coming from their distillery casks: a vintage 2010, full maturation in an ex-bordeaux red wine cask, and a vintage 2006 from an ex-oloroso sherry cask, both cask strength (and natural colour and non-chill filtered). Both drams were absolutely delicious, but while in the second the sherry cask had definitely a big impact, in the former the soft spirit character was definitely still alive and kicking, mixing all the red fruits and grapes notes from the wine. So, we had our confirmation that Auchentoshan can have a mouthfeel, and it is quite impressive too!

One for our pals of the Edinburgh Whisky Group!

Coming out of the distillery we gave a ride to our whisky pals, to avoid them getting soaked again. And then, we finally drove towards Leith, which took a couple of hours (one of which just to exit Glasgow’s traffic jam) under an incessant rain. Once again, we were so happy that despite the initial setback, we had managed to take this trip anyway. All the midges and the rain in the world cannot beat this: amazing landscapes, great people and incredible whiskies. Sometimes we can’t believe how lucky we have that life brought us here. Until next time, slainte!

Auchentoshan Masterclass

Price: £30.00 pp (August 2021)

Tasting: 5 drams: new make spirit, Auchentoshan 18y, Three Woods, two distillery exclusive single cask 2010 ex-bordeaux cask finish and 2006 ex-oloroso cask

Target: whisky enthusiasts and geeks

Value for money: very good

Highlights: the drams

Things we did not like: nothing

Link: https://www.auchentoshan.com/

#2.6 A very Scottish summer holiday

A trip to Orkney Speyside et al.
(day 7, 8 and 9)

Tumbling down: Tyndrum, Inverary, Loch Fyne and the second unplanned distillery visit: Glengoyne.

(Forward to Day 10 or back to Days 5-6 / Day 4 / Day 3 / Day 2 / Day 1)

In the previous episode our travellers had to escape a swarm of thirsty midges by retreating inside the campervan for the night. Unfortunately, the siege wasn’t broken during the night, and as Gianluigi stuck his nose outside the swarm promptly attacked him. So, we quickly drove back to Corran to search for a midges-free area to have breakfast. Along the way there weren’t many bars open (including the one in front of the Corran ferry, coincidentally closed on Tuesdays), so we drove directly to Fort William.

Now, we guess whisky fans will already know where this is going…and yes, we had our coffee at the mystical Ben Nevis distillery, because why not? It was actually the third time we stopped by. The first time was when we visited the distillery in 2019, when being newbies meant we did not get a bottle of their 10y single malt, which we regretted as it was very cheap at the time (well, at least we got one of the 8y Glencoe blended malt, loved it!). Then, in 2020 we stopped on our way to Skye, but the Ben Nevis 10y was long gone, so we consoled ourselves with another bottle of the Glencoe (our first bottle was long gone as well). This time (which we bet won’t be the last), “experience + luck = we finally got our bottle of the 10y”, recently re-released with a slightly different label. We also tasted their new core range expression Core Leis, NAS but still unchill filtered, not artificially coloured and bottled at a very nice 46%.

Moving on, we didn’t have a clear plan for the next few days, but two things were certain: we wanted to eat west-coast seafood for lunch and, more importantly, after two nights spent in the wild and being almost eaten alive, we needed the facilities of a camping. The first of the two was quite easy, we drove until we found one which was looking good enough, at Port Appin Pierhouse Hotel: delicious food! (Also, they seemed to have a good whisky selection.) The second turned out to be tricky. We decided to stop at Tyndrum, where we had identified a couple of options for the camping. On our way there we called one of the two and we reserved our pitch. What we didn’t know, was that there is a camping with the same name in England, about 400mi from Tyndrum…so when we arrived at the check-in, guess which one of the two we had reserved? (facepalm!) Fortunately, they had one last pitch available, and maybe to say thanks we decided to stay two nights! After a shower, a pint, and a walk to the Green Welly shop (we resisted the temptation to buy their exclusive North Star “An Orkney” 13y, but we got a couple of miniatures), we grilled again some yummy burgers bought on the way. A dram, and then off to a very deserved and restful sleep.

