Whisky Tours — Malthound

Edinburgh’s Scotch Whisky Experience Invests In The Future!

February 14, 2023 by Gary Leave a Comment

Edinburgh’s Scotch Whisky Experience Invests in the Future!

Edinburgh’s Scotch Whisky Experience will this year see a major investment, anticipated to be in the region of £3 million, in one of Scotland’s premier visitor destinations and a five-star attraction operating from the top of Edinburgh’s busy Royal Mile!

The Experience has been educating and enthusing visitors about Scotch whisky for over 30 years already welcoming more than 8.5 million visitors from around the globe, in addition the Amber Restaurant and Whisky Bar accommodate corporate events and private dinners.

The Scotch Whisky Experience brings the joys of Scotland’s whisky heritage to a worldwide audience. The substantial investment of £3 million will enhance the visitor experience, with work already underway, this will reflect the premium nature of Scotch whisky. With tour options to suit both whisky lovers and those with a passing interest, the new tour experience will include technology not yet seen at a visitor experience in the UK.

We’ll be creating a theatrical and magical experience to tell the story of Scotch whisky production, blended with technologies which we believe have never before been used in a visitor experience. Our team have been nurturing this vision since well before the pandemic, and excitement is building.

We can’t tell you more yet, but we promise that what we have in store will be breathtaking and truly unique!
– Susan Morrison: Chief Executive of The Scotch Whisky Experience

The Scotch Whisky Experience was first created when 19 individual Scotch whisky companies jointly invested in showcasing the industry to international visitors. The Scotch Whisky Experience remains a key partner for the industry. Representing a significant proportion of the Scotch whisky distillers companies, the experience has new distillers joining all the time as more and more distilleries are built all across Scotland.

The Scotch whisky industry is a very considerable player in both Scotland and the UK representing £5.5 billion in gross value added (GVA) to the economy with 11,000 people directly employed in Scotland, 7,000 of those jobs in rural areas. In 2021, Scotch Whisky accounted for a remarkable 22% of all UK food & drink exports.
(Source: Scotch Whisky Association, Jan-Dec 2021 data)

Education is a key ingredient in the success of Scotch whisky with its unique and complex heritage. The product of the distillation of water, barley and yeast it encompasses a huge range of possible expressions based on differences of age, source of ingredients, region, type of maturation and the production process itself. The industry offer includes many varieties of single malts, product of just one distillery, and a huge range of blended whiskies made by the highly-skilled Master Blenders. The Scotch Whisky Experience’s new investment is destined to bring even more visitors into this extraordinary world of Scotland’s whisky heritage.

Work commenced in early January and will be completed by Summer 2023. Any disruptive work will be undertaken outside opening hours and will not impact on tour experiences, Amber restaurant or private events.

Open daily with tours available from 10:00am – 17:00pm (extended opening hours at weekends and high season)

Tours range from £21.00 per person and are available to book online at: scotchwhiskyexperience.co.uk

The Experience is available in 20 languages with family-friendly and tailored tours and is fully wheelchair accessible.

Elixir Names Their New Islay Distillery PORTINTRUAN!

May 13, 2022 by Gary Leave a Comment

Elixir Distillers has confirmed that their new Islay distillery will be called PORTINTRUAN!

Just over six months after breaking ground, and after much speculation from whisky enthusiasts around the world, Elixir Distillers has confirmed that their new Islay distillery will be called PORTINTRUAN!

Located just outside the town of Port Ellen on Islay’s south coast on the way to Laphroaig, Lagavulin and Ardbeg distilleries, Portintruan is pronounced Port-nah-truan. It takes its name from the historic farm estate where the distillery is located and means ‘place of the stream’.

Elixir Distillers has always taken a flavourled approach and this will be the Portintruan philosophy as well. We will be utilising a number of old-style
production techniques which we believe will accentuate the depth and character of the spirit.

