July 7th-9th: Distiller's Edition: Spey Country

One of my great fears with global warming is the gradual decline in Scottish snow fall.  This would be a Whisky travesty as the Spey River, which lends its name to the most popular style of "Speyside" Scotch Whisky, is fueled by the annual snow melt.  Fortunately for Dad and I, the Spey is still flowing and we had two sunny days to hit the Malt Whisky Trail!!  

Photo: Malt Whisky Trail road sign. Yes - we followed.

First stop on our list was "the single malt that started it all" - The Glenlivet.  We were taken on a tour through the distillery and were then able to sample some whisky.  Dad and I naturally went for the 18yr old.  Overall, it was a good tour.  I just find the marketing misleading since Glenfiddich was the first group to bottle and sell single malt Scotch.

Photo: Outside Glenlivet.

Photo:  Glenlivet sampling room

From Glenlivet we headed to "The valley of the deer" which in Galic is said Glenfiddich.  This was my favorite Spey tour.  Their staff was knowledgeable, and they provided three drams of Whisky at the end.  I should have known that Glenfiddich's tour would be exceptional since they were the first distillery to open a visitors center and hence they have lots of practice hosting.

Photo: Out front of Glenfiddich

The following day, Dad and I headed to the local cooperage which builds and repairs the casks for aging the Whisky.  It was amazing watching the speed of the coopers.  The day we visited they were working on a project for the Deagio group.  They were taking American Oak barrels and resizing them into hogsheads.  It took the skilled craftsmen less than 15 minutes to disassemble and rebuild the entire cask.

Photo:  Speyside Cooperage

To round out the day -- we headed for a walk alongside the notorious Spey river (which apparently is well known for Salmon fishing in addition to Scotch).

Photo: The Spey

 

July 4th-6th: Higher into the Highlands

The departure from Islay marked the halfway point in the Scottish adventure.  It was time to press north in search of more history and haggis!!  The quest for history started even before we left Islay.  Dad and I found an old cross and statue of a knight in a cemetery which was tucked away on the south eastern part of the isle.  These markers were part of the larger tale regarding the spread of Christianity to the region.  The Christian faith actually moved over from Ireland to the many islands off Scotland.  This lead to the rise of Iona Abbey and is tied to the work of St. Columba and St. Andrews.   

Photo: Kilchoman Cross on Islay 

Photo: Knight gravestone on Islay 

Leaving Islay on the CalMac Ferry, we sampled a few final scotchs and then drove north.  On the way we passed the ancient stronghold and capital of the Scottish kingdom of Dal-Reata.  This kingdom fought with the local Picts and is where coronations for the king were held prior to use of the stone of Scone.  The ancient tradition was for the king to place his foot in the carving in the rock symbolic of a marriage to the land.  Well I wanted to be king so...

Photo: Crowened king by stepping into the footprint 

Leaving ancient history behind, we pushed on towards Oban.  Along the way, we stopped to see the Glenfinnan Monumnet and the train viaduct used in the Harry Potter movies. 

Photo: Train Viaduct - "This way to Hogwarts!!!"

Glenfinnan is significant because it was the spot where the final Jacobite rebellion was launched.  It was a hopeless affair to overthrow the British crown so naturally it became romanticized and famous.

Photo: Glenfinnan Monument 

Photo:  Bonnie Prince Charlie and the rise of the 45!

After departing Oban the following day, we kept driving north towards the Isle of Skye.  Along the way we visited a charming castle called Elian Donan.  The castle is a reproduction of the structure that used to reside on the tidal island.  It was a old strategic location due to its position on three lochs.  Unfortunately, the British fleet decided to destroy it to prevent it being held by Scotsmen unloyal to the crown.

Photo: Elian Donan Castle

July 2nd-4th - Distiller's Edition: The Isle of Islay

While I enjoy history more than the average person, which is probably apparent in my posts from Turkey and Greece, my trip to Scotland was for a much different reason.  This is by no means a discredit to Stirling Castle, William Wallace or Bonnie Prince Charlie.  Its just that Scotland makes Scotch, and I care about that a whole heck of a lot.

