Why we are in love with whisky …

Before we go on, dinnae get me wrong, we are no Jakies (A scottish word for an alcoholic/drunk. Can usually be found living in a cardboard box wearing a worn out leather jacket and an unshaven mush.. ‘Those jakies downstairs won’t shut the flip up, one of them was lying unconscious at the gate this morning with an empty bottle of Buckie.’), no – we love the golden brew for many reasons; its taste, its looks, how each is different (take note vodka), its various monetary values, its industry people and lastly – maybe most importantly, the whisky lovers we meet on our tours!

Liz and I meet so many people in the course of a year, some once a year on tour, others many times a year at distilleries, fab people such as Andrew at Edradour, Emma and Iain at Glen Moray, aye and the lovely Linzi where we get all our cars from – without a dram we would never have met most of these people. We love the whole process, the enquiry, the emails/phone calls, the tour design, the booking of said tours (more people we meet over and over are hotel people), and even better, people pay us to drive around our beautiful country enjoying ourselves! Does life get better?

Er aye it does, because when people (clients, guests, friends) pay us to drive them, included are many drams we just have to join in with! It is glorious research and development for our business, it’s a hard life but someone has to do it. Every tour is different, the weather changes, the light changes, obviously the seasons change, people in the car/coaches change, the only thing that remains are the distilleries, but again – we do not visit the same ones every tour. What I am trying to say is that I love what I do and if anyone oot there wishes to do my life – it is yours for £1,000,000. You can have the lifestyle, the websites, the contacts and my blessing. But you know what? Give me that £1 million and I will still be following the tours around, it’s now firmly rooted in our blood.

So much so that in the funny season (mid winter), Liz and myself take off for a few days and do our own tour (research and development). Every year we have a fabulous staff outing (Liz and myself, sorry to our other drivers oot there), this year we are away again to Auld Reekie for a few days, nice Georgian apartment booked, superb food, great laughs and fab times, all seasoned with a dram or two. Two whisky lovers let loose in the Capital to explore and have fun.

So what of this year? It was busy, really busy. With 90% of business dedicated to whisky tourism, are we tired? Aye, but we can sit doon and look at new whisky bottles looking back at us, waiting for the grand opening. We are looking forward to Edinburgh so we are, it’s a fitting reward. Before that we will be away to a whisky trip with a difference, fireworks, food, friends and drams on a boat doon in deepest Ayrshire. Liz and myself on a research trip of course, trying to find the kingsize hotel afterward in Irvine will be a new mystery. Next year – 2018. With around 6 months of tour dates already booked up, it looks like another year of total whisky pleasures once again! Would you like to join us? Get your bookings in as soon as, already Paul, Liz, Andy, Ron, Mark and Derek have diaries filling up. Grand tours, whisky festivals, schools, tastings and whisky experiences – see you sooon for some more water of life fun in the Scottish sun.

Blethered here by Paul. www.mcleanscotland.com  www.whiskytours.scot