Day #8 was supposed to be restful, and it was indeed! We opted for a walk, since the day was particularly sunny and warm, so we got a bus to Bridge of Orchy and we walked back to Tyndrum almost 12k on the path of the West Highland Way. The landscape during the walk was really stunning!

Back in Tyndrum we didn’t do much, a couple of pints, we (again) resisted the temptation to go back and get that Orkney from the Green Welly shop, and we managed to catch up with the Quarter Gill tasting we had missed a few days before when in Speyside.

On day #9, the second to last day of our holiday, we weren’t as lucky with the weather as the day before. We drove towards Loch Lomond under a deep grey sky, and we only stopped for a coffee in Tarbert. Our intention was to spend a day at the lake, but with such a bad weather we decided to keep driving instead, direction Inveraray. The route was quite scenic, so after briefly visiting the village of Inveraray and walking around the castle, we headed back to the Loch Fyne Oysters restaurant to grab some (delicious) seafood to-go, and we had our lunch at the Rest and Be Thankful stop. This is a small but quite scenic picnic area on the A83 with benches to enjoy the landscape while having a snack. Still overcast, but truly breath-taking.

We drove back to Loch Lomond, but in the afternoon the day didn’t open up. At this point we had an idea: why don’t try to visit the Glengoyne Distillery? We called right away, and fortunately there were still a few spots for the last tasting of the day. Gianluigi had already visited the distillery during a field-trip of a 2018 scientific conference held in Glasgow, but being in a very big group the experience at the time wasn’t great. This time too, the tasting room was full, quite surprisingly considering the period. There were maybe around 15 people, however at very distanced tables with all safety measures in place. The quite generous tasting consisted in 50ml bottles, paired with chocolates. The drams were their flagship 10y, the 18y, and the Legacy Chapter II, a non-age statement matured mostly in ex-bourbon casks and bottled at 47%.

The tasting was smooth and nice, we particularly appreciated the last one as the ex-bourbon casks matured whiskies have been growing on us for quite a while. Unfortunately the prices at the shop were a bit higher than our expectations, so we grabbed just a Glengoyne 12y miniature to pair with one of the two tastings (Gianluigi had to drive) and complete the core range for a vertical tasting at home in the future (which we still have to do, by the way).

Sadness when the bad weather forces you to an indoor activity.

We left the distillery very happy nonetheless, heading towards Rowardennan, on Loch Lomond, where we were going to spend the night before the next morning adventure. As we’re both big Still Game fans, we couldn’t help not having a pint at the Clansman Pub!!!

Glengoyne Tasting

Price: £25.00 pp (August 2021)

Tasting: 3 5cl bottles, Glengoyne 10y, 18y, Legacy Chapter II, plus chocolate

Target: whisky novices and enthusiasts

Value for money: very good

Highlights: the chocolate and the whisky wheel

Things we did not like: shop bottles slightly overpriced

Link: https://www.glengoyne.com/

#2.5 A very Scottish summer holiday

A trip to Orkney Speyside et al.
(day 5 and 6)

Leaving Speyside, direction the West Coast: not California, rather the Morvern peninsula and Nc’Nean.

(Forward to Day 10 / Days 7-8-9 or back to Day 4 / Day 3 / Day 2 / Day 1)

For day #5 we had no distillery visit planned (panic!!), but we had a long drive instead: we needed to reach the Morvern peninsula on the west coast of Scotland. We started the day calmly each one with a run, Gianluigi aimed for 10k and Teresa for 5k. For the record, we both got lost on our respective paths and ran more than planned (trails on the apps are quite different than on the ground).

Aviemore was supposed to be our first stop, but realising the amount of Sunday traffic and people visiting the town, we decided to keep going until the Culloden Battlefield. At the visitor centre, we had a coffee and bought a 5cl miniature for later (a Culloden Battle Highland Single Malt 8y, slightly peated, which we suspect might be a Loch Lomond). We then drove towards Loch Ness: we decided to drive along the southern coast of the lake, which gifted us with some incredible views!

Loch Ness and the temptation to put our feet in the water.

