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Wednesday, October 12, 2016

Europe Trip - Part 4

Time for the second to last Europe Trip recap. I promise. We left off Friday night in Edinburgh.

Saturday morning we got up early so we could watch the the train station to make our way up to Pitlochry, Scotland.

When we were in London, we met up with some officials for work and one of them was from Glasgow, Scotland. I asked him about distilleries that we could take the train to that were worth it. He recommended Edradour Distillery. He said it was the oldest and smallest distillery in Scotland and definitely worth it. Plus he said the views along the way were incredible. It was decided that that is where we would go. My co-worker wasn't a scotch person, but said he was willing to try it.

We took the train to Pitlochry which was about 2 hours. We saw so much greenery and beauty along the way. I can not stress enough how beautiful Scotland is.

Once we got into Pitlochry (around noon), we asked the information counter how far of a walk it was to Edradour. They said it was within walking distance, so we walked. The man who recommended the distillery to us told us to walk up the path that leads by a waterfall. It was about a 10 minute walk from the road and it was beautiful. He also said you can walk the street if you would like as well.

Well this "little walk" was more of a hike. Not a bad one, but we definitely sweated and earned our scotch. We may have taken a wrong turn once and got a bit lost on the way up. Once we got there, we freshened up a bit and paid for our tour.

I would recommend the tour. You get to learn about how scotch is made, taste two scotches and walk the beautiful grounds.
Edradour distillery
River next to the bar/tasting room

Our first stop was the mill where they roast the barley. This was also the area where we watched a movie on scotch and tasted two scotches.
Edradour distillery mill
 Malt bar/mill
Edradour distillery barrels
This shows the different casks they put their scotch in.
Edradour scotch tour
Edradour scotch tour
Edradour 10 year and Ballechin

We tasted two scotches. The first was the 10 year which is their signature scotch and one of their Ballechin's. The 10 year went down smoothly. For the Ballechin, I had a sip, but then added two drops of water (upon recommendation) since it was very smokey. It was good and grew on me, but I loved the 10 year more. 

After the mill, we headed to the warehouse to see all of their scotch that was "resting". Some of the casks have really old scotch and would be amazing to try. They also house other companies scotches there.
Edradour distillery scotch casks
 I wouldn't mind trying this 25 year
Edradour distillery scotch casks
Edradour distillery scotch casks
One of the owners Ballechin Scotch

After the warehouse and a ton of questions, we headed to another room that houses the barley (to taste) and see the fermenting process. 
Edradour distillery distilling process
 Distilling process
Edradour distillery distilling process - barley
 Barley
Edradour distillery distilling process
 Still
Edradour distillery distilling process - mash
 Working on the mash
Edradour distillery distilling process - filtration and cooling
Filtration and cooling

The liquid is then moved into another area that distills and also an area for the makings of beer. Yes they do make beer (small quantities) there. We were able to put our hand in the hole and scoop up (no you don't touch the liquid) and it smelled like bananas. Strong bananas.
Edradour distillery distilling process - beer making

We headed downstairs to see the mash and the collection area where the scotch comes out of. Think Moonshiners when the alcohol comes through the little tube to their mason jars and buckets. But on a much more professional level.
Edradour distillery distilling process - mash

We went to one more area about bottling the scotch and then the tour was finished. I wanted to try two other scotches before making any purchases. Scotch is serious business at our house.

I tried their 12 year which was very similar to the 10 year, but slightly smoother. I also tried the Sauternes Cask Scotch which had hints of honey flavoring to it. I had a hard time deciding between the Sauternes and the 12 year. I almost got both, but ended up with the 12 year.

I also bought Edradour fudge (caramel like fudge with scotch in it) and a polo for Rory. We got to keep our scotch glasses from the tour as well.

Once the tour and tastings were finished, we called a taxi since it was a long trek back to the train station. Since we took the taxi instead of walking, we made it back into Pitlochry with time to spare. We stopped at Hettie's Tearoom for some scones and jam. Seriously so good!

We took the 2 hour train ride back to Edinburgh with all of our goodies and went back to the hotel. We relaxed for a bit and called our families before heading back to Bar Italia. We had every intention of going to a pizza place, but it was only take out, so we went back to Bar Italia for Italian brick oven pizza. Definitely worth it again.

Sunday, we got up super early for our 9 am flight. We had to leave our hotel at 6:30 am. The Edinburgh airport had a great lounge which we hung out in until our flight to Gibraltar through London.

Stay tuned for the last part of my Europe trip, Gibraltar.

I am linking up with Jenn and Jessi.

17 comments :

  1. I feel like tastings are always fun, even if you don't necessarily drink those things regularly. It's a way of exploring a new thing. Plus, with that scenery--why not??? Gorgeous!

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  2. What an awesome tour!! I don't even drink scotch but I think I would if I was there :)

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  3. Thank you for sharing such a fun trip ! I love popping in and seeing and hearing all about your trip to Europe :) Happy Wednesday !

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    1. You are very welcome. I have one more part of the trip to share!

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  4. Love all of this. I just love Scotland. So green and lush and pretty.

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  5. What an awesome recommendation! I'm not a scotch person either, but would definitely love to visit this distillery <3
    Green Fashionista

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  6. That had to be so interesting.
    ... but all honesty, i'm all about the fudge! ;)

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  7. Great photos! This sounds like so much fun!

    xx
    Lauren Elizabeth
    Petite in Pearls

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  8. What a cool tour. I can't believe how picturesque everything is. Such beauty!

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  9. I have never tried scotch, and now I really want to! I've never been a whiskey kind of girl, so I'm not sure I'll like it, but it's always fun to try something new, right?

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  10. I need to catch up on all your recaps! I've never tried scotch, but my brother in law drinks it often. I usually stick with rum, vodka, or tequila. I may need to give scotch a try sometime. I love doing tours like this - they're always so interesting!

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  11. Gah, talk about wanderlust! So jealous of this trip!

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  12. Oh I so want to visit Scotland! One day! I'm not a big whiskey fan but I think it would be fun to do the tour.

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  13. You're so fortunate to be able to travel like that for your job! That would be a dream!

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