Welcome to Scotland and its famous national drink with which visitors can connect via distillery tours.

Options for Distillery Tours in Scotland

Visitors should consider the following:-

• Joining a scheduled tour which includes distilleries in the itinerary.
• Arrange a private/customised tour to meet particular needs.
• Arrange a self-drive (or driving) tour to cover preferred distilleries. Bear in mind Scotland’s restrictive drink-driving laws.
• In cities such as Glasgow and Edinburgh it may be possible to visit local distilleries on foot and/or by public transport.

Here is information on the Scotch Whisky industry:-

Working Distilleries

There are over one hundred working whisky distilleries in Scotland most of  which produce a product known as a ‘single malt’. Single malt is a term which means the product of a single distillery. Some of the output goes into blends such as Johnnie Walker whilst the rest is sold as a single malt under such labels as Glenfiddich, Single malt whisky is made from barley.  Additionally, there are a small number of distilleries which  produce whisky from grain such as wheat or maize. Grain whisky tends to be produced on an industrial scale and is mainly used as a constituent of blended whisky.

Whisky regions

The industry is split into four whisky regions:

Speyside

About forty five distilleries in the central Highlands centred around Grantown-on-Spey  and Dufftown. The names here include Aberlour, Balvenie, Cardhu, Glenfarclas, Glenfiddich, Glenlivet, Macallan, Strathisla and Tamdhu.

Highlands

Here can be found about twenty- seven distilleries which include: Edradour, Glenmorangie, Old Pultney, Glen Ord, Royal Lochnagar, and Glengoyne.

Islands

This region is home to about fourteen distilleries which include: Ardbeg, and Bowmore, (Islay), , Highland Park (Orkney), Springbank (Campbeltown) and Talisker (Isle of Skye) .

Lowlands

There are around five distilleries which include: Auchentoshan (Glasgow) and Glenkinchie (near Edinburgh).

Information on the whisky making process

The single malt manufacturing process is identical across the industry entailing malting, mashing, fermentation, distillation and maturation. However, each distillery has established a unique product identity as a function of subtle variations influenced by shape of stills, water supply, constituent of the malted barley and the maturation process. Distilleries on Islay (such as Ardbeg and Lagavulin) are renowned for producing a smokey or peated whisky whereas most other malts have low or zero peat content. The vast majority of Scotch whisky is produced using a double distillation process. Auchentoshan, in common with Irish distilleries, uses triple distillation.

Distillery Tours Scotland

About half of the producing distilleries provide tours and tastings for visitors. Standard tours last about one hour whilst more extensive and detailed nosing and tasting tours can last for about three hours or longer. Check individual distillery websites for details.

Consider also a visit to Speyside Cooperage on Speyside which is dedicated to the manufacture of whisky casks. Tours are available which enable visitors to observe the highly motivated coopers at work.

More Information

For more information on Scotland’s whisky industry and touring opportunities within Scotland please refer to Visitors’ Guide to Scotland, ISBN 978-1-9161332-0-4