After a quick stop for a beer at Fort Augustus, we drove through Fort William, took the Corran Ferry and finally got to the Morvern peninsula. At this point the adventure started: we aimed for a parking spot on the beach, which was on the side of a very narrow (almost too narrow…) road. Unfortunately, we got there too late – someone had already taken the spot, so we decided to drive to the Lochaline Hotel, where the owner kindly allowed us to use his parking lot on the shore for the night. We thanked him by having a couple of pints at the bar. Waking up on the sound of the sea was very nice, and for the first time since we had left Edinburgh the weather was promising. We drove to the Clach Na Criche park to have breakfast, at this point it was an amazing sunny day already!

The road to the Nc’Nean distillery was harsher than we thought, culminating with half-mile of dirt road. Our van didn’t abandon us though, and we arrived there at the perfect time to start the tour. Since the visitor manager was on a leave, the tasting and tour was guided by the office manager Cindy (aided by her lovely wee dug), which welcomed us with a coffee and a gluten-free brownie! She has been there from the very start of the company, so she knew all the details we were curious about, including how the distillery building was a restored farm on the Drimmin Estate, all the innovation put in place to guarantee the carbon neutrality (recently achieved when we visited), and the challenges that releasing their first expression during a global pandemic brought, including having to get a provisional, and very manual, bottling line.

As usual, the tour ended with a tasting. We had three drams: the newmake spirit, the Nc’Nean botanical spirit (described by Cindy and others as a “gin-whisky hybrid”, as it is done by redistilling their newmake with botanicals at the Kintyre Distillery down south), and finally a dram of the Nc’Nean Single Malt. A few months back we had a taste of the very first batch released in September 2020, which to be honest we found a bit too young. However, the one we tasted there (batch 6) was more complex and deeper in flavour, with the STR casks used (in combination with ex-bourbon ones) having a bigger impact on the whisky.

Satisfaction after the distillery visit.

After the distillery tour we took a long walk in the Drimmin Estate, in particular to visit the gallery of the artist Alan B. Hayman, specialised in landscapes as well as Scottish fauna – some of the paintings were truly stunning! We got back to the van, got a quick but delicious sandwich at a kiosk at the Lochaline docks (which we already knew from a previous trip back from Mull), and we drove to Aoineadh Mor. This was an historical township depopulated during the infamous Highland clearances, where the land was taken from the crofters and given to the lords for their sheep herds. The walk is quite short and not particularly difficult, and it is possible to see the ruins of over a dozen former house buildings, a scar in the Scottish history still visible in this magnificent landscape.

Back to the car park, we thought it was the perfect spot for the night. There was one tiny detail we hadn’t taken into account: MIDGES! After a nice dinner, we had planned to spend the evening reading and having a few drams on the wooden benches outside. Instead, we had to quickly beat a retreat and lock ourselves up in the van to not get eaten alive by those b…. ehm, annoying beasts. We still had the drams, of course.

Nc’Nean Tour

Price: £15.00 pp (August 2021)

Tasting: 3 drams, new make spirit, botanical spirit and Nc’Nean single malt (batch 6)….plus a coffee and a delicious vegan brownie

Target: everyone, but in particular adventurous people

Value for money: very good

Highlights: the distillery

Things we did not like: nothing

Link: https://ncnean.com/

#2.4 A very Scottish summer holiday

A trip to Orkney Speyside et al.
(day 4)

First unplanned visit of this trip: Glen Grant and its garden in the morning, then Cardhu and its great history in the afternoon.

(Forward to Day 10 / Days 7-8-9 / Days 5-6 or back to Day 3 / Day 2 / Day 1)

The morning was supposed to be free from whisky-related activities. However, we were in Speyside, so why not to explore something new? We drove to a village we had never visited before, Rothes. This is the home of one of the major, if not THE major, pot stills building company, Forsyths, and of three single malt distilleries: Glen Spey, Glenrothes, and Glen Grant. The former two (owned by Diageo and Edrington, respectively) are normally closed to visitors, so we directed our attention to Glen Grant, since from their website we understood that at least the shop was open.