A quick Scotch 101:  Scotch is a Whisky made from distilling grain alcohol (traditionally barley) and then aging the spirit in an oak or sherry cask.  The spirit must be aged for a minimum of three years in Scotland to be considered Scotch.  Scotland is broken into five main regions of Scotch distilling with each region having a unique approach to the art of Whisky.  These five regions are Highlands, Lowlands. Speyside, Islay and Campbeltown.  My personal favorite region is Islay because it is known for making scotch with a strong smokey flavor. 

My trip to Scotland would have been woefully incomplete without a visit to the Isle of Islay.  Islay is a relatively large island of the western edge of Scotland and is the former seat of power to "The Lord of the Isles".  The island lords held court at Finlaggan - but this post isnt a history lesson.  To visit, a ferry was necessary.  Dad and I caught the ferry departing from Kennacraig for Port Askaig and thus started the adventure.

Islay has eight distilleries - so our eight tourism destinations were established.  Right off the boat we raced to and caught a tour at Bunnahabhain.  I learned that the distillery is pronounced "Bunna-hav-in" and that they are the most lightly peated of the eight.  My favorite dram that I tried from this location was their 18 year old.

Photo: Bunnahabhain Distillery

On our way out of Bunnahabhain, we stopped by Caol Ila (pronounced Cul E-la).  This was an unknown distillery to me before my trip to Scotland.  This is mostly because they rarely bottle single malts. Most of the production is directed toward blending to create the Jonnie Walker Black Label.  We were able to find a few Caol Ila single malt bottlings on Islay which blew me away. Their 12 year old was really smoky without any of the harshness - a great discovery!

Photo: Caol Ila Distillery 

The following morning brought on the Bowmore Distillery - oldest on Islay and located in the largest city on the island.  Note: This is a very liberal use of the word city.  There is only one high school on the island, but it is in Bowmore.  The Bowmore (Bo-More) tour was really nice and I was amazed by the number of different bottlings they had for sale. I had only seen Bowmore 12 and 15 year before my visit.  I enjoyed the 15 year Bowomore because of its sweet flavor, a result of aging in a Sherry Cask.

Photo: Bowmore Distillery 

From there the tours became a blur.  Ardbeg was great because their branding uses this unique Celtic "A" and they are the most heavily peated Whisky distiller on the island.  The best Ardbeg I found was the Corryvreckan, named for a whirlpool of the coast of the Isle of Jura.  My favorite overall Scotch is made by Lagavulin, where we were lucky enough to have a private tour.  I picked up a green Lagavulin fleece to display my distiller pride!!  Finally, our Whisky adventures ended with Laphroaig, Bruichladdich and Kilchoman.  Fun note: Kilchoman is the youngest distiller on Islay and they are completely vertically integrated.  They raise their own barley, run a malting and then distill the Whisky. 

Photo: Ardbeg Distillery 

Photo: Lagavulin Distillery

 

Photo: Bruichladdich Distillery

 

Photo: Kilchoman Distillery 

Photo: Laphroaig Distillery 

June 28th-July 1st: Scotland Part I

My sunburns from Santorini needed a break and fortunately I'd already booked my flight to then land of plaid, freedom fighters, golf and most importantly Scotch Whisky!!! On to the Highlands of Scotland.

I landed into Edinburgh via an EasyJet flight from Athens.  My fight was three hours delayed and I needed to meet my dad at the airport in the morning.  I decided to simply sleep at the airport.  Not the best move but it's easier to cut corners when you're young.  After meeting my dad at 11am, the adventure began. 

We headed to the National Museum of Scotland first. There we saw ancient Bronze Age history of the Picts, Scots and eventual arrival of the Romans.  It was also fascinating to see one of the original Lewis Chessmen (parts of an ancient Viking Chess set found on Lewis Island).

