Scotland -- May 2014

In May 2014 my very good friends Lee and Jenn decided to get married in Scotland. Always happy to have an excuse to travel somewhere new I instantly agreed to attend. Mike decided to join me in order to share in my experiences of awesome Scottish scenery and epic whisky, and after meeting Lee and Jenn at a New Year's party he was invited to attend the wedding too.

The wedding was amazing and Mike and I had a great time driving around Scotland both before and after. Much whisky was sampled and much scenery was appreciated. The details of each day are below and I finish this journal with a special summary of all the whisky I tasted and/or purchased to take home.

• May 8 -- EWR
• May 9 -- Tarbert
• May 10 -- Lagavulin
• May 11 -- Lagavulin
• May 12 -- Dumfries
• May 13 -- Carrutherstown
• May 14 -- Spean Bridge
• May 15 -- Eyre
• May 16 -- Inverness
• May 17 -- Edinburgh
• May 18 -- Edinburgh
• May 19 -- Home
• The Whisky

The 6h15m flight from Newark to Edinburgh was relatively easy last night. I even managed to sleep for a couple hours so that I had enough energy to drive all day today. The empty middle seat beside me certainly helped with my comfort.

At EDI we quickly cleared customs (although Mike caused a bit of confusion in his sleep deprived state). After a quick stop at a newsstand for Mike to ogle some candy we picked up the rental car (a Ford C-Max) and then headed out of the airport to a nearby mall to get UK SIM cards for our phones (mainly to use for GPS). Getting to the mall without a GPS was tricky and we took two or three wrong turns before succeeding.

The process of getting our phones hooked up here in the UK was extremely easy. We popped into a branch of Carphone Warehouse and the guy there gave us each an O2 SIM with £20 of credit on it. This credit is enough to get 250 minutes of talk time, 2500 text messages and 500MB of data, all of which should be way more than we need. The whole transaction took about ten minutes. Brilliant.

Next we stopped into a "Boots" which is like a UK version of Shoppers Drug Mart. Then for lunch we went to Marks and Spencer to pick up snacks from their glorious food hall. We ate our feast of smoked salmon, cheese, potato farl, tomatoes and yogurt back at the car while planning out the rest of the day.

Due to the delay of our flight leaving Newark we did not have enough time today to actually go inside Stirling Castle, but we still wanted to stop by and have a look at the outside. So we plugged the address into Google Maps and off we went. Google Maps has been working great, especially with Mike's windshield mount for the phone. On the way to Stirling we saw someone driving a Reliant Robin which is perhaps the most hilarious car in existence. Stirling Castle was pretty cool from the outside and afforded nice views of the countryside, but our accommodations for this evening are in Tarbert which was still another 170km away past Loch Lomond and through some crazy mountains so we had to cut it short and head out.

The drive past Loch Lomond and through the Trossachs was spectacular. The scenery was definitely on par with stuff I'd seen before in Ireland and New Zealand and Iceland and the roads were extremely fun to drive on (i.e. narrow and twisty). We stopped many times to take photos and appreciate the surroundings (including a lovely bakery) as we drove so we didn't make it to our hotel until about 6:30pm.

Tonight we are staying at the West Loch Hotel which is this fantastic place just five minutes drive from the Kennacraig-Port Askaig ferry to Islay. The owners here are amazing and all four of them spent a lot of time living in Toronto so we had tons to chat about. After getting settled we went down to the bar and had a chat with them over beers while they ate their dinner. We also took this time to ponder their extensive selection of fine Scotch Whisky.

We had dinner in the hotel restaurant and it was really good. I had local scallops to start, and then excellent fish and chips with a side of peas. For dessert Mike and I shared Cranachan which is toasted oats soaked in whisky and mixed with whipped cream, honey and raspberries.

After dinner we went for a walk around the area and then returned to have a couple drams from their whisky collection. I had the Knockando 12 Year Old, a Speyside Malt that is hard to get outside of Scotland; and then I had the Bunnahabhain 18 Year Old, an Islay Malt that we would not see on our visit to Islay due to an unexpected closure of their visitor centre. Both were excellent.

We chatted for a bit over our whiskys and then at 11:00pm decided that we'd stayed up long enough to get our bodies used to the new time zone and so we went to bed.

Candy at Boots

Me in the C-Max

Salmon and cheese for lunch

And yogurt!

View from Stirling Castle

Stirling Castle

Country-side

Bakery rest stop

Bakery rest stop

Loch Lomond

Mike walking near Loch Lomond

Loch Lomond

Loch Lomond

Loch Lomond panorama

House and waterfall on Loch Lomond

Me running or something at Loch Lomond

Me at Loch Lomond

Mike and I at Loch Lomond

Trees

Mighty Ford C-Max

Scenery in the pass out of the Trossachs

Panorama in mountain pass

West Loch Hotel

Pre-dinner beer

Scallops

Fish and Chips!

Angry (or possibly sleepy) dessert

Sunken boat on post-dinner walk

Liquor selection at West Loch Hotel

This morning Mike and I were up early so that we'd have time to enjoy breakfast before catching the ferry to Islay. Mike had scrambled eggs with smoked salmon from nearby Loch Fyne, and I had the full Scottish plate with bacon, sausage, eggs, tomato, and the best blood pudding I've ever tasted. It was truly an excellent start to the day. When I told the owner how much I enjoyed the blood pudding in particular, he kind of turned his nose up. I guess it is an acquired taste.

After breakfast we chatted with the owners a bit more while checking out and then it was off to the ferry. We had booked tickets in advance and so it was super easy to check in and board. The boat was quite large and included a full restaurant, a cafe and a viewing lounge in addition to several "fruit machines." For the first half of the trip Mike and I chatted with a couple from just north of Edinburgh about things to do in Scotland. They were very enthusiastic and insisted that we see everything! We don't quite have that much time, but we did decide to alter our plans a bit on the way to Skye in order to see the train bridge that is featured in the Harry Potter films.

After chatting for a while we went up to the lounge to enjoy the scenery and have some coffee and delicious lime-chocolate-shortbread cookies from the Isle of Mull. Those things were amazing and I'm definitely going to need to find more of them. The trip was just over two hours, but with the chatting and the scenery the time just flew by and soon we were treated to views of Islay and Jura as we came into Port Askaig.

Once off the ship we drove up the hill and suddenly we were out of Port Askaig. Apparently it's just three houses and a pub. Anyway, the next turn-off put us on the single-track road to the Caol Ila distillery. Yes, the biggest distillery on Islay is down a two-way single track road. Crazy. At the distillery we looked around a bit outside and then went into the shop for a free taste of their Feis Ile 2013, a whisky they made for last year's "Islay Festival" that takes place here annually to celebrate all things whisky. It was hot and smokey and delicious, and the girl who served it to us made some hilarious comments about the wind and the rain in a thick Scottish accent as we drank. It was pretty great.

