Whisky Tours Scotland

24/03/2025

Now in the past I have posted my displeasure of Macallan and the charges they make, the cost of whisky etc etc. So today I will even things up a wee bit.

I’m going to yap about one of their drams; Macallan Amber.
Macallan’s whisky maker is a guy named Bob Dalgarno, He created this dram for the 1824 series, I am no a drinker of Macallan I must admit, I can find better ones.

This series includes Gold, Amber Ruby and Sienna, all NAS, He wanted the colours to the fore, based on his cask selections. He used European and American casks, sherry casks first and refill. Bob knows all about Macallan, he started there many moons back as a warehouseman. Can I still say that? Or should it now be a warehouse person?

Macallan Amber 1824 Series. Speyside Single Malt Scotch Whisky. Distillery Bottling 70cl / 40%, average bottle cost (too much in my humble opinion) £275. Amber-coloured dram from Macallan, well it would be eh, part of the colour-named 1824 Series, matured in sherry casks and chosen to be more fully flavoured than the Gold but more restrained than the Sienna. Have I tried it? Aye, no bad but no totally impressed, is it worth the money? Me? NO. I’ve seen it as much as £489.99 in auction, come on who is that stupid? Thank’s for the info/help Charlie.

What do they say? Amber. NOSE. Polite, almost apologetic at first, with a floral, citrus sweet nose that gains presence, commanding a chorus of vanilla notes over freshly harvested grain. Raisin, sultana and cinnamon look on as toffee apples and candy floss step into the limelight. Erm; a polite whisky apologising to you? Someone is havin a laff! Maybe apologise for the cost?

PALATE. Fresh green apples and lemons mingle with cinnamon. Ginger notes hover as fruit takes over, with subtle oak lingering in the wings.
FINISH. Light to medium with soft fruits and cereal, slightly dry.
It’s up to you, but me? Give me an Edradour, Glendronach, Glenallachie any day. Better still a nice aged Tamdhu.
PAUL MCLEAN.

24/03/2025

dram of the weekend by far!

24/03/2025

stayed up in Caithness last weekend, here are a few pix. Many thanks to my pals Ian and Elaine, solid friends are hard to come by, I have two here.

19/03/2025

A global whisky giant has unveiled a new visitor experience in Scotland with packages starting at £50,000

19/03/2025

ridiculous! I can tailor a bespoke package a lot less than this with an expert, excellent hotel and fabulous dinner, to include private driver too!

A global whisky giant has unveiled a new visitor experience in Scotland with packages starting at £50,000

19/03/2025

DOES ANYONE KNOW HOW IT STARTED AND WHERE THE MEN DISTILLERY WORKERS?

https://lisburn-distillery.net/
Distillery Football Club was formed in November 1880 (before Celtic by the way!) with the club playing its first match on 20th November 1880 – a one-nil victory over Dundela – at Daisy Hill, Roden Street, Belfast. In 1882 it moved to a new ground at Broadway, Belfast and won its first trophy, the Irish Cup, in 1884 defeating Wellington Park 5-0 in the final. The club went on to win the Cup three times in a row and on 28th October 1887 achieved its highest ever victory, an 18-0 win over United Steamship. The club went on to establish itself as one of the Irish League’s top sides for the next few decades with success in both cup and league competitions. In 1963 it won the Irish League and its reward was a European League Champions Cup draw against former European champions Benfica. In a dramatic home game Distillery held its mighty opposition to a 3-3 draw before losing the second-leg in Lisbon.

Then in 1970 the club was rewarded for winning the Irish Cup with games against Barcelona in the European Cup Winners Cup. Sadly also in 1970, due to civil disturbances in Northern Ireland at the time, Distillery was forced to leave its home at Grosvenor Park and spent the next 10 years without a ground, having to to survive on the generosity of other clubs such as Crusaders, and Brantwood who let the Whites ground-share with them.

The club, founded in November 1880, originated in west Belfast, where it was based at Grosvenor Park at Distillery Street off the Grosvenor Road until 1971.

On 30 December 1952, at Distillery’s Grosvenor Park ground, the first full match played under floodlights, anywhere in Ireland, took place. The home side’s opposition were English team Burnley F.C.. The first officially approved competitive match under floodlights in the British Isles took place at Grosvenor Park on 25 March 1953 when Distillery Seconds played Ballymena United Reserves in the George Wilson Cup and the first floodlight league game in the British Isles took place at Grosvenor Park on the 24th December 1953 when Distillery played Coleraine.

After sharing Skegoneill Avenue (Brantwood) and Seaview (Crusaders) for some years, the club moved in 1980 to a permanent new home at New Grosvenor Stadium, Ballyskeagh, County Antrim, on the southern outskirts of Belfast. The main stand at New Grosvenor Park is named after legendary player Bertie McMinn.

