Whiskey in Scotland

Whiskey at Glengoyne distillery.

Someone once asked me "What is the difference between rain in Scotland and rain in England?" The answer is simple. The rain in Scotland eventually becomes whiskey! I was never a person who enjoyed a whiskey even though my late dad used to love a glass of whiskey after work. On my first upgrade on Emirates, while looking at the business class menu, I noticed that they had a 21 year old Chivas regal on the menu. I thought that my step son (Hardy) would "kill me" if I told him I could have tasted a 21 year old whiskey and did not, so I tried it. Thereafter started my love affair with whiskey! I can, by no stretch of the imagination, call myself an expert on whiskey, but I know what I like, and I like heavily peated single malt whishey!

Whiskey tasting at the world of whiskey in Edinburgh

During my recent trip to Scotland I made the most of the opportunity to find out more about this very special drink of the Scots. The very best place to start is the "Whiskey Experience" in Edinburgh. This is not hard to find. It is just outside the castle on the royal mile. Two of the students who were also attending the congress in Scotland with me and I did this tour. There are a few options. The cheaper option where you get to taste one whiskey, or the more expensive option where you get to taste 5  whiskeys, one from

Largest whiskey collection in the world.

A still on Glengoyne distillery

The process of aging whiskey in the different barrels

each of the regions. We went for the 5 different whiskeys. The tour started off like a theme park ride where you climb into a whiskey barrel and move through the process of the whiskey making. As a microbiologist who has some understanding of the principles of fermentation, I found this part of the tour very interesting. It then proceeded to a room where the different whiskey producing regions is Scotland were explained. A sniff card was provided to get the different smells of whiskey from different regions. The different regions are Highlands, Lowlands, Spayside, Islay and Campbeltown. The tasting was held in a very special room which houses the largest collection of Whiskey in the world.One of the whiskeys we could taste was a heavily peated whiskey from the Islay region. The tour guide said that there is no middle of the road with peated whiskey, you either love it or hate it. After my first taste I fell head over heels in love with the peated Whiskey. The peated whiskey on the tour was a Port Charlotte. Really great. I also took the opportunity to visit a few of the distilleries. I went to the Deanston distillery and also the Glengoyne distillery Which is on the boarder between the highland and lowland whiskey. Really great experience. I went with Rabbies tours - I will talk about them in a later post.On both of the distillery tours, you are taken through the whole process of whiskey making and each step is explained. Once the fermented barley has been distilled, a pretty clear spirt is produced. The colour and disticnt flavour of whiskey comes from the time spent in the barrel and also the type of barrel. The water is Scotland also plays a very important part in the Unique taste and quality of Scotland's national drink - Whiskey!