Itinerary
Speyside whisky tour
Day 1: Saturday 17th October
Meet at Inverness airport at 11.10 (to coincide with the Easyjet flight from London Luton). Group transfer by coach to Lossiemouth overlooking the ocean (1 hour) where we will have free time for lunch. The first steps in making whisky involve creating a strong beer and so to better understand this process, our first visit will be to the Windswept Brewery where we will have a tour and tasting of several beers. Continuing to Forres we visit Dallas Dhu distillery. The distillery is no longer operational but has been turned into a museum where we can step back in time to see and hear how whisky was made in the 1900s. Late afternoon we check into Dalvey House private mansion, our base for the next 3 nights.
On our first evening together, we will enjoy a very special whisky and food matching multi-course dinner. A whisky expert will present a tutored tasting of 5 Speyside whiskies from distilleries which are not open for tours. This will be accompanied by a 5-course dinner prepared by a professional chef.
Day 2: Sunday 18th October
Today we head to south Speyside where we visit Glenlivet in the town of the same name. Here we will have a tour and tasting followed by lunch in their café. In the afternoon we will visit Cragganmore distillery, whose 14-year old whisky is part of the Classic Malts collection, for a tour and tasting.
Late afternoon return to Dalvey House. Free evening to visit one of the restaurants in Forres or perhaps order a take-away and relax ‘at home’.
Day 3: Monday 19th October
This morning we head back to Speyside and visit the Speyside Cooperage to experience first-hand the art of barrel-making. We continue to Macallan for a tour and tasting in their remarkable contemporary distillery, followed by lunch in their brasserie. In the afternoon we will have a tour and tasting at Aberlour distillery.
Late afternoon return to Dalvey House. Free evening to visit one of the restaurants in Forres or perhaps order a take-away and relax ‘at home’.
Day 4 Tuesday 20th October
This morning after breakfast we say farewell to Dalvey House and drive to Elgin for a brief stop at Gordon & Macphail, the famous whisky bottlers. It’s a short walk from there to Glen Moray distillery where we will have a tour followed by lunch in their café. Early afternoon we head back to Forres for a tour at Benromach distillery. Late afternoon, maybe after a last dram or two in a local pub, we drive back to Inverness airport in time for the Easyjet flight to London Luton which departs at 20.55.
END OF TOUR Speyside whisky tour
Please note: some distilleries do not accept bookings for tours more than 3 months in advance, therefore some visits are subject to change.
