You need something tasty and substantial, best thing to do is ask a mate! We 'ran into' Glen Scotia's brand ambassador Ibon Mendiguren who directed us to the Royal Hotel
 |
| Photo: @JWBassman_ |
And an interesting selection from the menu!
 |
| Photo: @JWBassman_ |
Mmmmmmmmmmmmm!
After a bite to eat we followed Ibon across the town, following the signs to the Glen Scotia distillery
 |
| Photo: @JWBassman_ |
Where, once again, we were met by the Distillery Manager Iain McAlister for a tour.
 |
| Photo: @JWBassman_ |
Iain told us a little about the history of Campbeltown and it's many distilleries
 |
| Photo: @JWBassman_ |
including, of course, his time at Glen Scotia.
 |
| Photo: @JWBassman_ |
Then it was off to the Malt Bins to try some peated barley
Glen Scotia use Concerto barley in their unpeated recipe and a blend of Concerto and Optic in their peated recipe.
 |
| Photo: @JWBassman_ |
Into the milling room
to see a 65 year old malt-mill.
 |
| Photo: @JWBassman_ |
and to the Mash Room
A normal mash lasts around 8.5 hours.
 |
but doubled as the repair man!
 |
| Photo: @JWBassman_ |
A very engaging speaker!
 |
| Photo: @JWBassman_ |
There are nine huge stainless steel washbacks, each holding around 25,000 litres but Glen Scotia usually only half fill them with worts. The average fermentation is nearly 130 hours
There are six inside...
...and three outside! being colder they slow down the fermentation process and give a different flavour profile.
Iain drew some 'beer'
 |
| Photo: Andy |
A few funny anecdotes were shared!
 |
| Photo: @JWBassman_ |
And we visited the beautiful Still Room which once contained 3 stills, they date from the 1970s.
 |
| Photo: @JWBassman_ |
Another chance for a team photo!
Iain explained how the distilling process worked...
Max was particularly interested!
Beautiful stills
 |
| Photo: @JWBassman_ |
 |
| Photo: @JWBassman_ |
Iain then reached into the 'drinks cabinet' to let us try the new make spirit which comes off the stills at around 69% ABV.
Photos: @JWBassman_
We then walked outside to look at the warehouses including the mysterious Section C
A beautiful distillery in the sun shine!
 |
| Photo Andy |
Iain then lead us into the Dunnage Warehouse
Full of interesting casks and beautiful smells
Ibon then tried his hand at opening a cask
Then Iain showed us how to do it properly!
 |
| Photo: @JWBassman_ |
Iain then asked for volunteers...
 |
| Photo: @JWBassman_ |
When I saw the cask he was pointing at I had to step forward!
 | |
|
 | |
|
 | |
|
 | |
|
And what an amazing dram it was.....
 | |
|
Iain was then kind enough to fill a bottle for me!
 |
| Photo: JWBassman_ |
 |
| @JWBassman_ |
We were introduced to a few really interesting drams, all sharing that oily, maritime signature of a Glen Scotia Campbeltown malt but with various finishes and levels of peat - an amazing afternoon!
One of the oldest casks in the distillery's warehouse, dating back to 1989.
It was incorrectly labelled as Refill Sherry but in fact was ex-bourbon giving a beautiful oily, salty, lightly peated dram - a typical Glen Scotia
An amazing warehouse tasting lead by an amazing bloke!
Time for another team photo!
and another!
Then back to the shop for a final dram before saying goodbye!
 |
| Photo: @JWBassman_ |
 |
| Photo: @JWBassman_ |
After a few purchases, signed by Iain, we wandered back to or accomodation, reflecting on the day and readied ourselves for an evening meal!
 |
| Photo: @JWBassman_ |
Ibon 'knew of a place' so we headed off for a twenty minute walk. after ten minutes the Campbeltown weather hit its peak and we were welcomed with horizontal monsoon rain.
We arrived at the Ardshiel Hotel soaked to the skin....
An amazing hotel and whisky bar with some super friendly staff and fantastic food!
Of course they had their own Glen Scotia bottling so we had to try a bottle!
And give it a pour....
In fact we had to buy a few too!
Ardshiel Hotel Whisky Bar
Many, many thanks to Iain and Hector at Glen Scotia for an amazing tour and tasting and of course to out fantastic host Ibon for a brilliant day!
 |
| Photo: @JWBassman_ |
If you missed some of the other posts from this trip they are:
No comments:
Post a Comment