How many people get to say they were able to travel Scotland and drink whiskey and it was all considered a work trip? Well, Mick Zack and I got to do just that. On Monday May 7, 2012 we headed to Newark International Airport to start our journey to a land filled with beauty and lots of whiskey. Since I am just getting started in the world of whiskey it was exciting to know I would get to learn from where it all starts. After a 7 hour trip across the Atlantic we touched down in Edinburgh, Scotland. I wasn’t sure what to expect when I got off the plane but was amazed by the beauty of the land and surrounding mountains. Clearing customs, we headed out to get our rental car and checked into our hotel. Heading to the rental car agency I noticed something strange when we started to pack up the car, the steering wheel was on the other side of the car! Not only that but when driving you are actually on the opposite side of the street as well! Geez, what did I sign up for, I have a hard enough time driving in America let alone on foreign soil on the opposite side of the car. I am pretty adventurous so I was up for the challenge and we headed off to check into the hotel. Mick took the first leg of driving and we got use to the changes quite fast. We settled into our rooms and headed out to get a bite to eat and take in some of the scenery. We stopped off at a restaurant around the corner from the hotel and had some food. I guess it’s because I am so used to such a fast paced lifestyle in the U.S. that everything over there seemed to move at slower pace. After eating what felt like my first meal in 24 hours we decided to head into the city of Edinburgh and take in some sights. Parking was a big issue since it seemed like everywhere you turned you had to have a permit to park. We finally found a spot, only to find out it had a meter and none of us had any pounds to put in the machine. Seeing us in a bind a nice lady generously handed us enough Pounds to get us 2 hrs worth of time. For those of you who like castles and history this was the place to be. Roads were still cobble stoned and very narrow at some points. After checking out a local Pub we headed back to the hotel to get some sleep for an exciting day the next morning.
We awoke the next morning at 7:30am (2:30am New Jersey time) and had breakfast. One of the things everyone said I had to try while in Scotland was haggis. I should have looked it up before I left because come to find out it was a pudding made with sheep parts encased in a sausage casing. Seeing everyone try it I had no choice but to give it a whirl. Lets just say that was a once in a lifetime experience that I am glad I did but will never do again. After a nice breakfast we were ready to head out to our first distillery. Today was my turn behind the wheel and with a good night's sleep the night before I was ready for the challenge. We plugged the address into GPS and for a moment I thought I put the wrong address in. It kept saying 3hrs to your destination. Come to find out nothing is close when you're in Scotland. Most distilleries make up the town they are located in. Besides a few B&Bs there was no lodging. We arrive at our first destination, Cragganmore Distillery, located in Banffshire. We were greeted by our tour guide. Founded in 1869, Cragganmore was situated close to the Strathspey railroad which made for easy means of transportation. At the start of our first tour we were disappointed by the news that no pictures were allowed to be taken once inside the distillery. Was there some secret? No, turns out that all distilleries have this policy for safety reasons. Grain can be very flammable and some older cameras still use flash bulbs that emit a little spark. Now knowing this I quickly turned off my camera. All distilleries use the same process when making whiskey. During the process there are small steps that can be added to make that particular whiskey unique. One of the biggest similarities amongst all the distilleries we visited is that they all had the same grinder machine. Turns out the company (from England) made their machine so well that they ended up putting themselves out of business. They are back in business now but apparently still make machinery to last. After a quick tour of Cragganmore we were treated to a surprise that we were going to Cardhu Distillery next. For a while Cardhu was very hard to get in New Jersey and I was excited to see if the hype was just that.
After a ten minute drive down a narrow 2 lane road we arrived at Cardhu Distillery. Located also in the Speyside region of Scotland, Cardhu was founded by John Cumming in 1824. The distillery was most run by his wife, who distilled the first batch of Cardhu, then it was handed down to their daughter-in-law Elizabeth Cumming. The neighbors loved Mrs. Cummings, she would warn them when the Excise Man was coming around by raising a certain flag up the pole that let bootleggers know to hide their equipment. The distillery was sold to John Walker & Sons in the late 1800’s but the Cummings’ would continue to run the daily operations. Turns out that Cardhu makes up an important part of what is blended into the Johnnie Walker blends today. My next question to myself was “when do we get to sample these whiskies?” Well turns out we were heading over to Drummuir Castle owned by Diageo. This private castle is not open to the public but to retailers like myself. Once inside we sat down at this magnificent table that had 6 bottles of whiskey waiting to be tasted. We tried Cardhu 12yr, Knockando 12yr, Cragganmore Distillers Edition, Cragganmore 29yr, Talisker 57 North, and my favorite but not available in U.S.A. Oban 32yr. Once finished tasting these gems we were headed to Speyside Cooperage.
Speyside Cooperage is really the only working cooperage in the UK. Here barrels are inspected and rebuilt to hold most of the whiskey you see in Scotland and other parts of the world. There are two main types of barrels. First is the bourbon barrel which is the smaller of the two barrels used. Most come all the way from Kentucky once they are discarded after 3 yrs of use. The second are Sherry barrels which can last decades before they are discarded. The type of barrel gives it is color. The darker the whiskey the more likely hood it was aged primarily in Sherry Butts. The lighter whiskies were main aged in Bourbon Barrels. It was amazing to see the craftsmanship that goes into making a barrel. The smartest part was that the Coopers were paid by the barrel and not by the hour. This in turn would make them work harder. Random inspections would make sure they are building sturdy and reliable barrels. After a walk around the grounds we started the 3.5hr journey back to Edinburgh taking in the rolling hills and acres upon acres of sheep. After a few pints of beer at the hotel bar we finally hit the sack around 1am Scotland time.
No comments:
Post a Comment