Distillery and Whisky News May 2020

Could there be light on the horizon? We hope so, but we expect we're probably as confused as you are. Of one thing we can be sure though - lockdown will end and, when that day comes, we're going to be off on our next distillery tour before you can say "mine's a double"!

In the meantime, please support your favourite distillery by purchasing a gift voucher for a future tour, or treat yourself to a bottle by buying online - most distilleries have some very hard-to-resist deals on at the moment. And if you're planning a trip away for later in the year, many hotels are welcoming advance bookings with open arms.

From all of us at DistilleryTours, stay healthy, think positive and help each other in any safe way that you can.

DistilleryTours Podcast - Annandale

David Thomson, owner of the Annandale Distillery

We hope you enjoyed our first episode of the new DistilleryTours podcast last month. This month we spoke to David Thomson, owner of the Annandale Distillery in Dumfriesshire.

Listen Now

David told us how he worked with Dr Jim Swan on the refurbishment, using sensory profiles to design Annandale’s whisky and its plant. And he also has an unusual tale of how they found their water source.

Find out more about the Annandale Distillery, its tours and its whisky at DistilleryTours.scot

If you're intrigued to taste their whisky for yourself, right now, with every cask that's bought, Annandale will also send you a free bottle of 2014 rare vintage Man of Sword or Man of Words, with a retail value of £300. And if you already own a cask and make a recommendation to a friend who then buys a cask too, you also receive a  bottle!

Venue of the month: The Good Spirits Co.

The Good Spirits Co. Glasgow

The Good Spirits Co. works with distilleries and independent bottlers to offer a wide selection of new, interesting and tasty whiskies. Their range of single malts varies from week to week, but there's usually between 250 and 300 different expressions in stock, from budget-friendly everyday drams to rare, collectable single casks from long closed distilleries like Port Ellen or Brora.

Collectively their staff have more than a century of experience, so expert guidance is available to help you choose your perfect bottle, whether it’s a blended whisky for mixing up highballs, a hard to find bottle from an elusive, rarely seen distillery, or a gift to mark a special occasion.

They're currently trialling a free local delivery service for the Glasgow area for orders of £30 or more, or order online for delivery via DHL to all other destinations.

Find out more about The Good Spirit Co. on their dedicated page on the DistilleryTours.scot website.

Distillery of the Month: Glenkinchie

Glenkinchie Distillery

The Glenkinchie Distillery nestles just outside Edinburgh in Pencaitland, and is a gem of distillery.

If you know the process of making whisky already, Glenkinchie offers a 'Whisky in the Wild' tour, sampling four whiskies from their Flora and Fauna range as part of a wildlife tour on the estate. Glenkinchie have built reedbed ponds for filtering much of the waste water generated through making whisky, and this is the basis of the wildlife they are encouraging - a lovely bit of eco-thinking.

As with any whisky distillery, water is of great importance to the production and eventual taste of the whisky. Indeed Glenkinchie is named after the Kinchie Burn, which it drew its waters from until 1954, and their Glenkinchie Distillery Tour leads you through the production of their 'Water of Life'. In addition there's an excellent museum containing a remarkable scale model of a working distillery, built by SMD in 1925 for the British Empire Exhibition.

Find out more about the Glenkinchie Distillery on their dedicated page on the DistilleryTours.scot website.

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