The main event for today was a tour of the Bruichladdich distillery, but we had a bit of extra time to kill so we stopped to see the ruins of Finlaggan Castle on the way. The castle was seat to Clan MacDonald way back in the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries and from there they controlled much of western Scotland. The road to get to the ruins was impossibly small (even for a single-track road) with sheep everywhere and weeds growing up in the middle of the track. But there was a nice visitor centre at the end and a lovely older woman told us all about the area. We hiked out to the ruins in the rain so the atmosphere was perfect too.

After finishing up at the ruins we headed to Bruichladdich. Upon entering, the guy behind the bar immediately asked us, "peated or unpeated?" Everything and anything was available for sampling at no cost! To start I had the Port Charlotte 10 Year Old, Heavily Peated, and it was most excellent. I only had a bit though, and gave the rest to Mike as I still had to drive us to Port Ellen after the tour. This pattern continued for the rest of the time at Bruichladdich so Mike may have left a bit worse for wear compared to me.

While waiting for our tour to begin Mike and I wandered around the excellent shop and picked out some things we'd be likely to purchase after the tour. There were several "distillery-only" bottlings of their whisky as well as lots of awesome clothing items and glasses and other accessories.

Mike and I were the only ones on our tour so we were treated to an extra-special experience. But before I get into that, first a brief description of how whisky is made. Whisky has three ingredients: water, malted barley and yeast. You take the malted barley and mix it with warm water in a "mash tun" for some time. The barley is then taken away and given to cows as high-protein feed. The remaining water, called wash, is collected into giant vats called "wash backs" which can be made of wood or stainless steel and which hold about 35,000L. Yeast is added to the wash and then the mix is allowed to ferment for several days. Once fermentation is complete the wash, now at about 7% ABV, is moved to the copper stills. It is brought to a boil and the alcohol (which has a lower boiling point than water) vapourizes first and is collected from the necks of the stills. The liquid moves through at least two distillation runs, once to bring it up to about 20% ABV, and then a second time to take it to 65%-70% ABV. At the beginning of the distillation the first alcohol that is collected has toxic methanol in it, and at the end of the distillation the alcohol is too weak. These "heads" and "tails" are collected separately and can be mixed with the next batch and re-distilled. The middle stuff, the good stuff which is called "new make," is collected into casks (generally ex-Bourbon) and aged for at least three years. The casks are charred before use by the Bourbon companies and that char still remains when the whisky is put in them. The longer the whisky sits though, the more the char is stripped from the wood along with delicious oils and flavours. Once the whisky is aged to satisfaction it is mixed with some water to bring it down to the desired ABV (often 46%) and then bottled.

All distillery tours give you some version of the above description as they take you through the distillery and point at the various components. Each tour is a bit different, but they all follow the same patten. Our guide at Bruichladdich hurried through the early stuff though to give us more time in the warehouse to taste some very special whiskys straight out of the cask! Another highlight was when we saw the "wash backs" and he let us taste the wash. It tasted a lot like beer, without the hops (which is exactly what it was). When we were done tasting, he told us to just toss the rest back into the wash back (can't argue with that since it just gets boiled in the next step anyway). Finally, he also let us try some "new make" which was pretty harsh. We also took some and rubbed it into our hands which had the effect of releasing various aromas as the alcohol evapourated. It started out smelling like the "new make" and then progressed to smelling of cereals and grains. Really cool.

In the warehouse, while tasting the very first edition of Bruichladdich's famous Octomore line straight out of the cask, our guide asked us about the rest of our plans in Scotland. We told him we were headed to Lee's wedding and he responded by filling a plastic water bottle with some of the Octomore to give to Lee as a gift! This was the most amazing thing ever and totally cemented my love of the distillery in general. The 25 Year Old he let us try straight out of the cask helped a bit too.

Back in the shop, Mike sampled a few more and then chose a bottle to buy. I sampled a couple as well (in very small quantities) and decided to "bottle my own." Bruichladdich always has a cask in the shop, specially chosen by their staff and available for people to buy a bottle that they fill, seal and label themselves. The cask today was a 12 Year Old Port Charlotte chosen by Tina MacKinnon. Most single-malt whiskys you buy are bottled from a mix of many casks (because it's too expensive to do a bottling run for a single cask). So a bottle straight out of the cask is unique because each cask imparts slightly different characteristics to the whisky. Plus it is "cask strength."

In addition to whisky, Mike and I each got a t-shirt and a Bruichladdich-branded Glencairn glass. We also picked up some "Octomore" cheese to snack on later (it was delicious and actually did taste like Octomore whisky). We gave our guide a generous tip on the way out and then decided to walk around the little town a bit before heading to Port Ellen. On our way to a cafe we ran into a Canadian couple and of course ended up chatting to them for a while. At the cafe I had a coffee and Mike had some carrot cake. I also bought a couple bottles of beer from Islay Ales to enjoy at a later date.

The drive to Port Ellen through Bowmore was pretty fast and easy. Our B&B tonight, Tigh-Na-Suil, is actually in the town of Lagavulin just a few minutes east of Port Ellen. We checked in and then I chatted with the owners (Dot and Don) a bit while Mike took a nap. I ended up helping Don format a new memory card for his camera and later he showed us his extensive whisky collection. He snaps up rare, one-off releases from the Islay distilleries and then auctions them off at a later date (always keeping one for himself).

For dinner we drove back to Port Ellen and each had a massive plate of fish and chips. Afterwards we walked around the quiet little town a bit, but it was getting chilly so we headed back to the B&B to drink tea and chat by the fire.

Awesome breakfast

Awesome breakfast

Ferry to Islay

Mike offering food (a common pose)

Ridiculously good biscuits

Steaming away from the mainland

Symmetry

Approaching Islay

Approaching Islay

Coming into Port Askaig

The road to Caol Ila, yes it is a two-way street

Caol Ila

Caol Ila, with our car

Caol Ila gates

Sheep overlooking Finlaggan

Stream at Finlaggan

Ruins at Finlaggan

Ruins at Finlaggan

Ruins at Finlaggan

Ruins at Finlaggan

Sheep were on the roads everywhere today

Amazing

My first sample

Mike and the wall of whiskys at Bruichladdich

Grist mill

Mash tun, note it is open-top, which is unusual

Mash tun

Wash backs, they extend down quite far below the floor

Some wash for sampling

The wash still, for the first distillation

The spirit still, for the second distillation

Bruichladdich also makes gin, and this is where it comes from, note the special botanical vapourizer at the top

Casks in the warehouse, and the plastic bottle that ended up holding the special treat for Lee

Our guide carefully pouring water below the oils in the whisky to show the separation

More casks in the warehouse

Casks for sampling

Whisky!

