I spent a good amount of time researching various distilleries and tour operators before we went, but I still had several “wish I had known moments” that I want to document for others thinking of making a similar trip. If you treat this experience like a weekend drunk fest in Napa Valley or a pub crawl in Dublin, then any tour service will work.
However, if you want to have a “whiskey taste-altering experience,” you need to find a private guide who is flexible, asks a lot of questions of you, and is willing to develop an experience that is perfect for you. We had a great time on the trip, and our guide, Duncan from Highland Whiskey Tours, did a fantastic job before and during the trip to make it extra special. Considering some of his suggestions and what we learned from the trip, here are some considerations.
What is the goal of the trip?
Our original goal was to visit that part of Scotland and learn about and taste Speyside whiskey. It seems simple enough, but it can take on another dimension once you get there. I wish you had thought it out more and made different choices.
Distillery Visits – as all will tell you, the whiskey process is essentially the same, so you could do a one-and-done on distilleries. Yes, each has differences that make them unique, and I never dreaded any of the tours, but I can see where it might get repetitive for some people. If you have a deep interest in the distilling process and want to understand some of the nuances of how specific products get their distinct tastes, then I suggest doing multiple tours. I learned a lot about the sizes and shapes of stills and how the types, sizes, and aging in barrels impact the final taste profile. Learned terms like marriages and taste/nose of each element are combined to create the specific profile the blender desires. Just be aware that the non-whiskey geek with you may get bored after the first couple of them. In many cases, they don’t just do tastings; you have to go on a tour to do the tasting. There were a few like Arberlour where we could do a variety of tastings without a tour.
Tasting – My goal was to taste whiskeys that are not readily available in the US. If you only want to taste, go to any of the number of whiskey bars, restaurants, or even hotel bars, with most bragging about having 100 or more variations. Doing it at the distillery gives an extra exceptional experience, especially if tasting rooms are set up in an old office/library like at Craggmore Distillery. While many want you to do the tour to taste,, others have small cafe where you can order a dram wth something to eat.
A few, like Arberlour and Strathisla, have specialty tastings like the Casks of the Past and the Cellar Collection. Both were the highlight of the trip, with the tasting at Strathisla being the biggest surprise. Strathisla is the name of Chivas’ Distillery. Here, we did the Cellar Tasting, where we got to try several options straight from the cask. While not that old, the 25-year and Ultis were new additions to my preferences. The Arberlour Casks of the Past had us blind taste-testing a variety of reserve collections ranging from 24 to 37 years from old Distilleries that are no longer producing.
Time of Year – We hit it right when the weather was changing into spring. The weather was not bad; powerful winds made it colder than outside. These were our first pictures in Scotland that had sunlight, so we hit it perfectly. Many places are not open until spring and summer and/or have limited hours. There are some distilleries that are only open to visitors during the week, so if you want to go somewhere specific, make sure you are there when they are actually open.
The base of Operations – Speyside runs from Inverses to Aberdeen, and there are few hotel options in the middle. Depending on your budget and comfort level. Most of the day you are touring, so you just need to think of breakfast and dinner. Since they are European hotels, breakfast is typically included. Initially, we planned to stay in Arberlour, but we remained in Elgin at our guide’s suggestion. This was a win since the grocery store was across the street, the high street with numerous restaurants was a few blocks away and we could walk to a few of the old sites like the Elgin Cathedral and Woolen Mills. This was right on the train line so we could walk from the train station across the street to the hotel. We completed our tour in Keith and caught the train back to Aberdeen.
Getting There – Speyside is in the north with flights into Inverness and Aberdeen. You can take a longer trip from Glasgow or Edinburgh. We got a great deal on Aer Lingus to Aberdeen. We then tool Scot Rail from the station near the airport to Elgin. It took just over an hour and was about $50 US round trip.
One significant consideration for the airport of departure that we had not considered was getting a duty refund. Whisky duty in Scotland is 74%, and depending on how much you buy, some of the larger distilleries participate in one of the duty-free programs. You can at least ask for an additional receipt. Aberdeen does not have a central duty-free station but has a collection box by Gate 1 that you can put your completed forms into. Supposedly, they will add the customs stamp to the form and send it in a post-paid envelope. We received our refund to our credit card about a month later. Had we flown through Heathrow, we could have gotten our duty back in cash.
Buying Whiskey
The goal is to find bottles you cannot easily get at home. Most distilleries have Distillery Exclusive bottles that you can only get on-site. These are tempting, but do they meet your criteria? Yes, you cannot get it, but it is often a blend similar to those in Duty-Free. For any that you are considering, ask them to add it to one of your drams or pay for a separate tasting for it.
Luggage space and TSA tax-free allocations dictate what you can bring back. Nearly every place we found something we liked and wanted a bottle. We did settle for a few variety sets and smaller bottles that were easier to pack. We brought wine bottle protectors, bubble wrap, etc, but since we were going to our favorites on day 2, we wanted to ensure we had plenty of space and allocation for those bottles.
The more you think about what you want to do and get out of the tour, the better it will be. We cannot wait to return and will be even more prepared this time.
