I, like many people of a younger generation I would assume, know nothing about whisky.
Sure, the odd Jack Daniels and mixer here and there, but nothing serious. There is no knowledge behind the purchase of those drinks, only an intrigue to try something new.
So one thing I knew I had to do when I arrived in the homeland of whisky, Scotland, was to rectify this situation.
Luckily there was such a place called the Scotch Whisky Experience in a wonderful location next to the imposing Edinburgh Castle. We took a Silver tour of the experience, which includes a tasting of one type of whisky at the end. Which, really, is the whole reason that anyone is there, if we’re all being honest with ourselves.
Having said that, the interactive ride you start off on is actually pretty damn cool, with a Harry Potter-style ghost accompanying through the ride and explaining the details of the whisky making process. If any of you reading have ever visited the Jorvik Viking Centre in York, then you’ll know the type of ride I’m talking about.
After that we were taken into a sensory room where we learned about the variety of ingredients which go into creating the multi-faceted flavours of whisky and how each of the different regions of Scotland produces a unique-smelling and tasting whisky. We also learned the difference between single malt and blended whiskies, which I have to guiltily admit had never even crossed my mind before.
To demonstrate this, we were given a scratch-and-sniff card for each of the Scottish regions. Having initially been scratching the wrong thing and wondering why every whisky smelt of cardboard, I eventually discovered that I preferred the vanilla-scented whiskies from the Lowland area over all of the rest. This determined which whisky I chose to taste at the end.
We were each given a crystal whisky tasting glass (which you get to keep at the end. Awesome.) and then the tour leader brought round the different flavours of whisky from which to choose.
We then had to take our glasses through to the final, and most impressive, room of the tour; one which houses the world’s largest collection of Scotch whiskies and sherries. It was in here that we were shown how to correctly taste and smell whisky and then drink our sample.
It was pretty strong stuff, let me tell you. But as I sipped, I gradually grew to appreciate the undiluted taste much more than I would have done before. I was also made aware of just how many whiskies are actually available on the market and the number was pretty staggering .
Am I a whisky convert? Not really. I’ll probably still stick to my bubbles and vodka. Having said that, this was a great tourist experience for first-timers to Scotland or whisky in general and anywhere that gives you freebies at the end gets a gold star in my book.
We were provided a free Silver Tour courtesy of the Scotch Whisky Experience, however all ramblings and opinions are completely my own.
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