Although I have been penning down quite a few articles about my travails to Kerala and Nepal, but my love for tripping in search of fine alcohol remains undiminished. In tune with the Alcohol Diaries, we are going to be showcasing my love for Scotch. The countryside of Scotland is besotted with lush green hills and clear blue streams of water and this remains the backdrop against which we chase for that beautiful drop of golden whisky. One of the most famous of Scotland’s whisky families is William Grant’s and Sons. I am totally in love with their Glenfiddich 15yr which tastes like liquid Christmas cake and the Glenfiddich 21yr which has a taste of bananas. I want to take you through the distillery of one of the most decorated of whiskies.
The history of Glenfiddich
The story of Glenfiddich traces its roots to the 19th century when William Grant set up the first distillery in 1886. Although the world caught on the fanciful Single Malts after the 1960’s, William Grant had been manufacturing it for decades. The distillery was started in the Glen of the river Fiddich and Glenfiddich means “valley of deer”. It is depicted in the Stag logo that represents Glenfiddich. Today, the small town of Dufftown also known as “Single Malt capital of the world” is where the distillery is located.
Read my tasting notes when I tried them out for the first time.
How to get to Dufftown?
We traveled to Edinburgh by flight before hitching a series of trains to Elgin. We were on the road from Elgin to Dufftown as we discovered the best of the Scottish landscape. You can also fly in from other major Scottish cities like Aberdeen, Glasgow and Inverness.
Getting to the distillery
The drive to the distillery is one of the most picturesque ones. The Speyside region of Scotland is dotted with rivers while the distillery draws its waters from the Robbie Dhu springs. The distillery itself is a neat set of buildings set against the backdrop of the lush green hills. All the trips start from the visiting centre, where the five generations of William Grant are depicted on the walls. Do not forget to check out the video which will give you a background to the story of Glenfiddich.
Read about Glenfiddich’s World’s Most Experimental Bartender
Pioneer’s Tour
The Pioneer’s tour is the longest trip around the Glenfiddich facilty and this allowed us to immerse in the story of whisky completely. As a tribute to the men who shovel barley all through the day to malt it, William Grant and Sons has come out with Monkey Shoulder, a whisky made specially to be used in cocktails.
The tour then takes us through the different warehouses. The first of which is the mash room where all the malted barley gets mashed. It is followed by the Fermentation room where the mash is mixed with yeast and left to ferment. The distilling pots are the next in line where the fermented mash is separated from all the impurities to create the clear whisky. Although all the whisky you may have had is golden in colour, all of it comes from the ageing in the barrels. The distillery also has a group of people who look after the massive copper vessels that the whiskies go through.
Glenfiddich 15yr old: Solera Vat
The next warehouse we visit is the Warehouse No.8 which houses the Solera Vat. The Solera Vat is a gigantic copper vat which holds nearly 37,000 litres of whisky and is never emptied out. The Glenfiddich 15 yr owes it liquid Christmas cake flavour to this innovation. But the crowning achievement of the whole tour is that we were allowed to bottle our own whisky from the casks under the watchful guidance of Malt Master Brian Kinsman.
A whisky tasting of some of Glenfiddich’s best produce follows along with some canapés at Malt Barn by Head Chef Andy Daggart. The sense of tradition that is embedded throughout the Glenfiddich distillery is best embodied by the pride the employees feel for the produce they make. The Glenfiddich distillery should definitely be on your bucket list when you’re planning to visit Scotland as the history of whisky is entwined in the very soul of this picturesque country.
Price: The Pioneer’s tour is priced at GBP 95 while other tours are available for GBP 10 and 35.
Image Credits: Glenfiddich
