Learning About Scotch in Edinburgh

While doing some fun activities in Edinburgh, we passed by a place touting a Scotch whisky experience. While I’ve had plenty of bourbon in my time, I have only had Scotch once. I never quite understood the difference between a single malt and a blended whisky and was curious to learn more.

There are plenty of places around town offering tastings, but this was across the street from our next activity, and it seemed to put a little more emphasis on education. The price for the experience was a bit high, but its 4-star rating by Scotland Tourism helped me decide to go for it.

Scotch whisky

The tour began with a rather corny “barrel ride” that provides information about the rather involved process leading from malted barley to bottled perfection.

After the ride, you go into a room where a guide walks visitors through a detailed explanation of Scotch as well as the differences between the various regions producing the beverage. You’re given a scratch-and-sniff card so you can get an idea of the flavors unique to each region. For example, lowland Scotch has more citrus flavors than the whisky produced in the Speyside region, which is very smoky (from the peat used in part of the process).

Single malts are made from one grain and in one particular distillery whereas a blended Scotch is a mixture that could come from various regions.

Scotch whisky

Once the tutorial is complete, you get the opportunity to select a whisky to try. There are five steps to doing a tasting, and the guide takes you through the various steps while you’re standing amidst the world’s largest collection of Scotch (well over 3000 different bottles).

  1. Color. This is checked by holding the glass up to the light so you can see the color of the drink which will generally be a shade of amber. The longer it has matured, the darker the end product will be.
  2. Body. Tilt and turn the glass. Look at how the fluid runs down the side of the glass. Many streams that are close together means it is a lighter whisky.
  3. Nose.  This is when you gently inhale the aromas from the whisky. It is best to do this with your mouth slightly open. It really does affect the smell. This is when it’s easier to pick up the scents like citrus, vanilla, smoke, and so on.
  4. Palate.  Take a small sip of the whisky and let it linger in your mouth. Now you can begin to pick out specific, more subtle flavors.
  5. Finish. This is the aftertaste that results from the whisky. Once again you’ll pick out more flavors as well as the texture of the whisky which can be light, oily, etc. You also pay attention to how long the flavor remains. Some whiskies will produce a short finish while others may be long.

If you purchase the gold tour, you get to sample 4 more whiskies at the bar.

Naturally, you have to be 18 or over to sample the Scotch, but they serve Scotland’s Irn-Bru, a soft drink that is often referred to as Scotland’s “other national drink,” to minors on the tour.

As a souvenir, you get to keep your glass. Mine has come in handy for further whisky imbibing and drinking my white port wine, which is much better than the coffee mug I was using previously.

Scotch whisky

Scotch tour from the kid’s perspective

Tigger said he liked the ride at the beginning. He gave the whole experience an overall rating of 5 out of 10 but cautions that “it might get really boring for younger kids.” He was pretty happy to get a glass of Irn-Bru, though.

Summary

I found the tour to be quite interesting, and I learned a lot more than I expected. The downside is that now I’ve become a bit of a Scotch whisky snob. Before I’ll order a Scotch, I want to know what region it came from because I discovered that Speyside and Islay whiskies are definitely not for me. I’ve also discovered there really is a noticeable difference between a 12-year and a 15-year Scotch (referring to how long it was matured in the cask). Who knew 3 years could make such a difference?

Have you done a Scotch whisky tasting?

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23 Comments

  1. We meant to do some Scotch sampling while in Scotland earlier this year but never seemed to get around it to. Looks like another good reason to return. As for the Irn-Bru, I couldn’t stomach that stuff, although I can see Tigger loving it. I’m starting to think that Sergianas in Brasov may be the only thing our palettes have in common 😉

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    • I don’t care for it either. The only way I’d be able to drink it is if it is watered down. Good ‘ol Sergiana’s.

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  2. I did a similar Bourbon thing in Kentucky, and would love to check this out too. I think I could reasonably make a case for a ‘Delicious Liquids’ tour of the UK one of these days.

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  3. Becoming a snob is one of the side effects when you take one of these tours but at least you now know what you are talking about. Same thing happens to me when I do these tours but it eventually wears off 🙂

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    • I doubt my whisky one will wear off. I had a Speyside on the train one time, and it was just disgusting. Way too smoky. Not as picky about bourbon, though. 😀

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  4. I thought my local place with 200-300 bottles was impressive but 3000 is insane. I would love to polish up my Scotch tasting skills too sounds like a good tour

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    • It’s an absolutely beautiful country, and the people are great. Definitely a worthwhile place to visit.

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  5. I’m loving all of your posts about Scotland lately, it’s such a beautiful country which holds many wonderful memories for us, thank you for making them come alive again 🙂 We particularly loved the Isle of Skye, if you get the chance, head up there. We’ve always dreamed of living on Skye with our children one day… ahhh one day can’t come soon enough, maybe we shall get that wish, but right now we’re loving living vicariously through you two. Thanks! Keep up the great work xx

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    • So glad it’s bringing back so many great memories for you. It’s an absolutely beautiful country. We won’t be making it to Skye this round. We had planned on it, but we’ve been moving around so fast we were just too wore out and needed some nontravel days.

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  6. Our son majored in single-malt in Glasgow with a few stops in Edinburgh his senior year in college- but he skipped the barrel ride and went right to the pub.

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  7. Sounds like a quirky, delicious experience! Not sure that barrel ride sounds too great though…

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    • Yeah, I would’ve been fine without the barrel ride. The information was nice, but the presentation was kind of ridiculous. Way too corny for my tastes.

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  8. I think I’ve had scotch once in my life, but I didn’t like it (to be fair I think it was a pretty cheap scotch). Seems like Scotland and this tour would be the perfect place to try scotch again and maybe find one I like.

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    • Scotch is definitely one of those drinks where having a good one really changes the experience. Also, the maturation can make a big difference. My first taste of Scotch was a nice, 15-year-old one so I had a good introduction.

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  9. I did this tour with my daughter on her 19th birthday and we thought it was great. We’re both suckers for corny rides, and knew nothing about how whisky was made or how to taste it. I’m so glad we did it!

    We carefully packed our two (quite delicate) souvenir glasses in our backpacks and I’m happy to say that they made it via train, bus, ferry, metro and plane from Edinburgh to Shetland (for Up Helly Aa) to Newcastle and now all the way down to Jundiai, Brazil where Brian uses them for his nightcaps.

    Great memories!

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    • It’s one of the few souvenirs I’ll be packing around, too. It’s really a nice glass. Fun you got to do it with your daughter. Tigger had an unofficial tasting. I think he prefers the Irn-Bru. lol

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  10. We once stayed at a hotel in Scotland that had every Scotch single malt, in alphabetical order, on the shelves behind the bar. We made it to the Ms, but we were only there for three days.

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