Category: Scotland
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The Geology of Scotland and the book Scotch on the Rocks
In my studies of water in spirits and cocktails, I picked up the book Whisky on the Rocks: Origins of the 'Water of Life' by Stephen and Julie Cribb. The book is about the geography of Scotland and how that influences the water sources for scotch whisky. It turns out Scotland's geology is pretty varied…
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I Peated in your Scotch: A Trip to Laphroaig
In June I took a short trip to Islay, Scotland to see how Laphroaig single-malt scotch whisky is made. Islay is an island off the coast of Scotland known for its smoky, peaty whiskies. What Laphroaig does differently from other scotch producers, as you'll read, is: Floor maltings Separation of malt flavoring (with peat smoke)…
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Fettercairn Distillery Visit- Single Malt Scotch Whisky Distillery Tour
Last week I visited the Isle of Jura, The Dalmore, and Fettercairn distilleries in Scotland. These brands are all owned by White & Mackay. This post is about visiting the Fettercairn distillery. (Fettercairn marked with red pin. Map made with Google Maps) From The Dalmore distillery we went on yet another gorgeous drive over two…
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The Dalmore Distillery Visit- A Single Malt Scotch Whisky Distillery Tour
Last week I visited the Isle of Jura, The Dalmore, and Fettercairn distilleries in Scotland. These brands are all owned by White & Mackay. This post is about visiting The Dalmore distillery. (The Dalmore distillery indicated by red dot. Map from Google Maps.) From Jura, we took a boat to the mainland and then drove…
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Jura Distillery Visit- A Single Malt Scotch Whisky Distillery Tour
Last week I visited my 50th distillery/blending house at the Isle of Jura. What made it extra special is that we hit it at 1:30 in the morning. Though the Isle of Jura is closer to mainland Scotland than Islay, to reach it you take either a plane or ferry to Islay then another quick…
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Blending Scotch Whisky at Morrison Bowmore
After my visit to the Bowmore and Auchentoshan distilleries, our group stopped by the headquarters of their parent company, Morrison Bowmore. (This company is in turned owned by Suntory, and is distributed in the United States by Skyy Spirits.) There we met with Senior Blender Iain McCallum, who is sort of a legend even…
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An Auchentoshan Distillery Visit
On the last day of my trip to Scotland with Bowmore, we went to another distillery, Auchentoshan. This distillery is located just outside of Glasgow, on a former estate. Auchentoshan is in the Lowland region of Scotland, one of just five single-malt-producing distilleries there. It’s also unique as the only scotch distillery that triple distills…
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A Visit to Bowmore on Islay in Scotland
Hello from Islay! I'm in Scotland on a trip with Bowmore. After a first night of bar exploration and jetlag adaptation in Glasgow, I was ready for the press trip to begin. I spent the morning blogging about the previous night, then had a day to explore Glasgow. I can't say I learned a…
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Scotland Day Eight: Edinburgh and the castle
We had a nearly four hour drive from Speyside to Edinburgh for our last day on the trip, but it wasn’t drama-free by any means. Once again, the back door of the van popped open while we were going down the highway and two peoples’ luggage fell out. I watched as one tumbled behind our…