Speyside Distillery Trip 2017
This year’s whisky pilgrimage to Scotland is a 4 day & 3 night trip that centres on what is probably the whisky epicentre of the world otherwise known as Speyside. We may all have favourites like Islay or Ireland or Kentucky but ultimately there is nowhere else with such a high concentration of superstar distilleries. Speyside is no more than 100 miles wide by 50 miles long yet has 50 distilleries within its borders. We would have to stay for over 16 days seeing three distilleries a day to see all the distilleries. Somehow I don’t see me getting permission from home for that quite yet! I like to think we are visiting 7 of the most iconic and interesting distilleries in the region. We will also visit 3 Highland distilleries, as it would be rude not to as we are passing by!
Starting at Glasgow airport the trips starts with a drive up the scenic A9 Scotland to the highland’s before we stop at Dalwhinnie which is Scotland’s highest distillery. From there we travel on to Balvenie before we head to Aviemore where we’ll base ourselves for the 3 nights. Day 2 has visits to the little know Macallan, followed by Benromach and then the hard to visit Mortlach. Day 3 has us at some personal favourites with Aberlour, Glenfarclas & GlenDronach. The final day is more of a trip back to Glasgow airport with visits to two very picturesque distilleries Aberfeldy and Glengoyne.
I’ve obviously picked these dates as I’m told the weather will be excellent and as regulars on the trip know it doesn’t rain in Scotland when we’re there! (Just every other day). There is a fair bit of travel but we will pass through some of the finest scenery in the world whilst eating & drinking (optional) in some excellent restaurants and bars along the way.
The costs for the trip start after you arrive at Glasgow airport.
The dates – Wednesday 25th October to Saturday 28th October 2017.
The cost - €995.00
This includes the following –
Coach travel, accommodation 3 nights, dinners 3 nights (all 3 courses), VIP whisky tastings at 10 distilleries, lunches x 2, pack-lunches x 2, breakfasts x 3 plus onboard coach refreshments (water, whisky & tablet). Most rooms at the hotels are twin so if you require single occupancy, there is a surcharge of €150.
To book a place I require a non-refundable deposit of €500. The trip is strictly limited to 20 and with staff and early bookers I reckon there are less than 10 places available so early booking is recommended.
This doesn’t include –
Travel to Scotland, wine with dinner, bar bills or travel insurance. Travel insurance would be recommended as a cancelled flight could mean you miss part or all of the trip & there wouldn’t be refunds.
The itinerary below is approximate and might vary due to a number of circumstances but I would hope the itinerary is accurate. Some restaurants & pack lunches will require pre-ordering but I’ll keep you up to date with this.
I don’t include the travel to Scotland as part of the cost as this allows people to choose whatever travel option suits them best & a number of regulars extend the trip.
Wednesday 25th October 2017
If you want to start the day early in Dublin you can get the
Ryanair FR5772
Departs Dublin 7.15am Arrives Glasgow International 8.15am
www.ryanair.com
Aer Lingus EI3220
Departs Dublin 6.50am Arrives Glasgow 7.55am
www.aerlingus.com
Obviously, you can fly to Scotland before this date but the trip starts at Glasgow Airport with the coach departing from there. If we meet at the domestic and Irish arrival area at 8.30am and the coach will aim to depart at 9.10am when I imagine I’ll crack open the first bottle of the trip.
Drive time Glasgow airport to Dalwhinnie Distillery is 2 hours 8 minutes (all travel times take from google maps). We’ll do a very brief stop enroute.
Dalwhinnie Distillery Tour & whisky & chocolate pairing 11.30-1pm.
Tour of Scotland’s highest distillery followed by a tasting paired with hand-made chocolates.
https://www.malts.com/en-au/distilleries/dalwhinnie/
Drive time Dalwhinnie to Kingussie 22mins
Lunch at The Cross, Kingussie 1.25-2.45pm
http://thecross.co.uk/restaurant-highlands-scotland/
Drive time from The Cross to Balvenie distillery one hour 14 mins.
Balvenie Distillery Tour & whisky tasting. 4-5.30pm
Balvenie distillery shares the same site with Glenfiddich but makes its whisky in a very different manner.
https://us.thebalvenie.com/crafting-the-balvenie/tour-the-distillery
Drive time Balvenie distillery to Aviemore 1 hour 1 minute.