Bottling my own

Labelling my bottle

Bruichladdich gates

Bruichladdich gates

Post-tour

Sheep just wandering around town

Awesome Bruichladdich font and colours on the side of their building

Mike napping after the tour

View as we headed to dinner

Massive fish and chips

Sunset in Port Ellen

Port Ellen

Port Ellen

Port Ellen

Port Ellen

Port Ellen, with the big maltings plant on the right

We each had a great sleep last night and breakfast was pretty good too (although not quite as good as the breakfast at West Loch). After eating we chatted with Dot and Don for a while before our tour at Ardbeg at 10:30am. Don asked if we knew how to burn a CD from YouTube so he could play this Boz Scaggs song he really liked in his car. At first it seemed like a funny request, but as we helped them through it I realized that computer stuff is still fantastically complicated for people who can't be bothered mucking about in front of a screen for hours. All he wanted was to listen to a song he saw on YouTube in his car and it took both Mike and I almost an hour to make that possible. Technology is amazing, but it still has a long way to go.

Regardless of how long it took, Don was super happy to have the CD and even though it almost made us late for our tour we were happy to help them. As a bonus, Dot gave Mike a Marks and Spencer Christmas Cake for his dad. Mike has been trying to find one with no luck (because it's not Christmas) and while we worked he asked Dot she thought it was even possible. She started digging around in her cupboard and found one and gave to him! He was quite pleased.

Ardbeg is only a fifteen minute walk from our B&B but we had to go quickly because of all the chatting and Scottish hospitality. Fortunately we made it just in time. The tour guide took us through the distillery and told us about some of the history. They still use a lot of old equipment, although parts were clearly more high-tech than Bruichladdich. The tour was good, but there were a lot of people on it so we didn't get much of special treatment. We did however get to taste Ardbeg's malted barley and it was very good: it actually tasted a lot like Ardbeg whisky!

At the end of the tour we all gathered outside to taste five different Ardbeg whiskys. First was their new "Blasda" which is a very lightly peated malt, meant to help introduce people to Islay whiskys (which are often quite heavily peated). It was good, but I prefer the peatier stuff. Just as we finished the Blasda, it started to rain in true Scottish fashion. So we headed inside to an empty warehouse to finish the tastings.

The other expressions we had were: the 10 Year Old, Alligator, Corryvreckan and Uigeadail. Of those four, only the Alligator was new to me and it was quite nice (although now impossible to buy). Fortunately the Uigeadail is quite good and is easy to find.

For lunch we went to the Old Kiln Cafe which is part of the Ardbeg Distillery and is one of the most recommended restaurants on the whole island. We each got a cheese toastie and shared a cheesy bean baked potato all of which Mike declared to be super British. For dessert we had a "Clootie Dumpling" which is a type of fruit cake served with heavy cream. A nice pot of tea rounded out the meal. After the rather generous tastings of the morning it was nice to sit and relax over delicious food and tea.

Before leaving Ardbeg we browsed the shop and bought some souvenirs including a flask in which to put the special Bruichladdich whisky we received to give to Lee for his wedding.

Next on our list was a visit to the shop of the Lagavulin distillery, but we were running short on time as we thought we had to be at Laphroig for out tour by 3:00pm. So after dropping our Ardbeg stuff back at the B&B and chatting (as-quickly-as-politely-possible) to Dot and Don we rushed over to Laphroig, a ten minute walk in the other direction. Upon arrival we found out that the tour wasn't until 3:30pm so we would have had plenty of time to browse the Lagavulin shop. It was too late to go back though, so we're going to try to stop in tomorrow morning before catching the ferry back to the mainland.

While having our quick-as-politely-possible chat with Dot and Don, they were simultaneously building and staining picnic tables. Apparently they supply tables to all the distilleries on the island! And sure enough, Laphroig had a bunch set up outside. Since we had a few minutes before our tour Mike and I each grabbed a couple samples and took them outside to enjoy in the sun on one of the fancy custom tables made by our hosts.

Laphroig had five different whiskys available for free sampling so before the tour we each had the 18 Year Old and the Triplewood. Both were nice, but we have each had their Quarter Cask before and liked it better. The tour had even more people on it than the Ardbeg tour but it was still pretty good. Laphroig still does some of their own malting so we got to learn a bit about how that works. To malt barley, you mix the freshly harvested grains with water for a while and then lay it out to rest for several days. The barley will start to sprout and then it is collected and placed in a kiln. The kiln has a fine mesh floor and a fire is lit underneath. Peat is added to the fire to produce smoke which fills the kiln and gives the whisky its delicious smoky/peaty flavour. At both Laphroig and Ardbeg there was a lot of talk about responsible peat harvesting as peat takes a very long time to develop. They are careful not to take too much from one spot at a time in order to preserve the peat bogs for the years to come.

Laphroig is a bigger distillery than Ardbeg and they had seven stills compared with Ardbeg's four (or Bruichladdich's two). We also got to see the special "quarter casks" that are used to produce that expression.

After the tour we tasted the new Laphroig "Select" which, like the Ardbeg Blasda, is an attempt to gently introduce people to the peatier malts of Islay. We finished up the day with a sample of the Quarter Cask which remains the favourite for both of us.

Before leaving, Mike bought some souveniers and we also got a large piece of Laphroig smoked salmon to munch on during the long walk back to the B&B. It was delicious, but we were still hungry on returning so we had some more Octomore cheese and a bunch of the candy Mike has been accumulating. After resting for a bit we went back into Port Ellen to buy some food at the grocery store and then drove all the way out to the end of the road that leads east from the town. The road was very small (even for a single-track) and eventually it just gives up and ends. At the end we pulled off into the grass, gathered our food and had a picnic on the beach. It was a great spot with gorgeous views of the water and the Scottish mainlands. Despite the remoteness though there were a couple of campervans parked there too. When we finished dinner we walked past one and the couple inside invited us to sit with them for a while to share their wine. We each had a small glass and chatted about travelling and stuff. They were from Bristol and were just driving around exploring Scotland.

After chatting Mike revealed to me that he was in somewhat dire straights, um, intestinally speaking, and so he encouraged me to make good time on the drive back. So I quickly (but safely) drove us back to the B&B (i.e. I hauled ass down the tiny single-track road, almost hitting a peacock at one point). We made it, but in his distress Mike took the key and ran inside leaving me locked out until he had resolved things.

For the rest of the evening we relaxed by the fire again, chatting and drinking tea. Islay has been fantastic but we're looking forward to meeting up with everyone tomorrow for the wedding festivities!

Walking to Ardbeg

Peat!

