Whisky Galore

We have had one of our German friends' sons staying with us this weekend. He is working over in Ireland at the moment and fancied a weekend away from the farm (plus he never ever wants to see another potato again). It's always nice to have people visiting and he fancied seeing some of Scotland. Being a major tourist destination there are lots of things to see and do - although there are only so  many times that a visit to Edinburgh Castle can remain amusing. However, he fancied one thing I have never actually done before. We went and visited a distillery.

I think whisky is one of those things that rather divide people (what has recently become known as the marmite factor). I'm a fan of whisky but I can see why many people wince in disgust at the stuff: cheap whisky is like drinking battery acid. There are relatively cheap drinkable whiskies but I would not usually touch anything that costs less than £20 a bottle. Even then, I think the really decent stuff costs a good deal more. It's not the sort of thing that you would want to be drinking if your aim was to get drunk - whisky is a special treat, not Jakey juice.

We ended up going to Glengoyne distillery for largely no other good reason that it was one of the nearest to us that do guided tours. As it turns out, I could recommend it to anyone who has an interest in this sort of thing. It is a relatively small scale operation but the actual factory part of the site is fascinating. The brewing, fermentation and distillation process all take place within the same building and the actual equipment used will be familiar to anyone who has done home brew. The distillation process is not a million miles away from the sort of equipment that one would use in a school chemistry class except that it involves rather substantial copper pipes rather than the fragile glass test tubes and beaker of the laboratory.

Now I have been aware that different parts of Scotland produce different whiskies and that the difference in taste can be quite noticeable but I have never really appreciated why. I think I now have more of an idea as the tour itself is very educational. Glengoyne produce a Highland whisky but the tour guide was able to explain both their procedure and how it would differ from an Islay or Speyside whisky. It's actually worth noting this as many of the flavours in whisky are quiet subtle so it's worth knowing what they are and how they got there. Of course, there is the tasting and this is quiet generous. Unfortunately, I was only really able to take a sip as I was on driving duties. Still, I tried a few and I bought a few sample bottles to try at home.

I was quite interested at how much bottle went for in the shop. Some of it was quite reasonable, with their 10 year old single malt available for £27. Their more aged bottles cost a wallet worrying £89 and there was even a 40 year old bottle for an eye watering £350. I gave that one a miss although I was rather glad to note that the water they use is the same stuff I get out of the taps for free!