At Glen Grant: safety first, drams later.

Actually, it was much better than that! First, the distillery café had the Illy Espresso (maybe because of their Italian ownership? Who knows…), which was a nice surprise. Second, it was possible to visit the Victorian gardens and enjoy a mini-tasting of two drams for the ridiculous price of 5 pounds. We first strolled through the gardens, much bigger than expected, with some very nice lawn, orchard trees, and a more luscious vegetation around a stream on the back of it. We then moved back to the visitor centre to enjoy the drams: the Arboralis, a non-age statement 40% expression added to their core range in March 2020 (not exactly a perfect timing!) and the 10y. We decided to get a bottle of the Arboralis, although we were very tempted by their 15y (bottled at 50%) which we had tasted a while back and found it delicious. This was the first time we saw it in a UK shop, since it was previously restricted to travel retail and other markets.

The luscious victorian gardens behind the distillery.

The mood was great at this point, because of the unexpected distillery visit, so we decided to have a walk in the village and then nose around the Glenrothes distillery. Meanwhile, we spotted a second-hand shop in an old abandoned church, where we found a folding table which was perfect for our camping chairs! Even better mood now, and so we happily drove to the next stop: the Cardhu distillery!

We arrived a bit early, so before checking in we had time to have lunch in the parking lot. Similar to Clynelish, the investments for the “johnnywalkerification” (credits to Justine from Kask Whisky for this term) of the distillery were obvious: a statue of the striding man saluting you as you drive into the premise, together with one of Helen Cumming holding her well-known red sheet. Behind them, a small herd of highland cows was quietly grazing.

Highland coo, Helen Cumming and the striding man.

Our tour started with a 15 minutes video about the history of the distillery origins, and how the legacy of Cardhu/Cardow was defined by the family women: Helen and Elizabeth Cumming. In particular, how Helen helped all the illicit distillers of the area by displaying a red sheet when the excise man was in. The video was very interesting, well done, and not too cheesy (no mention of the more recent “pure malt debacle”, however…). We then moved on to the production areas, where our guide Hamish displayed his impressive knowledge by talking the group through the processes. The fermentation room looked awesome with its eight wooden washbacks, but one of the best moments was when we arrived in the stills room: we started smelling a strong scent of fruits, more particularly pears – the “heart” of the distillation was flowing through the safe. This is the middle part of the distilled spirit which is actually going to be put in casks, while the initial (“head”) and the final (“tail”) parts are going to be collected and re-distilled instead. In the warehouse there were a few casks opened for us, which we could smell through the hole as an example of different flavour profiles across Diageo’s portfolio.

Finally, as always, the tasting. This day Gianluigi had the short straw, so Teresa could happily enjoy her drams. The line-up was quite rich, first off three core range expressions: the 12y, the non-age statement Amber Rock and the 18y. All nice drams, maybe a bit weak on the mouthfeel, but definitely good sippers. The following three were special: the Distillers Edition (NAS, bottled at 48% and benefitting from triple maturation, ex-bourbon, ex-sherry and ex-red wine casks), the Four Corners of Scotland Edition (16y, 58.2%) and finally the hand-filled distillery cask (an 11y ex-bourbon casks, cask strength). These three drams showcased the difference a more natural presentation can make, they were all very tasty and full of flavour! As in all Diageo’s distilleries we visited since reopening, while the prices of core range bottlings were great, unfortunately the same could not be said for the hand-filled or other special releases like the Four Corners of Scotland series. We were divided between the Distillers Edition and the 11y Special Release 2020 (which, very kindly, Hamish made us taste): we ended up buying the latter.

Back in the campervan, we drove past Ballindalloch (home of other distilleries for another trip hopefully) to Grantown-on-Spey, where we had booked a pitch in a very nice camping (other lesson: bringing a hammer might be useful to put the stakes on a gravel pitch). This time the weather was acceptable, so we were able to grill (hurray!!) and roast some marshmallows (HURRAY!!). Since we finally had a table and chairs, we enjoyed the evening by sipping our driver’s drams under a warm blanket.