Ardbeg malted barley

Ardbeg grist-mill

Ardbeg mash tun being filled

Ardbeg mash tun

Filling a wash back

Wash stills at Ardbeg

Ardbeg!

Ardbeg!

Barrels

Our guide staring the sampling

And then the rain moved the sampling indoors

Tea at the Old Kiln Cafe

Clootie Dumpling

Ardbeg!

Countryside on the walk back from Ardbeg

Walking back from Ardbeg

Countryside on the walk back from Ardbeg

Laphroig!

Laphroig!

Sampling some Triplewood at Laphroig on picnic tables made by Dot and Don

Barley floors

Sprouting barley

Kiln

Oven under the kiln with some peat

Huge stainless steel (instead of cast iron) mash tun at Laphroig

Fancy super clean stainless steel wash backs at Laphroig

Laphroigian army of stills

Stills and spirit safe

Spirit safe

Barrel warehouse

Laphroig smoked salmon

Bunny on the walk back from Laphroig

On the road out to the end of Islay

On the road out to the end of Islay

On the road out to the end of Islay

Dinner feast

Ridiculous malt bread thing we just had to buy

Ridiculous malt bread thing we just had to buy

Ridiculous malt bread thing we just had to buy

Feeling the squidge

Shadows at our dinner spot

Mike and I were up early this morning for breakfast so we could be on the 9:45am ferry back to the mainland. We chatted briefly with our hosts and Mike invaded their personal space in order to get a photo with his arms around them. It was pretty hilarious.

After stopping quickly at the Lagavulin distillery so Mike could grab a branded Glencairn glass we checked in at the ferry and soon were headed back to Tarbert. We spent the ride drinking tea, reading the Jim Murray whisky bible and making plans for the rest of our trip. Upon reaching the terminal on the mainland we bought tickets for the ferry to Skye for Thursday.

Today we drove about four hours to get to Dumfries, but we broke it up quite a bit to make it less boring. Our first stop was for petrol in Lochgilphead and of course Mike got a bunch of snacks too. Next we stopped for lunch at Loch Fyne Oysters where we bought roasted smoked salmon, prosciutto-style venison, a nice loaf of bread and a wedge of Mull of Kintyre cheddar cheese. We chatted with the staff while looking around and I managed to convince them to shuck a couple oysters for me to sample. They were delicious, as was all the food we bought. Mike had an interesting conversation with one of the girls behind the counter about kosher foods and she mentioned that they actually have a rabbi come in to bless the salmon. Pretty cool stuff.

We ate outside the shop and then headed to our next stop, one kilometre down the road. I had seen Fyne Ales Brewery from the road on our way to Tarbert on our first day and I mentally made a plan to visit it on the way back. It was amazing! It was this tiny place at the end of a long single track road and they had dozens of beers for sale and four cask lines available for sampling. Mike and I each had a quarter-pint sample and I picked up a few bottles for later consumption.

After the brewery there were no more stops and we drove straight on through to Dumfries. Mike fell asleep for a while but with the GPS the drive was easy. There was the same gorgeous Loch Lomond scenery followed by some more boring bits which eventually gave way to beautiful rolling green hills as we approached Dumfries. Mike remarked that the towns and countryside started reminding him more and more of England the further south we travelled.

After driving around in circles for a bit we found a place to park near our B&B in Dumfries and then got checked in. The building is a lovely restored 19th century home and there was a dram each of Glen Moray whisky waiting for us in our room. While enjoying that we transferred Lee's special Octomore from the plastic water bottle to the flask. There was too much for the flask though so we each had a dram after the Glen Moray. There was still more left over though and then we noticed that there was a bit of wood from the cask floating in the remainder in the bottle so we decided to give Lee the plastic bottle in addition to the flask. We thought it would add to the story and it was cool to see the wood in the whisky.

Once suitably refreshed and dressed we headed over to the Globe Inn to meet up with everyone. Unfortunately no one was there yet so we decided to explore downtown Dumfries for half an hour. It was super deserted and everything was closed so we just walked until we thought we had waited long enough and then returned to the Globe.

When we got there everyone had arrived and was seated in a separate room we had just for our party. Lee, Jenn, Lee's parents, Jenn's mom, Greg, Keizo, Crystal and Jenn's friend and Jenn's friend's sister were all seated and enjoying drinks while waiting for us. Mike and I ordered some cask beer and joined them.

The Globe Inn in Dumfries was a favourite haunt of Robbie Burns and as Lee is a tremendous fan of romantic poetry he was very excited to have his pre-wedding dinner at that spot. Once Mike and I arrived, Jane Brown, the president of the Robert Burns World Federation, gave us a tour of the Globe showing us the preserved room he used to sleep in and a secret room he used to hold gatherings in all while telling us stories of his time in Dumfries. It was really cool.

Once our tour was done we sat down for dinner. I had steak pie with apple crisp for dessert. It was great to chat with everyone and catch up on our travels. I really love meeting up with friends while travelling.

After dinner we retired to the bar area to enjoy their selection of over fifty different whiskys, all priced at £2.50 regardless the vintage. It was pretty amazing. While sitting in the bar a bunch of random local people showed up and started playing music and singing. It seemed like they were just practicing or something but they sounded really good. For my final whisky of the evening I ordered a double of the Cragganmore. As the barmaid poured though she noticed that the bottle was almost done so she just dumped the whole thing into my glass. It ended up being closer to a quadruple rather than a double but she didn't charge any more. Needless to say the night went a bit sideways from there. We ended up chatting with some random drunk strangers until the bar shut down and they suggested we all go to karaoke. We managed to extract ourselves from that and part ways and return to our various accommodations. Back at the B&B Mike and I chatted while finishing our loaf of bread from lunch and drinking water before bed.

Mike invading our hosts personal space

Traps on the dock while waiting for the ferry

Pulling away from Port Ellen

Loch Fyne

Oysters!

Lunch!

Those are some Loch Fyne ales

The Globe in Dumfries

Deserted Dumfries town square

Jane Brown talking about the room Robbie Burns used at the Globe

At dinner

A two pound coin, crazy like a toonie

Lee and Jenn posing with Jane Brown and her chain of office as president of the Robert Burns World Federation

Listening to music in the bar

Crazy drunk locals bought Lee a Macallan Gold

And then this happened...

Today was the wedding! But not until the evening so of course Mike and I filled the day with other activities. We got up very very early (and hung-over in my case), ate a quick breakfast that was delicious (but really only a source of stomach lining for me) and then headed out to the 7stanes Glentress mountain biking centre near Peebles, about 1.5 hours from Dumfries. The drive was gorgeous with lots of sun and blue skies and endless rolling green hills. I dropped Mike at the centre around 10am and then left him there to go explore the countryside. The last time I went mountain biking with Mike I crashed pretty hard and broke a bunch of teeth so I wasn't keen to try it again.

