Whiskey distillery tours

Wild Oggie

Wild Oggie

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At some time, hopefully this year! We intend to do a hhhhrrrmmmm NC500 tour, (never been there before)
It will be like hmmmm the weather forecast for up there is above freezing just, "come on let's give it a go"

Now I do like a sherry based as apposed to a peat based whiskey. Any recommendations for distillery tours
 
Highland Park, on the Orkneys uses sherry based casks, but is also a peated whisky. For me their 12 year is about the most rounded I've found that you can taste the peaty smoke without it being overpowering. Their tour is quite good as they do virtually everything there except bottling, starting from hand turning the barley.

Off course you need to detour from the NC500 onto the mainland Orkneys for that. Ferry from Scrabster to Stromness is perhaps the easiest - can be a bit lumpy if wind is up. Kirkwall has a good, central campsite with decent toilet showers, and that is central to the main island which has quite a lot to go and look at if you want to drive around for a couple of days. There is a lot of heritage, some going back to neolithic age, on the islands. And then there is the WWII history. Certainly worth a a trip once.
 
Wild Oggie said:
will be like hmmmm the weather forecast for up there is above freezing just, "come on let's give it a go"
Click to expand...
Think before you consider coming all the way up here you should MAYBE hmmmmmm consider the weather . This aint the frozen North... it is your loving and careing neibours who have temperatures not unlike yours.
But then again hmmmmmm maybe you should just stay away.
 
Old Pultenay is worth a visit as is the castle of Mey the Queen Mother’s Scottish seat.
 
This year the only way i would consider doing the NC500 would be on my motorbike. Think it's going to be so so busy and chaotic. At least on a bike one can nearly always get through.
Don't like any form of whisky so would only pull in to a distillery if they had a cafe where i could get a "nice cup of tea",:LOL:🫖

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Not many distillery on the 500 it's self
Plenty on the way up or back
I'm more of a Spayside fan not that keen on the peaty ones
 
bobnick said:
This year the only way i would consider doing the NC500 would be on my motorbike. Think it's going to be so so busy and chaotic. At least on a bike one can nearly always get through.
Don't like any form of whisky so would only pull in to a distillery if they had a cafe where i could get a "nice cup of tea",:LOL:🫖
Click to expand...
We did it last year as part of our around the outside trip, manic roads were over crowded and the locals were not very welcoming, I’d serious advise avoiding the route especially in a MH or camper, we actually had a local bloke the road and refuse to let us pass.

There are plenty of threads out there quoting issues on this route, I’d read as many as I could before setting off.
 
I’ve toured the Glenmorangie distillery as it’s my favourite whisky. I don’t know if it’s a Speyside or not but it’s not a peaty whisky. If it’s not on the NC500 it’s very close.
For me the North of Scotland is now spoilt because of the NC500. I’ve been touring the North for around 45 years or so. By motorcycle, car and motorhome. Now it’s getting far too busy with motorhomes and caravans. Usually driven by people without a clue how to drive them or how to use the passing places. Particularly using passing places to allow overtaking by drivers with either better ability or smaller more nimble vehicles.
Another one that will probably only tour this area by motorbike now.
 
Wild Oggie said:
At some time, hopefully this year! We intend to do a hhhhrrrmmmm NC500 tour, (never been there before)
It will be like hmmmm the weather forecast for up there is above freezing just, "come on let's give it a go"

Now I do like a sherry based as apposed to a peat based whiskey. Any recommendations for distillery tours
Click to expand...
You do realise don’t you that for whiskey you will be in the wrong country? For your type of whiskey you need to go to Ireland.

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Went to one many years ago at the end of the tour a free drink, In the tour were a group of elderly ladies who did not drink whisky so kept passing me theirs, thank goodness swmbo could drive.
 
Boris7 said:
We did it last year as part of our around the outside trip, manic roads were over crowded and the locals were not very welcoming, I’d serious advise avoiding the route especially in a MH or camper, we actually had a local bloke the road and refuse to let us pass.

There are plenty of threads out there quoting issues on this route, I’d read as many as I could before setting off.
Click to expand...
I did it many years ago in a convertible in November, mostly with the top down. This was well before it became popular.
Always said i would love to do it on a bike.
 
As a malt whisky drinker of many years standing I agree with many of the recommendations above. But as someone mentioned we don't drink whiskey in Scotland we drink Whisky.
 
I think you can overnight here.. (may be a Britstop ?)

Image from Search4Sites.

20210508_095808.jpg
 
Looks like some of the local porridge grazers get upset at mentioning nc500 and weather!

Thanks for the info, making a map of likely distilleries to visit
 
Wild Oggie said:
Looks like some of the local porridge grazers get upset at mentioning nc500 and weather!

