Whisk(e)y drinking tours

[hellkat]

Anybody done one of these?
I'd be interested to know opinions, preferences, suggestions or whatevs, whatevs.

I've started to look at things like Islay and Speyside tours, and am interested in going to either Ireland or Scotland, I don't care which, as I love both countries and am happy to explore them both further.

I'm not a fan of whiskey myself, and don't know much about it, other than that I like a nice whiskey sour from time to time - but am certainly interested to learn, and maybe take the time to tell the difference.

Budget isn't really an issue, although having said that, comfort is more of a requirement than luxury - one is definitely too old to backpack. But obviously if we are going to traipse about a bit in a genteel sort of way (the interesting part for me is the scenery, which in either case is similar to NZ), then I want somewhere nice and comfortable to go back to ... but I am not yet interested in doing old-people tours*.



* not because I am not yet old enough to be designated "old" - but more that I've never really much been one for package tours, although I suppose I could try it.
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Not nearly as interesting in real life.

[JackButler]

Despite being a WHISKY connoisseur I've only ever done one tour which was at the Dalwhinnie distillery . . . And very interesting & informative it proved to be.

I particularly liked the story about the angels share !
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I clean my guns with the tears of the snivelling, left wing scum.

[Diggs]

[Riejufixing]

[Easy-X]

Um... I don't want to be mean but brewery and distillery tours are more of a blokey thing. Do you have, perchance, some sort of ulterior motive?

At the end of the day it's just a museum tour with booze*

*I've done about 3 or 4
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[stinkwheel]

If budget genuinely isn't an issue, you should get in touch with my mate Guy. He'll take you on a whisky tour in his Jaaag. Or maybe even in his Armstrong Siddley Saphire for the more local ones to him.

He's done it before for folks and he's a big whisky fan too. I reckon you'd like guy. Not sure if you'd know exactly what to make of him but I think you'd like him.

Not a cheap way to do this but certainly a very comfortable one.

Scroll down in the "news" section of his website for pics of the last 5-day whisky tour he took folks on.
https://armstrongsjourneys.com
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“Rule one: Always stick around for one more drink. That's when things happen. That's when you find out everything you want to know.”
I did the 2010 Round Britain Rally on my 350 Bullet. 89 landmarks, 3 months, 9,500 miles.

[hellkat]

[hellkat]

[hellkat]

[hellkat]

[hellkat]

[garth]

I did a tour of the JD Distillery when in 'Murica.

Smelt funny. Got a bit wobbly afterwards on the green label stuff.

I don't really like whiskey but still enjoyed the day. Scotland would probably be better because less chance of being shot.
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You ain't a has been if you never was

[ThunderGuts]

I like whisky (no 'e' although I haven't fully explored the Irish stuff) a lot; distillery tours in Scotland vary a bit depending on the size of the distillery usually as the bigger outfits will have a more polished and commercialised tour, smaller ones will be more informal. All tend to be enjoyable although a proportion of the tour is explaining how whisky is made and that's the same process across the board so if visiting distillery after distillery that bit could get a bit tiresome.

My wife finds distillery tours interesting, even though she can't stand whisky. The distilleries themselves are usually quite interesting places, especially if they let you into where they keep the full casks (they did this on a Talisker tour on Skye when I went on it in 2006).

I would suggest you get a whisky tasting set (available in various guises but essentially a number of minis of single malts) and take a bit of time to try and understand the styles and their flavour profiles. Islay whiskies are in a different world to Speysides; the former are intensely smoky/peaty and sometimes almost slightly chemical to some (not me, but I've heard the description), Speysides are more gentle and tend to be sweeter (relatively).

Once you've got at least an inkling of an insight into whisky flavours, it might better steer where you go? There are distilleries in virtually every corner of Scotland (although most are north of the central belt) so unless you want to do a lot of driving/travelling around, you might want to focus. The Islands off the west coast (Islay, Mull, Skye etc.) tend to produce smoky/peaty whiskies, the mainland less so.

Enjoy either way, it's a great holiday concept. Try to visit The Whisky Castle in Tomintoul if you get the chance (and you develop a liking for whisky); he has some fantastic whiskies there you will struggle to see anywhere else (lots of independent bottlings) and for not massive money either.
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TG.

[c_dug]

[Easy-X]

The first one I went on was St.Austell brewery when I was a wee lad (18 obs.) If you're interested in things then the process of making beer is some synthesis between very old and very new, beer being the cornerstone of civilisation since the Babylonians. Spirits can be either be steeped in history with the property of various woods for the barrels, the ancient art of cooperage and so on or it might just be some Heath Robinson affair of pipework, depends what's being made.

If you're more interesting in people you'll obviously get the life stories of the founders and key personnel over the years. And little nuggets of info: at one time St.Austell brewery operated a bonded warehouse, they bought rum from the Caribbean and let it sit there for 7 years before it went to the pubs.

You'll more likely get a PR drone at larger breweries/distilleries, i.e. less entertaining, I like the smaller, family-run type affairs.
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[Freddyfruitba...]

[JackButler]

Despite considering myself as not only a whisky connosseur, but probably this world's foremost 'expert' on single malts, I have to say that an organised tour of distillerys is beginning to sound very bad.

An organised tour? What, are you 80yrs old or one of the window lickers?

Ride the bike up the east coast & ride the bike back home again down the west.

If God does ride a motorcycle he rides it along the A82 from Inverness to Glasgow . . . Sorry, I forgot. No one here is that much a rider.
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I clean my guns with the tears of the snivelling, left wing scum.

[hellkat]

Ooo listen to you get out of your box.

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Not nearly as interesting in real life.

[hellkat]

[hellkat]

[hellkat]

[A100man]

[A100man]

In a similar vein, but without the 'romantic' overtones I've been compiling some London pub tours I wish to undertake when the war's over. Usually these involve 10 pubs and about 10 miles walking
Fill pockets with pork pies and sandwiches train to the smoke and off you go.

I go with a pal or two - bit lonely otherwise.
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[c_dug]

[A100man]