Glen Grant Victorian Gardens Visit and Tasting

Price: £5.00 pp (July 2021)

Tasting: 2 drams, Arboralis (40%, NAS) and Glen Grant 10y

Target: everyone

Value for money: Very good

Highlights: the Victorian gardens and the Illy espresso

Things we did not like: nothing

Link: https://www.glengrant.com/

Cardhu Collection Tour

Price: £25.00 pp (July 2021)

Tasting: 6 drams, Cardhu 12y, Amber Rock, 18y, Distillery Exclusive (48%, NAS), 16y Four Corners of Scotland, Hand-filled Distillery Exclusive (ex-bourbon, 11y)

Target: casual tourists, whisky enthusiasts and geeks

Value for money: Very good

Highlights: the video history and the tasting range

Things we did not like: nothing

Link: https://www.malts.com/en-row/distilleries/cardhu

#2.3 A very Scottish summer holiday

A trip to ~~Orkney~~ Speyside et al.
(day 3)

Officially not in Speyside but very close, both geographically and in spirit: GlenDronach.

(Forward to Day 10 / Days 7-8-9 / Days 5-6 / Day 4 / or back to Day 2 or Day 1)

First lesson for newbies campervanners: nights spent in a camping are waaaaay more resting. We woke up feeling great in the morning, but maybe because we were anticipating what was waiting for us: the GlenDronach distillery. The drive from Aberlour to Huntly was quite smooth, with just a quick stop to Asda to pick up some folding camping chairs (another rookie mistake not to get them beforehand…).

Since its foundation in 1826, the GlenDronach distillery went through some troubled history including a fire, bankruptcy, government ownership, and mothballing. Now the distillery is owned by the American giants Brown Forman (does Jack Daniels ring a bell?) which acquired it together with Benriach and Glenglassaugh from Billy Walker. He was the responsible of GlenDronach revitalisation started in 2008, and hugely contributed to its current popularity.

We had our visit booked late in the morning. Since tours of the production had not restarted yet, we opted for the sherry masterclass. After checking in the visitor centre, the guide Vicky led us into a very nice mansion on a hill just a couple of minutes walking from the centre and in front of the warehouses, with a stunningly beautiful garden. This is called the Glen House, and it is where distillery managers used to live.

The GlenDronach distillery from the Glen House.

The tasting was ready for us and abundant beyond our expectations! We started with a “dram” (not sure if we are supposed to call it this way) of Oloroso sherry, golden colour and very dry, followed by one of Pedro Ximenez sherry, this one much darker, sweeter and syrupy. Then, we tasted their newmake spirit, which to be honest was one of the best we tried so far, already rich with sweet and fruity flavours, but delicate as well. Moving on to the whiskies, we first tasted the GlenDronach 15y (which we learned is made with whisky matured 50/50 in ex-Oloroso and ex-PX casks, unlike the 12y which is 30% ex-Oloroso and 70% ex-PX, and the 18y 100% ex-Oloroso), and then the cask strength Batch 9 (bottled at 59.4% and aged between 6 and 12 years). Finally, two gems: a vintage 1995 matured for 23 years in an ex-PX puncheon, and a vintage 1992 matured for 26 years in an ex-Oloroso butt. The tasting also included a dried fruits and chocolate florentine, which perfectly paired with the drams. It was a unique tasting for us, because for the first time we tried the sherries alongside the whiskies, which allowed us to better understand the influence of the casks on the spirit maturation. Vicky did a perfect job at guiding the tasting, and although she said she was feeling a bit “rusty” because of the long visitor centre closure, we really enjoyed the experience.

Unfortunately, the price of the two single casks was a bit steep for our pockets (we’d like to tell you, but our brains removed that information too quickly), and the price of all core range bottlings a lot higher than specialist retailers. Therefore, we “settled” for a 15y bottle your own (although, because of Covid, it was pre-bottled) matured in an ex-PX cask for around £120 which Vicky, very kindly, made us taste (the other option, an 11y ex-oloroso cask was a bit cheaper but unavailable at the time).