Thanks for the info, making a map of likely distilleries to visit
Click to expand...
What's a porridge grazer?
 
We visited Tallisker on Skye a few years ago.all a bit of a con in my view.
When I asked can we see the malting answer no it’s all done at Diageo Inverness. Can we see the maturing store? No it’s all at Diageo Glasgow can we see bottling? No that too is Diageo Glasgow. Is the Barley grown on Skye? No contract grown for Diageo in Suffolk
So this local whisky isn’t exactly wedded to Skye is it.? Answer most Diageo whiskies have a similar production process. But this distillery is unique in that it’s on the coast and the whisky has a hint of the sea in it

More BS than I could take mind you it tasted nice and had pretty sea pictures on the box

Welcome to the wonderful world of marketing!!
 
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jopparocks said:
Maybe not so thinly veiled though
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No it’s not. Perhaps worse than trying to visit whiskey distilleries in the wrong country.
Saying either of those things whilst visiting is not going to end well for him.🥃
 
Zains Pops said:
We visited Tallisker on Skye a few years ago.all a bit of a con in my view.
When I asked can we see the malting answer no it’s all done at Diageo Inverness. Can we see the maturing store? No it’s all at Diageo Glasgow can we see bottling? No that too is Diageo Glasgow. Is the Barley grown on Skye? No contract grown for Diageo in Suffolk
So this local whisky isn’t exactly wedded to Skye is it.? Answer most Diageo whiskies have a similar production process. But this distillery is unique in that it’s on the coast and the whisky has a hint of the sea in it

More BS than I could take mind you it tasted nice and had pretty sea pictures on the box

Welcome to the wonderful world of marketing!!
Click to expand...
Most of the particular taste of a whisky is what they do ounce it's in the barrels
When it comes of the still it's just neat alcohol
As an aside the distillery's don't really care how you drink it, neat, with some water, ice or even coca cola as long as you buy it ;)
I will drink most if anyone wishes to donate (y)
 
Zains Pops said:
We visited Tallisker on Skye a few years ago.all a bit of a con in my view.
When I asked can we see the malting answer no it’s all done at Diageo Inverness. Can we see the maturing store? No it’s all at Diageo Glasgow can we see bottling? No that too is Diageo Glasgow. Is the Barley grown on Skye? No contract grown for Diageo in Suffolk
So this local whisky isn’t exactly wedded to Skye is it.? Answer most Diageo whiskies have a similar production process. But this distillery is unique in that it’s on the coast and the whisky has a hint of the sea in it

More BS than I could take mind you it tasted nice and had pretty sea pictures on the box

Welcome to the wonderful world of marketing!
Click to expand...
 
Try this one. I was up that way a few years back when we a caravan. Tuulybardene. I got one each of Sherry, Burgundy and Madeira cask matured malt. I honestly could not pick a favourite, they were all fantastic. This might be odd but, particularly the Madeora cask with a good blue Stilton cheese.
Another we visited was Edradour at the top of Pitlochry. Allegedly, the smallest commercial distillery in Scotland. The cask strength 500ml bottles in the little wooden casks. Lots of different barrel maturing options. The chardonnay cask stood out as a good one for me.

Enjoy the trip. 👍

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glenn2926 said:
No it’s not. Perhaps worse than trying to visit whiskey distilleries in the wrong country.
Saying either of those things whilst visiting is not going to end well for him.🥃
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Yes Glenn I doubt it would be a good idea to say 'Porridge Grazer' to a Scotsman or woman's face ;)
 
Come to Oban and taste 👅 the stunning Oban 14 year old and the little bay. The distillery tour is ok also. I’m just going to treat myself to large glass of little bay🥃😷👍🥃👅
 
poppycamper said:
Think before you consider coming all the way up here you should MAYBE hmmmmmm consider the weather . This aint the frozen North... it is your loving and careing neibours who have temperatures not unlike yours.
But then again hmmmmmm maybe you should just stay away.
Click to expand...

glenn2926 said:
You do realise don’t you that for whiskey you will be in the wrong country? For your type of whiskey you need to go to Ireland.
Click to expand...

Wild Oggie said:
Looks like some of the local porridge grazers get upset at mentioning nc500 and weather!

Thanks for the info, making a map of likely distilleries to visit
Click to expand...

glenn2926 said:
No it’s not. Perhaps worse than trying to visit whiskey distilleries in the wrong country.
Saying either of those things whilst visiting is not going to end well for him.🥃
Click to expand...


Lockdown has ended, the cabin fever should be dropping. stroppy comments like these are not welcome here. go and be miserable somwhere else. This is MotorhomeFun.
 

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