Instead I drove a little further to go see one of the famous "Border Abbeys" that dot the area. These abbeys are all quite old and have been the target of numerous sackings by the English over the years due to their proximity to the border. I went to Melrose Abbey, established in 1136. The remaining ruins date from about 1590 and were a glorious spot to enjoy a sunny day and walk off the remaining traces of damage from last night's indulgences. It wasn't busy and so I often found myself alone in the ruins.

After the abbey I drove back to Glentress and enjoyed a coffee and some snacks in the cafe while waiting for Mike to finish up his ride. Glentress is an amazing place, with rentals, tons of trails, the cafe, showers and change rooms and a full shop. Mike loved the trails and mentioned that he'd consider coming all the way back to Scotland just for the mountain biking.

Once Mike was cleaned up we drove to Hetland Hall, the hotel everyone is staying at tonight and the location of the wedding reception. We got cleaned up and changed and then went down and met everyone out front. Jenn was beautiful and Lee looked quite dapper in his kilt. I took a whole lot of photos with my 50mm (i.e. my portrait lens) and then the limo arrived and whisked everyone off to Comlongon Castle for the ceremony (Mike and I followed in our car).

The ceremony took place in the upper hall of the castle, up a long stone spiral staircase. The room had a huge fireplace (complete with roaring fire) and Lee and Jenn were piped in and out by a bagpiper. The ceremony was great and then we went out to the gardens for photos in the sun.

Back at the hotel we went to the bar for pre-dinner drinks. Lee had ordered a selection of five different beers from the most excellent Williams Bros. Brewing and we had two before dinner. For dinner I had cullen skink, haggis with neeps and tatties, roast Galloway beef with auld reekie sauce, and cranachan for dessert. To drink with dinner all the beer drinkers each had the most special beer, the special edition Fraoch Heather Ale aged in whisky casks from Auchentoshan. We each got a 750mL bottle and it clocks in at 11% ABV so it was a good thing the meal was big!

After dinner Lee and Jenn cut the wedding cake and we all sat around chatting and enjoying the other beers Lee had acquired for the night. It was a fantastic time and everyone thoroughly enjoyed themselves.

Melrose Abbey

Melrose Abbey

Melrose Abbey

Melrose Abbey

Melrose Abbey

Melrose Abbey

Melrose Abbey

Melrose Abbey

Melrose Abbey

View from top of Melrose Abbey

One of the abbey gargolyes is a pig playing the bagpipes

Melrose Abbey

Melrose Abbey

Mike, post-ride

Driving back from Glentress

Crystal and Jenn

Lee and his parents

Jenn and her mom

Mike and Lee

Greg and Lee

Jenn and Lee's parents

Greg and Lee

Crystal and Keizo

In the limo

Limo arriving at the castle

Fire in the hall where the ceremony took place

Newly weds with Jenn's mom

Me making a weird pose in an old chair

Being piped out

In the gardens

Keizo and Mike messing around with the marriage license

Thug life

Piper

Newly weds in front of the limo

A Wee Bit, a peated scotch ale collaboration with Brooklyn Brewery

Cock o the Walk, a scottish red ale with surprising citrus hoppiness

At dinner

Gift for the guests

Cullen Skink

Haggis, neeps and tatties

Galloway roast beef

Barrel aged Fraoch Heather Ale, totally brilliant

Cranachan

Cutting the cake

Keizo helping

Delicious!

Jenn looking concerned for Crystal

Greg and Lee's dad

Mike

Caesar Augustus Lager/IPA Hybrid, pretty good

Midnight Sun, a nice spiced porter to finish the night

Getting late...

Really late...

Really really late...

But Lee is still good!

We slept in a little bit this morning and then joined everyone for breakfast in the hotel dining room. It was fun to chat a bit more before going our separate ways (although Lee and Greg didn't make an appearance until just before check out).

Mike and I then drove north from the hotel to Glasgow where we parked at a shopping centre right downtown and looked around a bit. Mike had a great time at a candy store and we also stopped into a grocery store for a few snacks, including Haggis flavoured vegan potato chips.

The UK is famous for having really good Indian food, and of all the places in the UK to get Indian food Glasgow is supposed to be the best. So for lunch we yelped a random Indian restaurant and went there. The food was good, but certainly not life changing in any way. I suspect I'm spoiled by the excellent food we get from all nations in Toronto. I also think that Yelp doesn't work as well outside of North America.

After lunch we were back on the road for our third trip past Loch Lomond. But this time at the end of the loch we turned right, towards the Highlands. It very soon became clear that the name of the region is apt; the drive was endless mountains and amazing views. We stopped here and there for photos, eventually arriving in Fort William.

Fort William is located at the base of Ben Nevis, the tallest peak in Scotland (and thus the tallest peak in the UK). At the edge of town on the foot of the mountain is the Ben Nevis distillery. Ben Nevis whisky is extremely hard to get outside of Scotland so we had made plans to stop in here and check it out. Unfortunately we were too late for a tour and the guy in the shop was a bit cranky. I had to beg to get a taste before buying a bottle of their classic 10 Year Old single malt and it was really hard getting any information about anything. The taste I eventually received was good though and at only £30 for a full bottle it was a good deal.

Tonight we're staying in the tiny village of Spean Bridge, about ten minutes outside of Fort William. Fort William is an extremely popular spot for outdoor enthusiasts of all kinds so accommodations are often completely booked up. Rather than pay too much for a mediocre place we decided to leverage our car to stay in a nicer spot for less by going a bit out of the way. It seems to have been a good call, Spean Bridge is lovely and the B&B is our nicest accommodation yet. After a busy start to the trip we decided to just relax at the B&B for a while, rather than trying to cram in some activity before dinner.

Around 7:00pm we walked to downtown Spean Bridge so Mike could mail a post card and to get some dinner. We ended up at The Old Station Restaurant, a converted train station located on the railway as you'd imagine. They didn't have a table for us when we arrived so we had a drink in the bar. They had three cask lines including one pouring a beer made exclusively for the restaurant. The UK is awesome for beer!

Dinner was good, but the highlight of the meal was when an old steam train stopped on the tracks outside the restaurant. It was the Jacobite Steam Train which runs from Fort William to Mallaig and it is a fairly major tourist attraction. It was hilarious to go out and see the train and see all the people on it looking back at us.

After dinner we walked back to the B&B, stopping at a Spar so Mike could get some more candy. I enjoyed some of my beer from Fyne Ales and then to finish the night we each had a dram of the blended whisky "Dew of Ben Nevis" which Mike bought from the distillery. Today was awesome but also super relaxing; I think we needed the break.

Candy shop in Glasgow

Delicious!