We drove away (ehm, Teresa drove…. driver drams for her again) to go back to the village of Huntly, where we had a quick lunch. Since the day was still long and our whisky activities were over, we decided to first visit the Huntly Castle.

A not so great photo of the Huntly Castle.

The castle was the ancient home of the Earl of Huntly. Version 1.0 of the castle was made of wood and on a motte, and only later it was replaced with a stone building right next. As many other castles in Scotland, the external structure is still well preserved. A good guided tour through the remains helped us understand a little bit of the history of the castle and the region. A fascinating, unexpected detail was the presence of Catholic religious symbols engraved on the external wall – a clear message to visitors. The garden around the castle was very well kept as well, with the river Deveron running on one side in a very picturesque landscape. We left Huntly but stopped again right outside the village for a walk at the Bin Forest. The walk was very nice and relaxing as well, we chose a fairly short trail (around 6.5 km), which led to the top of the hill. The view was very nice despite the overcast weather, but what surprised us the most was the different vegetations along the path, including some magnificent forests.

After the walk, we drove back to Speyside to get closer to the distilleries booked for the next day. We should have had an online tasting with our Leith based Quarter Gill club, but everything else went wrong. We had chosen a pub’s parking lot to spend the night as it was recommended by the Park4Night app, but we found out very late that they didn’t have food. We went to another one which unfortunately treated us very poorly (we won’t name names here, we already left a review on the appropriate platform), and we missed the online tasting. The night was saved by a few drams and the joyful crowd at the Fiddichside Inn, including a stunning 1995 Tormore bottled by Gordon & MacPhail in their Connoisseur’s Choice range. A rainy, happy night.

GlenDronach Sherry Masterclass

Price: £40.00 pp (July 2021)

Tasting: 5 drams + 2 sherry, oloroso sherry, Pedro Ximenex sherry, new make spirit, Glendronach 15y, Cask Strength Batch 9, 1995 single cask ex-PX puncheon, 1992 single cask ex-sherry butt

Target: whisky enthusiasts and geeks, in particular sherry bombs lovers

Value for money: Good

Highlights: the tasting venue and the drams

Things we did not like: the prices in the shop

Link: https://www.glendronachdistillery.com/en-gb/

#2.2 A very Scottish summer holiday

A trip to Orkney Speyside et al.

(day 2)

Busy day (fortunately, given the weather…): we officially entered Speyside and visited a couple of Glens, Glenlivet and GlenAllachie!

(Forward to Day 10 / Days 7-8-9 / Days 5-6 / Day 4 / Day 3 or back to Day 1)

Unfortunately, our first night ever sleeping in a campervan was not particularly resting, aided by an incessant rain pounding on the van’s top. Teresa waked up particularly nervous because this day was going to be the first time she drove on the left side of the road. However, we jumped in the van and the drive was (surprisingly) smooth until, just round a single-track corner, a behemoth of a distillery appeared: and here we are at Glenlivet!

Here, the tasting guide Andrew welcomed us very kindly, leading us to the newly built visitor centre and bringing us a nice coffee. The room is quite nice, with a very relaxing and cosy atmosphere, almost like a chalet on the Alps. It has a cocktail bar and comfortable chairs. That brings us to the tasting room, with soft lights and themed to look like an 1800s whisky cellar.

For that day we chose the “Single Casks” tasting, where we were given four samples of the big range of single cask bottlings available at the distillery, all cask strength. Andrew was extremely knowledgeable and passionate; we could listen to him talking about whisky and whisky making all day! As a first dram, he picked a 12y aged in an ex-oloroso butt, very dark in colour and a typical sherry bomb style. Second and third a pair of 16y, one golden coloured, almost like a wheat field in June, and the other again deep amber. Of course, this was to show us the difference between maturation in ex-bourbon barrels and ex-sherry casks. Finally, a real gem: an 18y matured in a refill sherry cask, lighter in colour than the previous sherry matured drams, but more delicate and nuanced. Overall, a great experience.

