Another highlight is following Speyside’s Malt Whisky Trail, a microcosm of working distilleries, a historic still house, and the UK’s only cooperage, which produces and repairs nearly 150,000 oak casks every year. At each stop, the idea is to connect with Scotland’s wild, earthy and extraordinary landscape.
Maybe the essential draw of a whiskey trip—by rail, road, or ferry—is that everyone feels implicit in the experience, lost to it and in love with Scotland’s landscapes anew, and this helps bring you into closer touch with its communities, but also with a deeper part of yourself. Everyone agrees, teetotaller or not. Whiskey emboldens the traveler.
Ben Shakespeare
Six of the best distilleries to visit in Scotland
Glenmorangie, Tain
This part of the Easter Ross coast, crumpled and folded with low, brooding hills and patched with barley fields, lies invisible to many visitors—that is, with the exception of this world-renowned distillery. Drams of floral, citrus-spiced whiskey have been produced on the farm there since 1843, yet the distillery has continued to evolve. As well as a glass tower housing two swan-necked stills—the tallest in the country—and a half-mad laboratory for new creations, there are tours galore and innovative dram tastings. To stay overnight, whiskey-flavor-inspired rooms and cottages are the reward at deliciously handsome Glenmorangie House nearby.
The Glenturret, Crieff
Founded in 1763, making it Scotland’s oldest working distillery, The Glenturret has something no other can brag about: a Michelin-star restaurant. Right now, The Glenturret Lalique has two stars thanks to chef Mark Donald’s commitment to doing wonderful things with tattie scones, langoustine and juniper-smoked sika deer, and yet his multi-course menu is only one of the draws. There are whisky maker experiences and bespoke private tours, a Lalique boutique and a 12-bed private hideaway, Aberturret Estate House. The drink itself? The 12 Year Old is rich, with dried fruits, gentle spices and smooth, oaky sweetness. Approachable, then, like the distillery itself.
The Macallan, Aberlour
Central Speyside is Valhalla for spirit lovers, with shoulder-to-shoulder distilleries like Aberlour, Cardhu, Craigellachie and Knockando paying painstaking tributes to maltmen, past and present. In the eye of the River Spey, The Macallan Estate looks as though it might have always been there, the building half emerging from the soil like a mythical Scots beastie rearing its back. The architecture is arresting and a reflection of the forests around it — a visual display of woven steel, wood and vaulted interiors beneath a wildflower-turfed roof. Undeniably romantic, it is also a place for insightful tours and next-level fine dining, thanks to the arrival of TimeSpirit, a fantasy restaurant collaboration with three-Michelin-starred El Celler de Can Roca.
The Port of Leith Distillery, Edinburgh
On down the coast to the capital and to this vertical distillery, the first of its kind in the country. Every other building in Leith seems to be obsessed with heritage, but not this hyper-modern, nine-storey black waterfront tower—the idea was originally for a conventional distillery, but ambition drove co-owners Ian Stirling and Paddy Fletcher towards the clouds. As well as various tours and tastings, the top-floor mezzanine bar rewards with whisky cocktails and memorable skyline views. “We envisage interrogating every part of the whisky production process to create a perfectly balanced waxy spirit,” says head of whisky Vaibhav Sood. “People are falling in love with tradition, and in a world full of digital, we’re producing something organic and steeped in heritage.”
Glen Scotia, Campbeltown
In the 1800s, this end-of-the-road Kintyre town was the world’s whisky capital, with 35-odd distilleries crowded and clustering the streets. These days, only three remain. The Victorian-era warehouse of Glen Scotia, with its story beginning in 1832, still feels raw and warped, yet it is the ideal setting for behind-the-scenes tours to learn about mashing and fermentation, distillation and maturation. Distillery manager Iain McAlister is a whiskey polymath, and his dedication to single cask expressions has seen the distillery win numerous best-in-class awards, so don’t pass on a flight tasting masterclass. A long way from most other big-ticket distilleries, it’s the sort of place where you feel part of a secret club.
Ardbeg
Nowhere is the character of whisky so influenced by sea and land as on the Southern Hebridean island of Islay — you can feel it in the air, with your senses slammed. The phenol-heavy, oily drams produced by the 10 obsessive distilleries here are influenced by the mashing Atlantic, wind-whipped sea spray, and pungent, crackling peat, particularly those produced on the south coast. This is where you’ll find Ardbeg, a coastal home for dram-in-detail warehouse tours, plus fine food at The Old Kiln Cafe and Ardstream Trailer. Upping the showiness, Ardbeg House in nearby Port Ellen is opening this autumn, with slavering attention to detail, a dozen themed rooms, a restaurant and a bar to muddle over the peaty paradox of soot and fruit. “A whisky lover will taste an Ardbeg somewhere like Shanghai, then look at where it’s made,” says distillery manager Colin Gordon. “On a rock in the Atlantic Ocean — and that’s so captivating.”
A version of this story originally appeared on Condé Nast Traveller UK.