A key part of the process will be using malt predominantly from our own floor maltings on-site, and we will be using direct-fired wash stills for the distillation. We plan to work with different phenol levels across the range, which will all have their own specific flavour profiles.
– Sukhinder Singh: Co-owner

Portintruan will be where the past meets the future, combining these old-style production techniques with modern technology to improve process and quality, and of course sustainability. Being sustainable is one of the most important factors in Portintruan’s plans.

Working within what is currently possible on Islay, we want to be as green and as responsible as we can. We are talking to the Islay Energy Trust, our fellow distillers on the island and suppliers to ensure we take all opportunities to be greener.

We are using the latest technology to implement a heat loop for our water usage to ensure the maximum amount is recycled and reused with the heat recovered for other processes. We’re also using a bio diesel for our direct-fired stills which is the cleanest fuel we can currently source, and we’re building the distillery so that it can use hydrogen power once that is available.
– Georgie Crawford: Distillery Manager

Portintruan will be adding an experimental distillery within the site – so it will be two distilleries in one. This will enable the team to produce not only different Scotch whisky styles but also rum. Plans for the distillery site also include 14 houses for Islay families working at the distillery, a visitor’s centre, a bar and restaurant, a tasting room bothy overlooking the sea, and a multi-purpose educational facility which will serve as a base for an apprentice programme to train the next generation of distillers.

The distillery name is being announced in time for the 2022 Fèis Ìle, the annual festival of whisky and music on Islay which will be held in person for the first time since 2019. The festival runs from Friday 27th May to Saturday 4th June and is set to welcome around 10,000 whisky-loving visitors to the island.

The Elixir Distillers team will be setting up two cabins on the distillery site to welcome Islay whisky enthusiasts wishing to see Portintruan in the earliest stages of its development.

Visitors will be able to peruse the distillery plans, look out over the site of the distillery and chat with members of the Elixir Distillers team over a dram or two of one of their Islay whiskies. Elixir Distillers will also be running a number of tastings and events across Islay during the festival. Full details can be found on the festival website

Work on the site is well underway, with ground works complete and foundations about to commence, followed by the steel work. Portintruan is anticipating starting distilling from early 2024.

Spirit Of Speyside Whisky Festival Now On

April 28, 2011 by Gary Leave a Comment

Spirit Of Speyside Whisky Festival

Devotees of the dram and non-whisky drinkers alike will be able to discover even more about the delights of Scotland’s Malt Whisky country this month as the 12th annual Spirit of Speyside Whisky Festival starts.

The five-day festival’s packed programme of over 200 events starts today and runs until the 2nd. May. There is something to suit all levels of interest, from the exclusive three day intensive instruction on offer at the Spirit of Speyside Whisky School to a more light hearted look at the world of whisky with stand up comedian Vladimir McTavish.

Included in this year’s programme is the opportunity to become a Benromach warehouseman for the day, offering enthusiasts a unique opportunity to be initiated into the ultra exclusive whisky world with the chance to take part in the time honoured preparations of the iconic drink before hand-filling a bottle of Benromach as a souvenir of this unforgettable experience.

Whisky lovers can also take part in the Cask Strength Challenge Quiz at Strathisla Distillery, with the winning team taking away rare limited edition bottles of Deoch an Doras 36 Year Old whisky, produced by the now defunct Inverleven distillery.

For those who want to let their hair down while in Malt Whisky country there are a range of exciting daytime and evening entertainments showcasing the best of Speyside spirit including the Coleburn Distillery Fun Day and Ceilidh, an extravaganza added to this year’s programme offering whisky barrel buggy racing and some traditional craic at an evening ceilidh.

Other brand new musical highlights include a celebration of contemporary Scottish music at the Celtic Spirit evening at The Glenfiddich Distillery and the Whisky and Jazz event at the Craigellachie Hotel, where Dutch whisky author Hans Offringa will be on hand to sign copies of his book ‘The Road to Craigellachie – Revisited’ which will be officially re-launched as part of the festival programme offering enthusiasts the change to get their hands on a copy of this whisky themed travel book that quickly became a collector’s item after its first edition was released in 2004.