From there we hiked up toward Edinburgh Castle and the Royal Mile.  Along the way, we stumbled across the elephant house, where JK Rowling composed the first Harry Potter novel on a napkin.

Photo: Dad in front of Elephant House

On the Royal Mile, we were treated to bag pipe music playing "Scotland the Brave".  We headed up to the castle that has a commanding view over the old town and bought our "Explorer's Pass" and audio guide.  Taking an audio guide tour was fascinating because of the additional details.  My favorite stories were the ones concerning the Scottish Wars of Independence.  In one altercation, the Scots snuck into the castle along the craig via a route discovered by a young Scottish Prince. He previously had used the path to sneak out of the castle to visit a women of interest in the town.  The second story involved the Scots posing as merchants coming to supply the English garrison with wine.  The Scots dumped their wares under the gate so it couldn't close and then reinforcements rushed the castle and overwhelmed the English.

Photo: Great Hall of Edinburgh Castle

Photo: Edinburgh Castle from the park below.

Photo: View of "New Town" from the castle walls.

Heading out of Edinburgh, the next stop was the Stirling area.  This region is home to Stirling Castle, the William Wallace Monument and the Battle of Bannockburn, where the Scots won independence from the English.  First we headed to Bannockburn.  Unfortunately, the welcome center was closed due to renovations in preparation for the 700th anniversary. Then we moved on to the Wallace monument towering over Stirling.  We bought our tickets and climbed the 246 steps to the top, stopping g at the various rooms and mini presentations along the way.

Photo: Top of the Wallace Monument

After touring the Wallece Monumnet, Dad and I proceeded to Stirling Castle.  Stirling Castle was not want I anticipated.  I had envisioned the old fort from the wars of Scottish Independence. Little did I realize that Stirling was the seat of the Scotch Monarchy in 1500.  As a result, it was more in line with a Renaissance style castle displaying fine sculpture and stained glass.  It was wonderful to tour and uncover the history of the Scotch monarchy.  My favorite part was that James VI of Scotland, actually ascended to the English throne upon the death of Elizabeth I.  After all the English had done to subdue the Scots, it was actually a Scot that sat on the English throne.

The following day, we headed out of Stirling in route to Loch Lomond and the Trossachs (a region of the Scottish Highlands).  On our way, we took a quick pitstop at Doune Castle where Monty Python and the Holy Grail was filmed.  

Photo: Doune Castle

The Trossachs are the country of Rob Roy McGregor, the cattle rustling Scot turned British Spy.  He is buried in the region and his highaway cave is just of Loch Lomond.  Needless to say, we found them both.

Photo: Hill side view of Loch Lomond

Photo: Rob Roy's Grave

Photo: Hiking to Rob Roy's Cave

Photo: Outside of Rob Roy's hideout

Photo: Inside Rob Roy's Cave

June 23rd-27th: Greek Isle of Santorini

When I came to Greece, I thought I would feel motivated to see ancient history - this being the land of Homer, Plato, Socrates and Agamemnon; the site of an Oracle, Marathon and the Spartan 300; the birth of democracy and republic.  Alas, after visiting Ephesus and ancient Athens, I was in much need of a beach vacation so seeing ancient Sparta will just have to wait.  On to the Greek Isle of Santorini!!!

Santorini is best known for being a volcanic island. It rises out of the sea and has many hot springs and black sand beaches where people take their reprieve. I spent a number of hours simply laying around and reading "The Count of Monte Cristo".  The other amazing thing about Santorini is that individuals can rent 4-wheelers to cruise about the island.  I took my ATV to the "red sand" beach, up the highest peak to the monastery, through wine country and along a ridge line road to the village of Oia.  It was an entirely relaxing experience.

Photo: Cafe overlooking black sand beaches 

Photo: Greek church on Santorini

Photo: Red sand beach

Photo: My Ride!!