Streets of Glasgow

Curry for lunch

The roads got a bit tight as we approached the Highlands

Mountains!

Mountains!

Mountains!

Mountains!

Posing below the imposing Mountains!

Mountains!

Mike mailing a postcard into a hedge

Exclusive beer at dinner!

Jacobite Steam Train

Jacobite Steam Train

My post-dinner indulgence

Mike's post-dinner indulgence

Today we were up in good time and greeted with the best breakfast of the trip. Actually it might have been the best breakfast I've ever had period. First was fresh fruit, fresh squeezed orange juice and french-press coffee. For the main part of my meal I had a meat, cheese and fruit platter that was just incredible. Mike had the best oatmeal I've ever tasted. It was plain, but came with heavy cream and crunchy roasted grains mixed with coarse sugar to sprinkle on top. It was seriously the platonic ideal of oatmeal. He also had a pile of corn fritters with smoked salmon and feta cheese. The whole thing was just epic and we gave the hosts endless compliments before checking out.

Our first stop today was the Glenfinnan Viaduct, an old railway bridge that was recently used in the filming of the Harry Potter movies. A short walk up a hill gave pretty good views of both the bridge and the surrounding area.

The excellent scenery from yesterday continued today as we made our way to the Skye Ferry at Mallaig. We grabbed some smoked salmon in a tiny shop in Mallaig before boarding the ship and then thirty minutes later we were on the Isle of Skye! As expected it was even more beautiful than anything we'd seen so far.

We drove straight through to the Talisker Distillery to book a tour for late afternoon and then headed south down a single track road to do the Fairy Pools hike. The hike is fairly short but follows a very pretty stream with deep, blue, crystal clear pools and it takes you right up to the base of the Cuillin Mountain range. The weather was windy/rainy/misty, but I think that made the walk even better. We suited up in rain gear, packed some snacks and had a great time out in the big nature of Skye.

After the walk we changed back into normal clothes in the car and then drove back to Talisker arriving just in time for our tour. The tour was good, but felt a bit corporate (which was expected since Talisker is part of the large Diagio conglomerate). We were able to taste their 10 Year Old, the Distiller's Edition and the Friends of Classic Malts Edition, all of which were quite good (Friends was my favourite). Mike bought their sampler pack and a shirt and then we drove on to our B&B located in a tiny town called Eyre, fifteen minutes north of Portree.

Once again staying in a tiny spot outside the major centre paid off. The B&B is lovely. With some recommendations for dinner from the owner we headed into Portree. Our first stop was to get some chips in newsprint to satiate Mike's nostalgia (and our stomachs) and then we walked down to the harbour and ended up getting dinner in a tiny seafood restaurant. I had an excellent beer from Skye along with mussels from Skye and a steak pie. Mike and I split another cranachan for dessert. While eating we noticed that there was really familiar sounding bagpipe music playing. It turned out to be a CD by the Red Hot Chili Pipers, a Scottish band that does covers of popular music using bagpipes. It was hilarious and awesome.

After dinner we wandered about the town a bit, got some more snacks at a grocery store and then headed back to the B&B to relax and chat a bit more before bed.

Best evar oatmeal

Salmoned corn fritters

Fruit/meat/cheese, and yes that is half a passionfruit

More awesome scenery

Glenfinnan Viaduct

More awesome scenery

Coastal times near Mallaig

Smoked salmon shop

Time for a snack

On the boat to Skye

Some of the many mountains of Skye

Some of the many mountains of Skye

Some of the many mountains of Skye

Some of the many mountains of Skye

Some of the many mountains of Skye

Random lamb

Suited up for the hike

Fairy pool

Super clear water

Super clear water

Waterfall

Messing about

Messing about

Starting to get closer to the mountains

Messing about

Sheep

Sheep

Water and mountains

Part of the Cuillin Range

People part way up the actual mountain

Tiny hikers

Walking back

Walking back

Highland Cow!

Highland Cow scratching itself!

Classic Jag outside Talisker

Talisker

Some of the many mountains of Skye

Some of the many mountains of Skye

Some of the many mountains of Skye

Mike was super excited for chips in newsprint

Harbour area in Portree

Harbour area in Portree

Breakfast today was not quite as good as breakfast yesterday (that would literally be impossible) but the view was amazing. The dining room at the B&B overlooks Loch Snizort Beag and is quite stunning.

After checking out we drove north to do a circuit of the Trotternish Peninsula, starting with the town of Uig. We didn't know what to expect there, but the approach was gorgeous. We stopped for a few photos and then cut across to the Quiraing, an area of amazing hills and mountains and rock formations. I got to do some more fun single-track mountain driving with the first proper hairpin turns of the trip. The scenery was even crazier than anything seen so far and we were treated with amazing weather for viewing it. There was both sun and cloud with a lot of wind to make the lighting very dynamic. I'm absolutely sure at this point we won't see anything more gorgeous than the Quiraing on the rest of the trip and I'm so glad we trekked up there today.

Next up on our road trip was The Storr, with the famous "Old Man of Storr" just north of Portree. We got out at several points to take photos as we approached and the wind was even stronger. At times it felt like it would pick us up and blow us away. We didn't have time today to hike up The Storr unfortunately, but we did enjoy viewing it from a distance as we drove past.

The big activity for the afternoon was a tour of Mike's favourite distillery, Glenmorangie, over in Tain on the other side of Scotland. So after finishing our Trotternish circuit we more or less drove non-stop for the rest of the morning and early afternoon. The amazing scenery continued of course as we crossed the bridge off Skye and re-entered the mainland Highlands. Eventually we passed out of the really big mountains and spent about an hour driving along the famous Loch Ness. We didn't see any monster but the Loch was a cool dark blue in the sun, as would be appropriate for its great depth. Mike and I chatted extensively on the long drive today, especially about my plans for the future regarding my career. It's always good to get Mike's perspective and it's unfortunate that we live so far apart at the moment.

We filled up the car in Inverness and then headed north to Tain. On the way we made a short detour to check out Black Isle Brewing. Despite being just off a major highway we had to spend ten minutes on a single track road that actually deteriorated to gravel before we reached the brewery. It was a very cool spot though and I picked up a few beers for later sampling.

In Tain we had a quick snack and then drove another five minutes to Glenmorangie, arriving thirty minutes before the tour. Mike was extremely excited, even for him, and his joy was quite infectious. Before the tour Mike ordered two samples of Glenmorangie he had never had before and gave me a taste of each. I liked the Signet over the 25 Year Old, but both were quite excellent. I'd consider buying the Signet for sure.

The tour was very good, probably my second favourite after Bruichladdich. In the warehouse they opened a few casks to let us smell them and get a sense of the differences between some of the whiskys in their line up. After the tour we had a sample of their standard 10 Year Old and then Mike purchased a bottle of Ealanta, his favourite whisky ever and one that is almost impossible to buy anywhere.

