At Scotland’s smallest traditional distillery, Edradour, you can learn firsthand about that powerful liquid originally called the ‘water of life’, on an insider’s tour and tasting. Scotch whisky, also called Scotch, is malt whisky or grain whisky that’s made in Scotland. It must be aged and created in a specific way to be called “Scotch Whisky.”
Edradour creates over twenty-five distinctive Highland Single Malt Scotch Whiskys and gets the distinction as Scotland’s smallest distillery due to the size of its stills—which are the stout copper tanks used in the whisky making process. In Scotland’s Highlands, people have been making whisky for a very long time. The neat thing about Edradour is that it’s like a mini museum, taking visitors through a more traditional process. Unlike most commercial distilleries, there are no computers involved in the manufacturing process here, just two men using their sense of smell and sight, turning levers and adding ingredients just like master chefs.
During our visit to this Perthshire distillery, Andrew Symington, Edradour’s owner, explained how making whisky is a little like storing time in a bottle. “What we’re making today won’t be ready for at least another 10 years. And a lot of things will have changed in the world in the next 10 years.” Even if you don’t think you like Scotch Whisky, this is a tour that anyone can enjoy. And for all you lovers of the traditional Highland Single Malt, it just might be essential.
We sometimes film things at odd times to avoid disturbing regular travelers. In Scotland, we actually filmed our whiskey tasting at 8am, so I was drinking whiskey for breakfast! Edradour also ages their whiskey in interesting casks. I tried a whiskey that was almost clear because it was aged in a spiced rum cask from the West Indies. I’m not a big whiskey drinker, but it was good. A little hard to stomach so early in the morning though, so I brought a few bottles back to the states to try at least at the happy hour-hour.
