Seeking out Scottish Gold

Okay...time to get to the REAL reason we went to Scotland - SCOTCH (aka single malt whisky).

The boys (Tom and Phil) had been talking off and on about making a scotch run to Scotland and indulging in Scotland's finest libation.  I jumped in pretty early expressing my desire to visit Scotland too and closed the deal by dangling out the offer to be the designated driver. 

During the summer our plans began to take shape.  We tried to lure my father-in-law into making the trip, who alas could not be tempted to cross the big watery pond of the Atlantic Ocean, and also invited along a girlfriend for me to pal around with, who as you know from my earlier post broke her ankle just weeks before the trip.  But, before knowing all of that, Tom figured that the expense of hotel rooms for everyone (possibly 5 adults, only two of whom would be sleeping together), plus a rental vehicle, plus meals, could be pretty steep.  So he tossed out the idea of getting a motor home.  This way we would have plenty of room, the ability to cook our own meals, room for everyone to sleep and plenty of reasonably priced campgrounds to choose from.  Everyone was game and so that became the plan  -- seven days touring Scotland by RV and then our last few days in Edinburgh.

The decision to get an RV eliminated ANY and ALL possibility of me being the trip's designated driver.  I am already a bit spatially challenged and then throw on top of that a larger-than-I'm-used-to conveyance, driving on the other side of the road, from the other side of the vehicle, and occasionally on very narrow roads with no shoulder, it became clear that Tom would have to be our designated driver.  This ultimately meant that he stayed relatively dry (minus his dram of Scottish gold at each of the whisky distilleries) until we reached Edinburgh where he and Phil proudly closed down a pub and then noshed on fish and chips.

Staying for a moment on the topic of food.  For our journey we needed nourishment and after about the second shopping trip we had narrowed it down to the basics.

Exhibit A:  Our Shopping Cart with all the essentials -- Beer, Bread, Coffee, Tea and meat pies!  (Disclosure: This photo has not been altered, tampered with or photoshopped in any way, nor were items removed from the cart prior to documentation.)

The essentials

We picked up these goods at a favorite find - Teesco, one of Scotland's chain shopping center.  We started seeking them out whenever we needed to replenish the stocks...sometimes continuing to drive until we reached a large enough town that might have one.  Now don't worry this isn't all we were eating.  Every morning Phil made us excellent breakfasts and I was preparing lunches and dinners when we weren't eating out.

Exhibit B: Phil cooking and frying things up in a pan.  Who knew he makes THE BEST over-easy eggs and fried potatoes.  YUM!!!!

Another essential that made it all possible but isn't pictured -- BUTTER!

So, with proper nourishment, we had the strength to go on our treasure hunt, seeking and finding the pots of gold sprinkled all across Scotland's highlands, lowlands, and islands.  I don't know the actual number but there are dozens of whisky distilleries in Scotland.  Each scotch has its own flavor and personality based on what they do with the barley, the source of their water, how long the barley ferments, how the spirit is distilled, the shape of the pot stills, how long it ages, what kind of barrels it ages in, et cetera, et cetera, et cetera.  The guided tours we went on were very good and you do pick up on the subtle differences but after the third tour you get the idea.

First stop as we neared the "Whisky Trail" was Dalwhinnie.  The boys were so happy to be at their first distillery.

It smelled so good here - like honey.

From my informational flier...Dalwhinnie, at over 1,073 feet (above sea level I'm guessing), is one of the highest distilleries in Scotland.  It's single malt whisky is known as the "Gentle Spirit" of the glen.  The distillery uses snow-fed waters of the Allt an t'Sluic, fresh from a journey through moorland heather.  Dalwhinnie, in Gaelic 'The meeting place' was where, in bygone years, drovers from the North and West would meet before driving their cattle onwards to market.

Tommy and his first dram straight from the source -- I loved the little snifters.

Bye Bye Dalwhinnie.  Some of your gold is now in Stuttgart.

After Dalwhinnie, the next pot of gold we sought was The Glenlivet.  It is the King of Scotch.  It was one of the first distilleries to come out of hiding and be legalized in 1824.  It has been at the forefront of the industry every since and it is one of Tom's favorites.