The club was known simply as Distillery from its foundation until 1999, when it changed its official name to 'Lisburn Distillery' to associate itself more closely with its adopted borough (now city) of Lisburn. However, the club is still colloquially referred to as "Distillery". The club colour is white. A founder member of the Irish League in 1890, the club was relegated from the Premiership in May 2013.

Your club.. My Club.. Our Club

18/03/2025

away again soon, with my pal Ingvar Ronde. Hoping calmac play ball and dinnae mess about, we are off to Arran, Campbeltoon, Islay and Auld Reekie. We have quite a few distillery visits planned, meeting up with old friends - not as old as me - and let's see what happens.

18/03/2025

Mika Jansson
Best tours of Scotland, so glad our whisky association chose MCLEANSCOTLAND in 2011 as a tour operator! Since then our whisky association has had the good fortune of visiting Scotland more than a dozen times over the years, and each trip has been, simply put, perfect - thanks to MCLEANSCOTLAND. The Malt Whisky Association of Finland thanks you!!!

10/03/2025

Kythe Distillery Perthshire

The past four weeks have been, without question, the most exhilarating in the decade-long journey that has led us to this point. February brought with it a momentous milestone: the installation of our pot stills and worm tubs, crafted by the skilled hands at Speyside Copper Works, Forsyths, and Joseph Brown Vats. As with everything at Kythe, this was no simple task. Our wash still, which will be fired directly by a wood furnace, has an extra-heavy pot with it's 15mm thick base, and was set atop a bespoke brick refractory... an undertaking that posed its fair share of challenges. Yet, watching the team work you'd scarcely have known it.

Now, at last, the stills are in place, waiting for the distillery to come to life. In the coming months, the final pieces will fall into place. The interior construction will reach completion, and the intricate map of stainless steel piping will be carefully installed. If all goes to plan full installation will be wrapped up by the end of July, and production will begin soon after. We hope you share our excitement, though we suspect that no one is quite as excited as we are. We successfully installed our pair of copper pot stills, marking the first full scale direct wood-fired pot stills in Scotland. Unlike those seen in many modern distilleries, our stills will not be lacquered and have a raw, traditional appearance.

Our copper worm tubs. These traditional copper coil condensers, submerged in large vats of flowing cold water, contribute to a heavier and more robust spirit character.

09/03/2025

I don't smoke ci**rs, but this dram gets me every time, beautiful, a special dram from the cabinet tonight

08/03/2025

Just an important update for those who don't know. MCLEANSCOTLAND is now planning tours for 2025 and beyond. Paul; "I have to say we are busy with many tours already booked in and many fully paid, I'd like to stress that my fingerprints are on every tour designed. From last year, Liz is no longer with us, she has decided to leave MCLEANSCOTLAND. So it is back to how it all started, you get myself planning your tour, 3 star or complete luxury, my hands, head and feet all combine to plan the best tour possible". MCLEAN is in control folks!

08/03/2025

“Irish Distillers can confirm that Midleton Distillery is adjusting its production schedule for a routine, periodic review. This review demonstrates our ability to be agile with our production cycles and has been enabled through improved operational efficiency and state-of-the-art production facilities. The distillery will temporarily pause production in early April 2025 and will recommence in the summer to support the sustainable global growth of its portfolio of Irish whiskeys. We remain fully committed to the production of Irish whiskey at Midleton Distillery and have communicated this adjustment to our staff, suppliers, customers and contractors to enable forward business planning.”

The move means Pernod Ricard has joined Diageo and Brown-Forman in pausing whisky production, with Diageo doing so at one of its Kentucky distilleries yesterday (7 March), and Brown-Forman mothballing Scotch distillery Glenglassaugh earlier this year.

Although both Pernod Ricard and Diageo cited an increase in production efficiency as the reason for the halt, the pauses seem to suggest supply is exceeding demand across spirits firms in all three major whisky nations.

Irish Distillers hopes to lead ultra-premium whiskey growth around the world, according to its international marketing director Joao Rozario. The arm is led by Nodjame Fouad, who took on the role in 2022. The pause hasn’t stopped Irish Distillers’ brand Jameson from releasing new expressions and launching partnerships. Jameson, the world’s biggest Irish whiskey brand, saw its volumes rise by 3% but net sales were flat during the first half of Pernod Ricard’s 2025 financial year (July-December 2024).

Ireland’s whiskey exports surpassed €1 billion (US$1.04bn) in 2024.

The Midleton distillery recently refurbished its visitor experience