Even though it is far from tourist season here in the highlands, we are not letting that stop us from exploring our new place. So it was time to head north west to visit the land of Speyside malts and see what there was to see.

We headed out Saturday morning bound for Dufftown – a small village that happens to be home to Glenfiddich and seemed to be in the middle of lots of things. Well Google maps can be deceiving! Dufftown is fine – the hotel we stayed at was basic but clean and comfortable – but at least in January there is NOTHING to do. Luckily we had booked a tour at the Glenallachie Distillery in neighbouring Aberlour so we had our Saturday set. Frank had never heard of Glenallachie until we stopped at a whisky shop in Inverurie over Christmas and he got a little sampler pack. It seemed like as good a place as any to visit so that’s where we started.

For those who tour such things (wineries, breweries, etc.), you’ll know that there really isn’t much difference in how one place operates compared to others. We have toured many distilleries in the past (to the point where we once had the oldest child at about 12 roll her eyes as she answered questions about the spirit safe at one place!) so the production process was familiar. What is now interesting to me is the business part of it: how the place got started, what their market looks like, how they decide what to make, etc. Unlike wine or beer, whisky takes a LONG time to get any return on investment. There may only be 3 inexpensive ingredients (water, barley, yeast) but the equipment costs are rivalled only by the opportunity costs of aging the spirit for a dozen or so years. Bourbon has it right here: only 4 years in a new cask. For single malts, the minimum is legally 3 but no one would do that. For some reason, 10-12 years is the commercially available minimum which seems like forever. And the casks are never new – purchasing used sherry, port, bourbon and even rum casks isn’t cheap.

With that in mind, we heard about how Glenallachie is a relatively “young” distillery in that it was built in the 60s, spent most of it’s time distilling inputs to Chivas Regal, and was only sold to an independent buyer a few years ago. The production is small and the owner/master blender likes to experiment with a variety of approaches to get different flavour profiles. Or so we were told. I was the driver that day so I didn’t taste anything – Scotland’s zero tolerance policy means that drivers get small take-away tastes.

We stopped in Aberlour to have a walk about town – nearly everything there is whisky themed – before heading back to Dufftown. We had tried to do a hike to Linn’s Falls by the distillery but after more than three-quarters of a mucky, muddy mile we gave up. Instead we trekked our muddiness back to the hotel and got checked in. As it was just late afternoon, and there wasn’t anything else to do, we sat in the pub chatting to the the folks who came in for a drink. One boy was from a town not far from where Frank grew up so they played the “do you know/remember” game. Others stopped in to complain about Aberdeen FC losing to Hibs 6-0 (costing the manager his job) so that was also entertaining. Eventually we needed food so off to the Indian across the street (which was lovely) and then an early bed.

Sunday morning after breakfast we headed to the big gun in town: Glenfiddich. We made a quick stop at Balvenie Castle (a ruin that is currently closed for refurbishment?) before our tour. The contrast in the scale of operations was amazing: where Glenallachie had a 4 stills, Glenfiddich had 15 in the old still house and 20+ in the new one! It was very impressive! (By the way, the ladies toilet at the distillery is AMAZING! It has a fireplace with armchairs and everything. The boy in the shop told us it’s the most photgraphed toilet in Scotland.) The distillery is still in family hands – 5th generation – and now owns lots of other brands including Balvenie, Drambuie, and Hendrick’s gin. Because we walked to the distillery from town, I did participate in the sampling and I have to say I’m getting a taste for the stuff. Probably not good for the pocketbook or the waistline but the 15 year-old Solera was quite nice – so a bottle had to come home with us.

And home was where we headed next. We walked for a bit and got some snacks to make sure all was kosher for driving back but then it was time to head south. We are already planning our next trip: overnight in Aberlour with stops at Aberlour and Macallan (maybe a short stop at Cardhu as well?)

When are you coming to join us? 😀