The Single Cask bottles at the shop were a bit expensive (among the ones we tried, the cheapest was £85 for a half-litre bottle), so we decided to buy a “bottle your own” expression. They had three, all cask strength but not single casks: a 12y (£55 for a 70cl bottle), a 15y (£70 for 70cl) and an 18y (£110 we think, but we might not remember correctly); we chose the 15y, whose cask make-up reminds a lot the one of their 15y core range, although this one is not chill-filtered. To note the impressive collection of Glenlivet expressions available at the shop, as well as whisky from other Pernod-Ricard distilleries (these ones in the single casks range).

Of course one of us could not taste these beauties right away, and today Teresa picked the shortest straw. Back in the van, we drove towards the village of Aberlour, where we had booked a pitch at a lovely camping. The second and last distillery of the day is one producing a whisky we both really enjoyed so far, so we were very hyped up and we didn’t want either of us to miss the tasting. So, after checking in at the camping, we walked towards the distillery on a nice trail, and 50 minutes after (someone miscalculated and thought there were only 20 minutes…ehm, Gianluigi for once) we arrived at GlenAllachie!

Here as well, tours were not available, so the experience offered to us was a video tour and a tasting. The video was very entertaining and one of the best substitutes for a walk into a distillery that we have experienced. The guide Graham interrupted the video a few times to give us the opportunity to taste the delicious drams (although with a very tiny version of a Glencairn glass, almost could not stick our noses into it!). These were: a GlenAllachie 15y, two of their distillery single casks (2009 Grattamacco finish and 2006 ex-oloroso full maturation, both cask strength, priced £100 and above) and finally a 21y McNair Lum Reek (46%). He also gave us a taste of theMcNair upcoming rums, two 7y (one finished in an ex-peated whisky…very interesting!) and a 15y. Gianluigi in particular appreciated this, as he is starting getting more and more into rum as well (oh noooo).

Something that we both always experienced, since the beginning of our whisky journey, is a connection with the red wine finished whiskies. We grew up in different parts of Italy, but both our families come from the countryside. There, red wine is almost always the drink of choice during meals. All this to say that the Grattamacco had to come home with us (nice excuse, isn’t it?), together with a miniature of the mighty 10y cask strength, a dram now very hard to get hold of when a new batch is released. After we left GlenAllachie we walked back to Aberlour through a wood, near the Linn Falls and along the Aberlour distillery (…no worries, just walking past it, we already visited it in December 2019, but it’s a story for another time).

The quality of pictures decreases after two tastings…

We had a quick pint and a warm soup in a pub before heading back to the camping, tired but happy. Our first attempt to grill failed miserably as the charcoal was too humid after all the rain of the night before. So, we sadly cooked the meat on the portable cooker, and we quickly went to bed, to get ready for another adventure!

Glenlivet The Single Casks Tasting

Price: £30.00 pp (July 2021)

Tasting: 4 drams from the Glenlivet single casks bottlings (for us 12y 1^st fill ex-sherry butt, 16y 1^st fill ex-bourbon barrel, 16y 1^st fill ex-sherry butt, 18y 2^nd fill ex-sherry butt, all cask strength)

Target: whisky enthusiasts and geeks

Value for money: Good

Highlights: the drams and the renovated visitor centre

Things we did not like: the single casks bottling prices

Link: https://www.theglenlivet.com/en-UK

GlenAllachie Premium Experience

Price: £30.00 pp (July 2021)

Tasting: 4x20ml drams, GlenAllachie 15y, two distillery exclusive single casks 2006 ex-oloroso hhd and 2009 Grattamacco finish, MacNair Lum Reek Blended Malt 21y. Complimentary mini glencairn.

Target: whisky enthusiasts and geeks

Value for money: Good

Highlights: the drams and the video distillery tour

Things we did not like: nothing really

Link: https://theglenallachie.com/

Road-trippin in the US

Wine not?

How things are done!(Day 3 & 4)

A warehouse at the end of the road (day 1)

A trip to Orkney Speyside et al. (day 10)

A trip to Orkney Speyside et al. (day 7, 8 and 9)

A trip to Orkney Speyside et al. (day 5 and 6)

A trip to Orkney Speyside et al. (day 4)