Eventually the distillery closed for the day and they kicked us out so we drove back to Inverness and found parking near our hostel after driving in circles for a while. We have decided to do hostels in the big cities (Inverness and Edinburgh) in order to save a bit of money and to get a chance to chat with other travellers which is always fun. The hostel in Inverness is small, but there were friendly people in the lounge and we spent an hour chatting with them before heading out to dinner. We walked around aimlessly for a while, just looking at the city, before settling on some pretty good Indian food.

After dinner we walked around some more down by the river and made plans for tomorrow. In particular there are some shops we'd like to see in Inverness before leaving so we decided to skip out on seeing anything in Speyside. Instead we will just enjoy Inverness in the morning and then drive straight to Edinburgh.

Back at the hostel we settled into the lounge with beers and whisky and spent the evening chatting with random folks as they came and went. I was tired from the long day of driving so I went to bed around 12:30am, but Mike stayed up chatting until past 2:00am.

Breakfast, love that blood pudding

View at breakfast

Approaching Uig

Uig

Uig

The road to the Quiraing

Sheep on the road to the Quiraing

Approaching the Quiraing

In the Quiraing

In the Quiraing

In the Quiraing

In the Quiraing

In the Quiraing

Leaving the Quiraing

Leaving the Quiraing

Green grass, dark clouds, threatening sea

Great spot for a trailer

Approaching the Storr

Pretty grass and sea

Epic coastline

The old man

Walking on the grass in the sun

It was really windy!!

Storr from the other side

More mountains on Skye

Leaving Skye via the bridge

Amazing mountains back on the mainland on the way to Inverness

Amazing mountains back on the mainland on the way to Inverness

At Loch Ness

Black Isle Brewing

Mike and his samples at Glenmorangie

The current Glenmorangie line-up

Stills at Glenmorangie

Good times!

Good times!

Curry for dinner

The river Ness in Inverness

Lounge at the hostel

Mike and I both slept well at the hostel, but we got up and checked out early anyway to make the most of our day in both Inverness and Edinburgh. We started with Cornish Breakfast Pasties from a random shop and then went to Marks & Spencer just as it was opening. Mike picked up snacks and a few gifts for friends and family.

Our next stop was a fancy whisky shop with a pretty good selection. Mike bought Jura's Diurach's Own 16 Year Old and we spent a long time looking at all the other awesome stuff. After the whisky shop we stopped into a few other places and Mike picked up a bunch of random stuff including ridiculous Scotland flag boxers and a crazy kilt towel. I found a random 20cl bottle of Bruichladdich's Sherry Classic and decided to add that to my take-home collection.

Satisfied with our time in Inverness, we went back to the car and drove straight through to the Edinburgh airport to return it. The scenery through the Cairngorms National Park was amazing but we didn't stop because we were ready to be done with the vehicle and get settled in Edinburgh. As much as I love the freedom of having a vehicle on trips, I'm always happy to be rid of it because I can reallocate the part of my brain dedicated to the car's care and feeding back to the actual trip itself.

From the airport we took a shuttle downtown and then walked to our hostel. A random local girl stopped us as we walked and asked us if we needed help finding our way. We didn't, but she didn't seem to understand so she led us to the hostel anyway. It was a bit weird at first (wondering if it was some sort of scam) but in the end she just turned out to be a helpful friendly person. Pretty cool.

The hostel is nice and clean with a big friendly lounge and lots of helpful amenities. It's much bigger than the one in Inverness but still feels pretty small and cozy. We have a 4-share instead of 6-share so that's a bit nicer too. After getting settled and dumping our stuff we headed out into town to look around and find some dinner.

Edinburgh is a really great city. It has so many old buildings and walkways and lots of great shops and restaurants. We walked around quite a bit looking at things and then settled in for dinner at a place called The Outsider based on reviews from Yelp. It was fantastic! I had braised beef cheeks with veggies and we shared a salmon salad thing as a starter. I also had an Innis & Gunn on draft.

After dinner we went to the Bow Bar, an award winning whisky bar near our hostel in Old Town that happens to have about 14 cask beer lines in addition to its extensive whisky menu. It was quite busy, but we managed to snag a table in a corner where I enjoyed a Highland Ale and a dram of Talisker's 57° North. The pub was excellent and I suspect we'll be back tomorrow.

Back at the hostel we played pool in the common area while sharing some sample sized bottles of whisky we had picked up over the course of the trip so far. Then we spent some time chatting with other people as they wandered in and out as you do in a hostel. We were hoping to tag along on some random adventure, but most of the people that night had decided to go to some bar out in the suburbs which didn't sound super appealing. Instead Mike and I just wandered around town some more, eventually getting chips at a shawarma place and an ice cream sundae from McDonald's. With no big plans for tomorrow we didn't hurry back and stayed out until about 1:30am.

View of Inverness from the hostel lounge

Breakfast!

Mike is a chicken legend

Returned to EDI with nary a scratch

Awesome/random batmand drawings we found in a shop near our hostel in Edinburgh

Edinburgh, Old Town

Edinburgh, Old Town

Advocate's Close connecting Old Town and New Town

Edinburgh, New Town

Edinburgh, New Town

Edinburgh, New Town

Edinburgh, New Town

Edinburgh, New Town

Edinburgh, New Town

Edinburgh, New Town

Edinburgh, New Town

Edinburgh, New Town

Edinburgh, Old Town

Edinburgh, Old Town

Edinburgh, Old Town

A referendum on Scottish independence will occur in September and lots of people have strong opinions on the matter

Whisky at Bow Bar

Hostel lounge

Random steps, late at night

Once again staying in a hostel didn't really affect my sleep. Neither Mike nor I really heard our roommates come in super late. I was up before Mike so I went down to the lounge and got a croissant and some orange juice and read the Internet for awhile until Mike appeared. Then we shared some oatmeal until the fire alarm went off at which point we decided it was time to head out and see some more of the city.

Being a Sunday morning most things were closed so we went up to see Edinburgh Castle. It sits high above the city offering amazing views all around. We wandered around a few of the buildings, saw the crown jewels and took photos from the ramparts. A random marching band played selections from the Gladiator soundtrack for a while in the courtyard in front of the castle as we toured.

Next we walked over to the New Town area stopping at a few shops along the way. One place, the Scotch Whisky Experience, had a pretty good selection of whisky for sale. Most interesting though was the extremely high end stuff including very old Highland Park and a few bottles from Dalmore's crazy expensive Constellation Collection.

