WHISKY TOUR FOR AUSTRALIAN (& SOUTH AFRICAN) GUESTS, JULY/AUGUST 2015

We were happy to take our guests on tour with us up to Speyside, a very fast turn around needed, as they only contacted us two weeks ago, but – as usual, we performed well! With a meet and greet at Inverness airport on the Friday (11am), we set out immediately for Dufftown, lunch had been pre booked at Glenfiddich distillery. Whilst Liz and myself took it easy, they dived right into Cullen Skink and a main course! Not only the food, but a few drams (including a Monkey Shoulder) each were also on the menu, these in addition to the Innis & Gunn beer and 2 drams en route in our vehicle, a good start.

After lunch an introductory video, then shown around the distillery. THE SECRETS OF SOLERA During their visit to warehouse 8, they discovered what makes the 15 year old such an exceptional dram, then into the malt masters blending room: enjoy tasting a number of cask-strength samples. They also stepped into Malt Master Brian Kinsman’s role, preparing their own version of Glenfiddich 15 year old by combining different cask samples together. Two and a half hours later, we met them again (Liz and myself had been working in the restaurant the whole time, on our 2016 Spirit of Speyside tours and events). We drove the short distance to the Highlander, said hello (and a chat) to Tatsuya Minagawa the new owner we know from years back actually, settled down to more beer and whisky ! I did feel sorry for Liz, she was driving this tour so couldnee drink ! Felt sorry for myself also, a recent hospital case which curtailed my own drinking. From here we travelled to Lossiemouth, our hotel overlooked the Old Moray Golf Course, looking out across the Moray Firth. Ten minutes after check in, we all gathered at the bar, needless to say, our guests ended the evening around 12.45, a good first day!

Saturday saw us depart at 10am (sleep in, after a re designed second day last night at the bar) and arrived at Glen Moray distillery for a standard tour, followed by our own/GM tasting session, which went down really well ; GM 10yo Chardonnay, Classic Port Cask finish, Peated Classic with a bottle of Wolf beer ! The day changed again as it was so sunny ! Golf this afternoon, we persuaded them to come with us to Aberlour, lunch at the Mash Tun and then the Highland Games at Aberlour. Just as we left the Mash the heavens opened – literally. Another change, we took them back to Dufftown and a friend of mine, David gave them all kilts to try on, lots of fun and drams there ! The Fife Inn entertained us all after the kilts, before once again heading back to Lossie. A round of golf followed in the evening sunshine. Another long night at the bar!

Sunday was the final day, guess who slept in ? guess we changed plans again ? Aye to both. A quick tour around Lossie and the beaches, then dropped into Spynie Palace for a look around. Spynie was for five centuries the residence of the bishops of Moray, the ruin of Spynie Palace does survive remarkably intact. From here to Culloden Battlefield museum and finally Inverness for lunch – lamb shanks and beer/whisky. A 2.15 drop at Inverness airport saw our guests away. Liz and myself really enjoyed the craik and a fast brief ride around Speyside, more distilleries had been planned, but – due to guests ideas/requests, the weather and time zones, we did alter things quite a lot « on the hoof » !

Another mcleanscotland tour under our belt. We would like to thanks Adam, Ian, Wayne, Chris and Matt for touring with us and – trusting us !

Written by Paul McLean. www.mcleanscotland.com