Distillery and Whisky News May '19
Welcome to our May edition of Distillery and Whisky News - with whisky festival season now in full swing, we're enjoying the summer weather and catching up with our whisky-loving friends at events around the country.
Coming up this month is one of our favourite events, Feis Isle - the Islay Festival of Music and Malt - now in its 33rd year! We hope you get a chance to get out and taste some incredible whisky this month - tag us on your Twitter and Instagram posts to spread the whisky love.
DISTILLERY OF THE MONTH: KINGSBARNS
From Dream to Dram Kingsbarns uses Fife-grown barley and water from an aquifer 100m below the distillery
Kingsbarns single cask malt whiskies to cherish and savour
Kingsbarns' release of the first in a new series, their Single Cask No 360 sold out in less than 24 hours. As a delicious follow-up, their Cask No 358 has a nose of caramel, soft toffee and a well-rounded balance of fruit and vanilla. Available to buy in their Distillery Shop only, what more reason do you need to visit?
Find out more about the Kingsbarns Distillery and the other tours available on DistilleryTours.scot or visit the Kingsbarns website to book.
One of our favourite festivals is back - Feis Ile is now in its 33rd year!
Held from Friday 24th May to Saturday 1st June, Feis Ile is the Islay Festival of Music and Malt.
If you've not been before, get ready for a week of raucous ceilidhs, passionate storytelling, traditional live music, bowling, piping, Gaelic lessons, golf, fly-fishing, fantastic food and, of course, lots and lots of whisky.
Arranged together with Islay's distilleries, each distillery runs extra events on top of their usual tours. This includes an incredible scope of tastings and masterclasses (obviously), cooperage demonstrations and bottle filling (very cool and relevant), hog roasts, smokies and whisky ice creams (yes please!), arts and crafts, boat trips and Caribbean carnival floats (getting a bit random now...), and games like 'Give us a Paw Paw' and 'How low can you go?' (we have no words).
Confused? Yes, but it sounds fun doesn't it?! Each distillery has a day dedicated to them, so check out the full programme and make sure to book some activities in advance. See you there!
PLAN YOUR TRIP TO ARGYLL AND THE HIGHLANDS
Tours of the Isle of Staffa leave from Oban, Mull and Iona
Argyll and The Highlands offer incredible scenery with distilleries to match
Our Argyll and The Highlands tour includes the distilleries of Oban, Tobermoray, Arndamurchan, Ncn'ean and Ben Nevis. Find out more about each of these distilleries at DistilleryTours.scot.
In addition to the distilleries, don't miss a walk up to McCaig's Tower in Oban, which dates back to 1897; tour the Isle of Staffa to see the puffins and Fingal's Cave, as well as the incredible basalt rock formation in the picture above; take some chill-out time on Sanna Bay's white sandy beaches, or dip in the clearer than clear water.
If diving's your thing, the Sound of Mull is home to some of the best wreck dives in the UK; or if you're more in the market to sit-back-and-relax, then take the Jacobite Steam Train from Fort William to Mallaig return. Finally, round it all off with a ride on the Nevis Range Mountain Gondola, to see the snowy peaks of the UK's highest mountain, Ben Nevis.
Check out full details of this and other tours, including accommodation tips, on our Plan Your Trip pages.
Only one day until World Whisky Day!
With only one sleep to go until World Whisky Day, the number of events being held across the globe is truly impressive - check out the World Whisky Day website for a list of events in your country and city.
We'll be heading over to the Scotch Malt Whisky Society for the day - we hope to see you there!