Arrive Macdonald Aviemore Hotel 6.30pm
We’ll stay at the Macdonald Aviemore Hotel for the 3 nights of the trip.
Depart hotel 7.30pm
The restaurant is an 11 minute walk from the hotel or 4 mins in a taxi.
Dinner at The Old Bridge Inn 7.45pm
I was informed (hopefully, accurately) that this is the best bar in town.
http://oldbridgeinn.co.uk/
Walk or taxi back to the hotel.
Thursday 26th October 2017
Breakfast at Macdonald Aviemore hotel unless of course you wake up elsewhere.
Depart 10.00am
Collect packed lunch from Delimair
http://www.delimairaviemore.co.uk/
Drive time Aviemore to Macallan distillery 53 minutes
Macallan distillery, 6 pillar tour & tasting 11am-1pm
Six pillars tour to include tasting of 4 whiskies.
https://www.themacallan.com/visit#
Drive time Macallan to Benromach distillery 38 minutes including a pack lunch
Benromach distillery tour & tasting 1.45-3.15pm tasting
The distillery owned by the independent Gordon & MacPhail
http://www.benromach.com/distillery
Drive time Benromach to Mortlach distillery 47 minutes
Mortlach Distillery tour & tasting 4-5.30pm
It’s not easy to get a visit here and Ireland’s Head of Reserve Diageo is very kindly flying over from Ireland to help show us around along with Stephen Martin Diageo’s Scotch Brand ambassador.
https://www.malts.com/en-row/our-whisky-collection/mortlach/?agp=true
Drive time Mortlach distillery to Aviemore 58 minutes
Macdonald Aviemore Hotel Arrive 6.30pm
Depart hotel 7.30pm
Drive time hotel to the Auld-Alliance 21 minutes
Dinner at The Auld-Alliance 8.00-10.00pm
http://www.auld-alliance.com/dining/
Coach back to hotel
Friday 27th October 2017
Breakfast in hotel
Depart hotel 10am
Collect packed lunch from Delimair
http://www.delimairaviemore.co.uk/
Drive time Aviemore to Aberlour Hotel 48 mins
Aberlour Distillery Warehouse tasting 11-12noon
Casks from the past tasting
http://www.aberlour.com/distillery/
Drive time Aberlour to Glenfarclas 7 mins plus time to eat lunch
Glenfarclas Distillery Tour & tasting 1-2.30pm
http://glenfarclas.com/tours/
Drive time Glenfarclas to Glendronach 49 min
GlenDronach distillery Tasting 3.30-5pm
https://www.glendronachdistillery.co.uk/visitor-centre/
Drive time GlenDronach to Aviemore 1 hour 32 mins
Arrive Macdonald Aviemore Hotel 6.30pm
Depart hotel 7.45pm
Drive time hotel to Anderson’s restaurant 12 mins
Dinner at Anderson’s Restaurant, Boat of Garten 8.00-10.00pm
http://andersonsrestaurant.co.uk/
Coach back to the hotel.
Saturday 28th October 2014
Breakfast at the hotel
Depart hotel at 9.30am
Drive time Aviemore to Aberfeldy 1 hour 27 mins
Aberfeldy Distillery
Tour & tasting 11am-1pm
http://www.aberfeldy.com/splash
Drive time Aberfeldy to The Waterfront Restaurant, The Kenmore is 15 minutes
Lunch at The Waterfront Restaurant 1.30-3.00pm
https://www.diamondresortsandhotels.com/Resorts/The-Kenmore-Club/Dining
Drive time Waterfront to Glengoyne distillery 1 hour 45 mins. We have 35mins to spare as I guess we might need a stop enroute.
Glengoyne Distillery Tour & tasting 5.20pm-7.20pm
https://www.glengoyne.com/visit-us/distillery-tours/malt-master-tour
Drive time Glengoyne distillery to Glasgow Airport 33mins
Arrive Glasgow Airport 7.55pm
Flight to Dublin
Sat 28th Oct 21:55 - 22:55 FR 5775
Coach can also drop in Glasgow city centre if required.
There are lots of options if you’d prefer to stay in Glasgow or Edinburgh & return the next day.
Sunday 29th October 2017
Milk thistle breakfast!
I’d be delighted to answer any questions.
Sláinte
Ally.
