Woke up with a sore throat. Sneezing for the past few days, guess I have a cold! Dammit! Yeehaw whisky country here we come! Our first stop was in Dufftown at the Glenfiddich Distillery which was a 20 minute drive from where we were staying so not too much driving today.
Wow, what a place! Very impressive property, grounds, buildings, the whole thing was amazingly well cared for. Very commercial, but nice. We of course took one of the tours! The tour involved watching a film of how Glenfiddich came to be, a tour of the distillery including each step at which whisky is made and how it is made, and a tour of the warehouse where the casks site for atleast 12 years to mature. At the end of the tour we got to sample the wares and have a wee dram! Dad, I was thinking about you here too!
Once our bellies were warm from our dram we took a walk around the property and checked out the gift shop. Even the gift shop building was immaculate.
While doing the tour we learned that Glenfiddich also makes Balvenie which is another of Keith's favorites. This saved us time as they sold Balvenie in the Glenfiddich gift shop so he bought his first bottle of whisky (during our vacation that is - haha).
I bought some Glenfiddich fudge and oh is it good! I bought some to send home to Dad so he can try too. Once our shopping was completed we walked up the hill beside the distillery and checked out the Balvenie Castle.
Next stop, the Speyside Cooperage. The Cooperage is where all the casks are made for whisky, brandy, wine, etc. We took the tour and watched the local coopers make and repair the casks. Not an easy job! The process has been handed down for generations. Most of the coopers were older, but there were a few younger guys.
Keith even tried to build one himself! Haha. Not anywhere close to the workshop the coopers work in or the strenuous work they do. He got it all together until he was inserting the final piece of wood and it all fell apart. It was entertaining. This tour also included a wee dram! The wee dram they offered was Heather Cream Liqueur which is a smooth liqueur similar to Bailey's. It was gooood!
Next stop, Cardhu distillery. We only visited the distilleries Keith was most interested in or we would have been in a million of them. There are distilleries everywhere in this country and many of them are built in the same vicinity so there are several within a square mile. Keith had only even seen Cardhu once and it was in duty free on the ship years ago. he was anxious to get another bottle since he finished his previous one ages ago. We also took the tour here and had another wee dram when finished.
By this time it was getting close to supper so we jumped back in the car and headed to Nairn (between Brodie and Inverness). We went to an Indian restaurant - Indian restaurants are everywhere in the UK. After supper we dropped the car off at the B&B (Invercairn House) and walked to Brodie Castle, which is located about a 1/2 mile walk behind the B&B. Really nice walk through the forest and onto a well manicured estate which the castle rested on. The castle was closed by this time, so we toured around the property and through the gardens. Very peaceful.
Woke up with a sore throat. Sneezing for the past few days, guess I have a cold! Dammit! Yeehaw whisky country here we come! Our first stop was in Dufftown at the Glenfiddich Distillery which was a 20 minute drive from where we were staying so not too much driving today. 
Wow, what a place! Very impressive property, grounds, buildings, the whole thing was amazingly well cared for. Very commercial, but nice. We of course took one of the tours! The tour involved watching a film of how Glenfiddich came to be, a tour of the distillery including each step at which whisky is made and how it is made, and a tour of the warehouse where the casks site for atleast 12 years to mature. At the end of the tour we got to sample the wares and have a wee dram! Dad, I was thinking about you here too!
Once our bellies were warm from our dram we took a walk around the property and checked out the gift shop. Even the gift shop building was immaculate. 
While doing the tour we learned that Glenfiddich also makes Balvenie which is another of Keith's favorites. This saved us time as they sold Balvenie in the Glenfiddich gift shop so he bought his first bottle of whisky (during our vacation that is - haha). 
I bought some Glenfiddich fudge and oh is it good! I bought some to send home to Dad so he can try too. Once our shopping was completed we walked up the hill beside the distillery and checked out the Balvenie Castle. 
Next stop, the Speyside Cooperage. The Cooperage is where all the casks are made for whisky, brandy, wine, etc. We took the tour and watched the local coopers make and repair the casks. Not an easy job! The process has been handed down for generations. Most of the coopers were older, but there were a few younger guys. 
Keith even tried to build one himself! Haha. Not anywhere close to the workshop the coopers work in or the strenuous work they do. He got it all together until he was inserting the final piece of wood and it all fell apart. It was entertaining. This tour also included a wee dram! The wee dram they offered was Heather Cream Liqueur which is a smooth liqueur similar to Bailey's. It was gooood!
Next stop, Cardhu distillery. We only visited the distilleries Keith was most interested in or we would have been in a million of them. There are distilleries everywhere in this country and many of them are built in the same vicinity so there are several within a square mile. Keith had only even seen Cardhu once and it was in duty free on the ship years ago. he was anxious to get another bottle since he finished his previous one ages ago. We also took the tour here and had another wee dram when finished. 
By this time it was getting close to supper so we jumped back in the car and headed to Nairn (between Brodie and Inverness). We went to an Indian restaurant - Indian restaurants are everywhere in the UK. After supper we dropped the car off at the B&B (Invercairn House) and walked to Brodie Castle, which is located about a 1/2 mile walk behind the B&B. Really nice walk through the forest and onto a well manicured estate which the castle rested on. The castle was closed by this time, so we toured around the property and through the gardens. Very peaceful.
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