Scottish Malt Whisky Distilleries Visitors Centres

U¿ytkownik "Kevin Heywood" napisa³:

I have visited all of the distilleries you mentioned, and generally agree on your comments about them. To these I would add the following:

I enjoyed my visit to the Macallan, but that was way back in 2000, when they were still receiving visitors at Easter Elchies. Have been to have a look at the modern Visitor Centre opened a couple of years ago (if memory serves), and was most disappointed by the mass-tourism approach they seem to have taken.

A visit to Tomintoul was quite a different experience - no hype, no mythology, just straight discussion of how their whisky is actually made. You may not be a fan of their whiskies, but the tour was most informative and eye-opening in many respects.

Oban, Talisker and Glen Ord - most disappointing, but I may have been just unlucky with the guides. Appalling as it may sound, most of them had difficulties explaining what a single malt was.

Absolutely hated Cardhu and Dalwhinnie - felt like a tour organised for kindergarten kids. I felt I was lucky the (most incompetent) guide didn't have us hold each other's hand and march in orderly columns.

Glen Grant - an incompetent guide again (e.g. reciting the obviously memorised lines on the different types of casks while standing right next to a hogshead and a butt, but unable to point which one was which), but an interesting multimedia display in General Grant's studio, stunning garden (well worth visiting on its own right), and a choice of two whiskies to sample at the end of the tour - the NAS and 10yo.

At Glenlivet they don't charge any admission fee if the distillery is in the middle of the silent season (only too fair!), and they offer three different expressions to sample at the end of the tour - the 12yo, the 12yo French Oak and the 18yo.

I don't know if that has been rectified, but one of their guides insisted the casks in which whisky matures was made of Oregon pine! No comments.

Cheers, Rajmund

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Agree, my favourite on the island

The above happened to me as well!

The put on a free tasting session which I thoroughly enjoyed

Lagavulin: Efficient and quite good, particularly enjoyed being left in the sampling room. Not a visitor centre but a reception.

Laphroaig: Absolutely superb, but then our guide was not less than Iain Henderson! No visitor centre but a lovely tour lounge.

Bunnahabain: We are the only ones there (probabaly as the place looks like a prison) but we got the full tour - 10/10 for effort and personal attention. Nice people. A small shop.

Bruichladdich: Awful. The young guide knew nothing about malt and we felt rushed. I know others have found this tour to be good. Nice visitor centre though.

Caol Ila: Tidy and small shop. No tours when we visited.

Great information! We are actually considering Scotland for our family holiday next summer. I will have to keep these notes where I can find them.

Charles Perry P.E.

My wife and I were there last year right at the end of the silent season (mash tuns were full stills cold) and I agree that this was the best tour we went on. Knowledgable guide (her husband worked there ...hmmmm) and at the end we got to try some truly exceptional whisky. The Store is good and the cafe/restaurant is fantastic.

We also enjoyed this one... kind fo one dimensional but solid

We had a great guide... but then again that may have been due to the season... the full staff was on hand but many had nothing to do .. our guide was the manager of the bottling line and his interest and pride were obvious.. at the end Jim Mcewan was hanging around with a number of rather good drams..

off the island we saw

Aberlour which was a great tour .. the guide was a student working part time but she knew her stuff at the end there was a tutored tasting with new make spirit the 10y/o, 15y/o, A'bunagh, a straight from the cask 12 y/o Bourbon and 14y/o Sherry... I was unable to drive away..

Edradour was also a professional guide, well worth going to it informative and really interesting. (the first tour we went on driving north from edinburgh)

Glenfarclas the tour guide was the still manager (they were cold and just about ready to start)he did our tour because the "official" guide was waiting for a bus that had been delayed. I was with a good group and we had a lot of detailed discussions about distillery trivia.. (he was concerned about the water after a very dry winter .. and explained why in great detail.. I think he enjoyed the tour as well since at the end he hung around and we got a small vertical 12/17/21 which is aparently not standard.

Glen Ord ... great museum / fair store / guide was trying but didn't know much.