Jolly Jaunt
Annandale Distillery Visit
12 October, 2014

Jolly Toper on the Road

Prior to its official opening, the distillery invited Jolly Toper to organize a sneak peak tour of the facility, for a group of twenty-five whiskyphiles from the Edinburgh area. A rare glimpse into a distillery that is yet to begin production was quite a treat, particularly considering this is a Lowland distillery. When it begins production, which may peak at 250,000 liters per year capacity, Annandale will serve as Scotland’s most southerly active distillery.

Touring and Tasting

The day-long trip included an assembly in central Edinburgh and a pleasant two-hour coach ride through the Scottish Borders to Dumfries and Galloway. Upon arrival the visitors assembled at the Village Inn in Kirtlebridge, a few miles from the distillery. Because of the space available and construction works still in progress, the visitor team was divided in two manageable groups. Jolly Toper’s program included an educational tasting on closed distilleries—a lineup of five whiskies—but in a manner slightly different from his usual tasting program. It proved to be an interesting approach. After the first group departed for the distillery, the others engaged in a three-whiskies tasting session. Upon the return their roles changed. Later, the groups joined into another session with two more whiskies.

This approach has created an inspiring whisky experience, which became a conversation topic in the aftermath. The members of each group compared notes on the first three separately-tasted whiskies and the distillery tour with their counterparts.

Equal Attention to Past and Future

At the distillery, Michael Hanratty, Annandale’s Whisky Experience Manager, took special care in giving equal attention to everyone, answering questions about its past, present, and projections for the future. Here, one feels that “the present is the fruit of the past and contains the seeds of the future,” as a scholar of culture, E. Rostlund, once noted. Emphasis on history is evident in an attempt to integrate the distillery into the landscape and cultural context. Remnants of the 19th century masonry, discovered during the recent construction, have been preserved to illustrate this very point. Future visitors will be in position to learn about the four iterations of Annandale Distillery, its place in the industry and the local and overall Scottish history.

Within the Walls

Inside, creating an aesthetically pleasing environment has received much attention. This is particularly evident—to the visitors’ great satisfaction—in the open floor still room. A comment that this was one of “the most beautiful” in Scotland was not inappropriate. The photographs speak even louder than words. Stills, slightly elevated from the washbacks made of Douglas fir, make for an enjoyable view the moment a person steps in the room. Condensers are outside. Although it does not appear that way, the stills are actually at the ground level, because the building is dug into the ground.  The future tasting room leaves an impression of a cozy place where the visitors will have fun. Distillery’s theme of rock and crafted wood are represented in the tasting room, too. During our visit the work to finish the details was still ongoing.

Wrapping Up

Time flies by fast when people have fun. After the tour and the final part of the tasting, an occasional pint and a war story or two, the group gathered for the departure. In a cheerful mood Jolly and the Topers carried conversations about the latest adventure to Edinburgh. Already in the making are future Jolly Jaunts to other Scotch whisky destinations.

Whiskies tasted:

North of Scotland 1972 42yo single grain bottled by Pearls of Scotland
Littlemill 22yo bottled by Cadenheads
Cambus 22yo single grain from a re-filled sherry butt bottled by Signatory
Caperdonich 1999 bottled by Gordon & MacPhail
And a peaty dram to finish: Machir Bay 2014 release from Kilchoman

About: Jolly Toper Whisky Tastings (jollytoper.com) is Edinburgh’s premier whisky tasting event. Regularly scheduled and the special events are designed for novices and experts alike and take place in different venues, including tastings on a canal barge, whisky walks, and most recently a tasting on the road while visiting a distillery. The latter, under that name Jolly Jaunt, has been created to accommodate customers’ growing requests for a niche-type touring of distilleries. Contact at info@jollytoper.com or +44 (0)757 434 694. Facebook: http://goo.gl/CzSIWD

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