Over the course of the Festival visitors will have the opportunity take part in numerous long-standing favourite events such as guided tours of many of Speyside’s 50+ world renowned distilleries, including some not usually open to the public, as well uncovering the unique appeal of this amazing area of north east Scotland on a range of whisky themed walks and tours.

Outdoor events include the festival’s famed “Dramble” where walkers can sample the spirits on offer at the seven stills of Dufftown by foot, a selection of whisky and wildlife walks guided by local rangers, as well as exclusive motorised tours taking in the backcountry braes that used to conceal the smugglers stills by four wheel drive or even in an amphibious argocat.

Connoisseurs will have the chance to blend their own whisky at the Cardhu distillery as well as sampling some superb single malts and helping to select the winning whiskies at the Spirit of Speyside Whisky Awards prior to the annual opening dinner at Knockando Distillery.

Tastings will also be offered at a range of other events including the foodie friendly Sweet and Savoury Whisky Pairing workshops at Gordon and MacPhail where guests will receive guidance on how to select the top tipples to complement their favourite foods. Whisky and food will also be the subject of some new additions to the festival programme with tasting tours taking place on the Saturday and Sunday of the festival.

For more information: Spirit of Speyside Whisky Festival 2011

Whisky Galore! Rabbie’s New Whisky Tours For 2011

January 21, 2011 by Gary Leave a Comment

Whisky Galore! Rabbie's New Whisky Tours For 2011

The luxury small-group tour company Rabbie’s Trail Burners is launching two brand new tours to tease the palette – eight days of immersion in a whisky connoisseur’s dream, taking in the most famous whisky producing regions in the world.

The Whisky Coast Explorer tour includes the opportunity to visit a host of distilleries in Scotland’s Highland, Islay and Island regions including Kilchoman, Bruichladdich, Bowmore, Ardbeg, Laphroaig and Oban.

First, visit the beautiful island of Islay, renowned for its peaty, smoky malt whiskies before enjoying a four island feast including the rolling mountains of Mull, spiritual and ever peaceful island of Iona, the extraordinary view over the dramatic basalt columns on Staffa and the majestic rugged landscapes of Skye.

The tour departs from Edinburgh and Glasgow on Fridays (returning to Edinburgh only) starting from 29 April 2011 and costs £478 for adults, £448 for concessions.

The Islay, Edinburgh and Speyside tour starts by taking in the famous Islay distilleries of Bowmore, Kilchoman, Bruichladdich, Ardbeg and Laphroig followed by a trip to Oban, and its distillery. The next two nights are spent soaking up culture and history in the city of Edinburgh, where guests can continue the whisky theme with a visit to The Scotch Malt Whisky Experience to see the world’s largest whisky collection of over 3,000 bottles.

The tour then continues north to Speyside, home to more than half of Scotland’s malt whisky distilleries, including stops at Dalwhinnie, Benromach and Glenlivet as well as the Speyside Cooperage to see how barrels are made. The tour also takes in Loch Fyne, Loch Lomond, Cairngorm National Park, Balmoral and historic Dunkeld.

Tour departs from Edinburgh and Glasgow on Fridays (returning to Edinburgh only) starting from 29 April 2011 and costs £348 for adults, £328 for concessions.

All accommodation is charged separately to suit individual tastes and budgets but both trips include the opportunity to stay at the beautiful self-catering Bowmore Cottages, within the grounds of the distillery.

Time off the bus is very important to Rabbie’s Small Group Tours and the team has personally researched and tested every stop on every route to ensure visitors are seeing the very best of what Scotland has to offer. Combining comfort with fun, history, anecdotes and in-depth knowledge brings the authentic Scotland to life. All trips are restricted to 16 passengers, to ensure these intimate tours take visitors off the beaten track to experience the real Scotland, its people and culture. Rabbie’s guarantees visitors will enjoy their trip – or their money back.

To book visit www.rabbies.com.