Today, Friday, we commenced day 2 of our Whisky Tour.After daparting our lodgings at the Royal Hotel at Dunkeld we drove a short distance up the A9 to nearby Pitlochry where we availed of a tour of Blair Atholl Distillery, part of the Bell Group. This was a good tour of a distillery which sends 98pct of its production for blending within the Bell group leaving just 2pct of the single malt for retail sale. Next we went just a few miles to Edradour Distillery, Scotland' smallest whisky distillery which provides excellent quality free tours- see pic below. Edradour is under private ownership with the owner having a keen interest in rare and special malts which are available for sale in the distillery shop. At Edradour, whisky is distilled and produced in a traditional manner and in small quantities ,known as the 'hand made malt'. Distillery tour guide was excellent combining humour with a deep knowledge of the whisky process.After Edradour we ventured further up the A9 to Dalwhinnie distillery which is located at the coldest inhabited place in Scotland with average temp of 6 degrees centigrade. Dalwhinnie is a large distillery, part of the Diageo group. It's principal product is the 15 year old malt. Tour was OK, if somewhat 'mechanical'.Next we engaged in some sight seeing ,by driving up through the Great Glen to view Loch Ness from Fort Augustus. Then on to Isle of Skye but stopping for some refreshment at the remote Cluanie Inn en-route which boasts a whisky bar with some 200 malts including some which are very rare (e.g. 53 year old Glen Grant selling at GBP35 per dram).On arrival at Broadford (Skye) the restaurants were very busy and we wound up in a fairly average pub which served a half decent but adequate meal.Next we drove on to the village of Torrin to find our lodgings for evening. Torrin was easy to find but not so our lodgings. We spent some 20 mins driving round in circles with added frustration caused by absence of cellphone signal and the local phone box being out of order. We eventually sought help from some locals who directed us to the house and pointed out that the sign to the B and B had blown down!When we eventually found the lodgings which proved quite satisfactory and we had a good welcome.Tomorrow we tour Skye and visit Talisker Distillery which is known for its peaty malt. Then catch the ferry to Mallaig and on to Fort William via Glenfinnan in the evening. Fingers crossed for some decent (no rain) weather!
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