Approaching the target

A choice of dram following the free tour.

Toasting the Good Life

So after paying our respects to The Glenlivet we ventured on towards Glenfiddich.  Glenfiddich Distillery is on the Malt Whisky Trail and can be found in Dufftown.  Production started there in 1887 and it is one of the last distilleries to still bottle on site.

A little rain won't stop us.  We followed the rainbow and found some more gold.

The source of Glenfiddich and, it turns out, Balvenie too.

The ruins of Balvenie Castle are just up the road from the Glenfiddich Distillery.  Following the signs to Balvenie, thinking we were heading towards the Balvenie Distillery, is when we discovered from the sweet elderly lady running the small gift shop that Balvenie Distillery was actually down the road, co-located with Glenfiddich.  Not exactly the gold we were seeking but we did take a moment to check out the castle. 

Balvenie Castle - former stronghold of the Comyns

The final distillery of our journey was Talisker on the Isle of Skye.  Here is Scout taking a rest after a windy-road adventure that almost had me seeking shelter in the back of the RV because I couldn't stand to watch. 

Talisker is the only distillery on the Isle of Skye and it's been producing malt whisky since 1830, legally that is.  It is set off the shores of Loch Harport and uses water straight from the sea so Talisker whisky definitely has a salty sea, kind of peppery, flavor.  It was very strong.  Definitely an acquired taste but when you drink it you can certainly sense the land from which it is produced. 

Talisker was the only distillery tour where we were allowed to take pictures and that was in the cellar. During maturation...by law, whisky must be matured for a minimum of three years...a fair amount of the distilled spirit evaporates.  The spirit is actually colorless when it is filled into oak casks but through the aging process draws its golden color from the cask.  A barrel can lose as much as 25 percent of its stored liquid gold due to evaporation and they call this lose the "Angel's Share".  I'd say there are a lot of very happy angels standing behind Phil.

Just look at all that untapped gold

All smiles at the end of a respectable Scotch Run but hopefully not the last.

When it came time to return the RV the boys were faced with the daunting task of packing.

Phil's treasures

Hoping it all fits and discussing how much the airline will charge for excess weight.

In Edinburgh the mission shifted from distilleries to pubs and I think the boys did a respectable job.  I made a point of taking pictures of all the pubs they visited.  I went to all but one.

Helping us hit four pubs in a single night was a great tour that we learned about from Rick Steves called the Literary Pub Tour.  It's about a two-hour walking tour led by two actors as they debate whether the great literature of Scotland was high art or the ramblings of drunks.  The tour started at The Beehive pub and then ended at The Cafe Royal.

Retrace our steps.

Pub 1: The Beehive Inn

Pub 2: Jolly Judge

Enjoying a pint outside Jolly Judge

Pub 3: Ensign Ewart

Pub 4: Cafe Royal

At the conclusion of the literary pub tour the boys wanted to visit one more pub but I was done for the night.  So they walked me back to the room and went up to the corner to Deacon Brodie's Tavern.

Pub 5: Deacon Brodie's

This tavern has a pretty interesting story.  It's namesake - Deacon Brodie - was the inspiration behind "Doctor Jekyll and Mister Hyde."  Deacon Brodie was an upstanding, law abiding citizen by day and robber by night.  He was eventually captured, and interestingly enough, he was sentenced to be hanged on gallows that he had built.  Deacon Brodie's is the pub the boys had to be asked to leave because it was closing time.  On their way back to the room they picked up a late night snack.

Fish and Chips - according to them - the world's best drunk food.

The next day the boys stopped at another pub just before dinner.

Pub 6: The Royal McGregor

After their pint and my final shopping, we headed back to The Cafe Royal for dinner.  When we had been there the night before the food had looked so delicious so we decided to go back.  It took a while for a table to open up but the food was definitely worth it. 

The Cafe Royal bar -- great interior

Once we got a seat we treated ourselves to one excellent meal.

Surf and Turf kicked up a notch.

So, is it any wonder that after chasing all over Scotland looking for pots of gold, recording the exploits of the Red and Grey Squirrel and doing the pub crawl through Edinburgh that I'd officially lost it by day 9.

Cracking up in Auld Jock's Pie Shoppe

Cheers!