In New Town we had "proper tea" at a place called Eteaket including scones with double Devonshire clotted cream and Scottish strawberry jam. It was nice to relax there for a while. Also, the combination of the clotted cream and jam finally showed me why people like scones: they're a conveyance for delicious toppings! After tea I grabbed a roast pork sandwich from a really highly rated take-out joint that roasts whole pigs (like at a proper south-western Ontario pig roast) and shreds the meat for sandwiches. Mine came topped with haggis and was very delicious (and messy).

Next we went back to the hostel and each spent about an hour figuring out how to repack our bags to hold all the whisky and souvenirs we had acquired for the trip back home tomorrow. With that accomplished we went back out so that Mike could buy a gift for Michal and so that I could get some more whisky to take home. I ended up getting a few sample bottles at Royal Mile Whiskies which is an amazing shop. The staff were super friendly and helpful and their prices were better than anything else I'd seen in the city. Definitely the place to go in Edinburgh.

For dinner we had shawarma and some very France-style pastries for dessert (i.e. a raspberry tart). Then we returned to the hostel to drop off our purchases and see if there was anyone in the common area. It was pretty quiet so we hung out and chatted to each other a bit before deciding to go for another walk in the city. This time we headed to the University area and got to walk around in some nice big parks as the sun set. We stopped for some chips as a snack and then went back to Bow Bar for some more whisky before returning to the hostel to get to bed in good time.

Mini-roundabout outside our hostel

Marching band at Edinburgh Castle

At Edinburgh Castle

At Edinburgh Castle

At Edinburgh Castle

At Edinburgh Castle

At Edinburgh Castle

At Edinburgh Castle

At Edinburgh Castle

The key to the city at Edinburgh Castle

Old (spendy) Highland Park

Tea and scones

Scottish taxi

Roast pork sandwich

Panorama of Royal Mile Whiskies

Royal Mile Whiskies

Phone boxes

An Abbey-style Blonde from Black Isle, I don't normally like this style much but this was amazing

In the hostel lounge

A street near our hostel

Walking around Edinburgh

Walking around Edinburgh

Walking around Edinburgh

Edinburgh castle at night

Edinburgh castle at night

Random New Town building at night

The bar at Bow Bar

This morning we got up very early and hopped in a classic black "London-style" taxi to get to the airport for our early flight home. We had some breakfast and then went to the duty-free shop to see what was available. The prices were good, but not great so we didn't buy anything. However we each were able to try a sample of Talisker's duty-free exclusive malt Dark Storm. It was pretty excellent but maybe not the best idea for early in the morning before a long flight home.

On the plane I caught up on my professional duties by watching the Lego Movie, Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs 2 and Thor: The Dark World. I had a fairly easy connection at Newark and was back in Toronto quickly. At customs I accurately informed the officer I was over the limit on spirits, but they did not charge me duty. That was pretty excellent.

I want to go everywhere in the world, but Scotland was not on my list of places to go immediately due to its proximity and relative ease of travel within the borders. I really feel like I should save the "easy" countries for when I'm old and less in the mood for crazy adventure. Having said that, Scotland is a wonderful place and I'm so happy to have gone and seen a bit of it. There is plenty I missed that I'd still like to see including the Orkney Islands, the Outer Hebrides, the Shetland Islands, the north-western Highlands and all of Speyside. I'd also love to spend some time there doing more serious hikes to the peaks of some of the many mountains. I'll definitely have to go back. This trip was extra fun as well because I was able to attend an excellent and happy wedding and I got to share my adventures with my good friend Mike.

Speaking of Mike, he has written up his perspective on our adventures which you can read about at his website.

Although it was not the entire purpose of the trip the whisky was definitely a highlight worth its own section. To start with, here is an ordered list of the whiskys I tasted while travelling (noting that sometimes it was literally just a taste in order to maintain the sobriety required for driving). Items in bold indicate whiskys I had never tried before.

• Grant's Blended Scotch Whisky

• Bunnahabhain 18 Year Old
• Knockando 12 Year Old

• Caol Ila Feis Ile 2013
• Bruichladdich Port Charlotte 10 Year Old, Heavily Peated
• Bruichladdich Port Charlotte Scottish Barley, Heavily Peated
• Bruichladdich 25 Year Old (straight from the cask)
• Bruichladdich Octomore 12 Year Old "Beta Edition" (straight from the cask)
• Bruichladdich Port Charlotte 12 Year Old, Laddie Crew Valinch, Tina MacKinnon Selection, Cask #854
• Bruichladdich Cuvee 407 PX, La Noche Bocca Arriba

• Ardbeg Blasda
• Ardbeg 10 Year Old
• Ardbeg Alligator
• Ardbeg Corryvreckan
• Ardbeg Uigeadail
• Laphroig Triple Wood
• Laphroig 18 Year Old
• Laphroig Select
• Laphroig Quarter Cask

• Glen Moray Classic Single Malt
• Bruichladdich Octomore 12 Year Old "Beta Edition" (straight from the cask)
• Dalmore 15 Year Old
• Cragganmore 12 Year Old

• Ben Nevis 10 Year Old
• Dew of Ben Nevis

• Talisker 10 Year Old
• Talisker Distillers Edition
• Talisker 12 Year Old, Friends of Classic Malts Edition

• Glenmorangie 25 Year Old
• Glenmorangie Signet
• Glenmorangie 10 Year Old
• Ben Nevis Glen Coe 8 Year Old Cask Strength
• Dew of Ben Nevis

• Talisker 57° North
• Talisker 10 Year Old
• Black Bottle Blended Scotch Whisky
• Jura Origin

• Bowmore 12 Year Old
• Dalmore Cigar Malt

• Talisker Dark Storm

I also brought home a variety of whiskys (most in sample bottle size to minimize the impact on my wallet). The photo below shows the haul.

From left to right:

• Ben Nevis 10 Year Old (70cl)
• Bruichladdich Port Charlotte 12 Year Old, Laddie Crew Valinch, Tina MacKinnon Selection, Cask #854, Self-bottled #159/400 (50cl)
• Bruichladdich Sherry Classic "Fusion": Fernando De Castilla (20cl)
• Glenmorangie Lasanta (10cl)
• Hazelburn 12 Year Old (5cl)
• Jura Diurach's Own 16 Year Old (5cl)
• Kilchoman Machir Bay (5cl)
• Glen Garioch 12 Year Old (5cl)
• Auchentoshan 12 Year Old (5cl)
• Glenturret 10 Year Old (5cl)

Glassware, including special crystal glass from the castle where Lee and Jenn were married

Overall the whisky part of my trip was amazing and I definitely expanded both my palatte and knowledge. Hands-down my new favourite distillery is Bruichladdich, not just for the quality of their malts but also for the quality of their people. I also gained new-found respect for several other distilleries including Glenmorangie and Dalmore. Ardbeg continues to be a favourite as well.