We had such a wonderful time on our tour! I think they only downside was that our tour was "early"…read moremorning (10am) and there are very limited options in the area for breakfast and going to a distillery tour on an empty stomach is not an ideal situation. However, we still enjoyed touring the property and learning about its rich history from our wonderful tour guide, I wish I could remember the young man's name as he did a great job with answering all the questions people had and still getting through everything at a nice pace. I was driving and unable to really enjoy them at the distillery but they gave me take home bottles and I enjoyed them back in our hotel room. I would definitely recommend making this one of your stops if your in the area! I can't wait to come back and enjoy them on site next time

THEE Glenlivet was our second favorite distillery on our whisky tour. The Glenlivet has a very…read moreinteresting story and taking the Originals tour was very neat. My wife and I poured our own cask strength 12 year and that was an unforgettable experience. Definitely recommend.

Tours can be very variable depending on your guide, but lucked out with a good one. And it helps…read morethat the distillery itself has lots of amenities, props, signage, and equipment prepared for tours - including components into the barrels, which was not something commonly seen on most tours. Access to the aging warehouses is fairly common but again they did an unusually good job, complete with some partially clear barrels to help demonstrate losses due to evaporation (Angel's share). The history, both the rise and fall and subsequent years remaining the brand, were also very interesting, and a unique perspective vs many other distilleries. The tasting itself was also well done, with proper appreciation of scotch, and a decent sampling. Paid for some extra tastings that were also solid - the Cu Bocan expressions were a particularly nice addition to the lineup.

Never had tomatin before but stopped by this place since it's easily accessible from the Highlands…read more Didn't have time for a tour so stopped by the bar and to quickly check out the place. They give a complimentary taste of the 12 year (most popular) which was tasty. I also purchased a flight of the cask selection (20 pounds) which I really enjoyed. Actually ended up purchasing a bottle, which I was able to pour myself. Staff was very friendly and helpful.

If you only go on one distillery tour while in Speyside, this is the one to go on! You're gonna…read moreneed reservations because it fills up, but it is an in-depth tour of the distillery and their process. The warehouses are fantastic and they have a really good taste after the tour. If you just wanna go to the tasting room because you can't give them a tour, you can spend the lot of money, but you'll have an experience like no other The grounds are amazing and the Balvenie castle ruined is within walking distance and a nice place to have a picnic lunch depending on the time of year. You also walk beside barley fields. Barley that goes in the scotch that you just saw being made or being engaged.

Glenfiddich was one of our three stops during a Speyside whisky tour day. When we originally went…read moreto book a tour (in advance from the States), staff at the distillery informed us our particular date would not be possible as they were in an annual shutdown period when essential maintenance was taking place. We decided to go anyway to sample the goods in the Whisky Lounge since we were touring 2 other distilleries that day. (And how many times do you need to learn the same whisky-making process?) When we arrived, they informed us they WERE doing tours that day, but they were fully booked. We would have liked to tour this one as it was the one larger / bigger name distillery we were visiting, so we were bummed to hear that we may have been misinformed by their staff in advance of our trip. That having been said, we continued with our plan to taste some of their whiskies - asking for guidance from staff on what we should try that would be more difficult to get back in the states. (The same question we asked at every bar throughout Scotland.) We were given a little guidance and selected 3 drams to create our own tasting flight. We liked what we got (perhaps more so than the tastings we had at the other Speyside distilleries that day) There's a huge whisky menu to choose from, including existing flights...so it's a bit overwhelming, but ultimately we were happy we stopped in, even despite the miscommunication about the availability of tours.) Bonus - on the way out, a very friendly cat found its way to us and did its best to convince us to either stay forever or take him with us...ahh, if only it were possible.

Although the beers produced at Cairngorm Brewery aren't some of the most innovative or earth…read moreshattering, but they are award winning and tasty. The brewery is located to the north of Aviemore. Probably walkable if you have time on your hands or a short taxi if not. The tour is informative but don't expect to see anything new if you've done a brewery tour before but the highlight is the amount of beer you get to try. We had a taste of pretty much every bottled beer they do and as others in the party weren't that thirsty, ended up getting a lot of beer for not much money!

I'm a big fan of the beers from the Cairngorm Brewery which are available from various outlets…read morearound the country. The brewery is worth a visit as they offer brewery tours which are very informative.

American Tourist here…read more The property is not particularly impressive in either size or scenery. The tour is cheap (6 GBP) and you can reserve easily through their website. The tour itself is pretty standard, you walk through the production area and the guide gives a explanation of the distillery process. At the end you get your choice of a dram of the standard 12 year, the distiller's edition, or the special edition distillery only single malt. At least those were the options when we were there. You can get everything done in around an hour. If you are a tourist pressed for time I would suggest visiting one of the other bigger more impressive distilleries like Macallan or Glenfiddich instead...those would be more of an "experience." Unless of course you are a big fan of Cragganmore, in which case check it out.

An excellent and highly knowledgeable tour (thank you, Carol!) featuring many of the un-modernized…read moreaspects of distilling at Cragganmore. Some places use stainless steel where they use Douglas Fir, for example, and the condensers are of an older sort. Very good to have the tasting in the Club Room rather than a shop. Recommended!

Great tour of my favorite Scotch distillery. We got to learn…read moreabout the history of the distillery and the process of making their amazing Scotch. In the restaurant I got to try a 25 year old Scotch and was in heaven!

Probably one of the biggest tours of a distillery in the area. The team have been doing it for…read moreyears and they have a great story and a couple of tour experiences. If you visit during the summer months, it gets busy. In the off season, you can get a tour almost to yourself and it's well with the £10 for the tour and whisky tasting. This is generally my go to distillery tour when I'm in the area. Good tour, tasting and schedules.

There are places where locals get their share of booze and then there is Macallan. Perhaps the most…read moretouristic distillery in the entire country, as no sane Scot would pay a visit here. Overpriced, commercial scotch owned by a big conglomerate? That's a perfect place for Americans to grab a drink! With all that out of the way, it has to be said that the newly constructed distillery is a piece of art. Integrated into the hills of Craigellachie, this sustainable architecture is a wonder to behold, if you don't have a sip so scotch. The atmosphere inside is modern with very kind people working throughout. It's much more equivalent to coming into a Michelin starred restaurant than most distilleries in Scotland. Yet, the original house, pictured on every Maccallan bottle still stands on the grounds and is an architectural wonder no less than the modern building. The tastings are extremely well arranged with deep knowledge among the staff and many touring opportunities. The vault is a very cool place. The staff even went above and beyond calling our hotel to arrange some food to be ready in the room after enjoying all the drinks. While this experience is without a question crafted by a major commercial entity, it is absolutely worth the visit to Maccallan for the architecture, vast tastings and a carefully assembled team who go above and beyond.

Ok, I'll start by saying that this place is visually impressive on another level, but that's where…read morethe pros end. We arrived on a cold rainy day, and from the parking lot and it was unclear which direction to go in to get to the entrance. We figured it out, but with the weather it was not nice to be in the elements so long between the parking lot and the lobby. We were greeted by an attendant who checked us in and we had a chance to look around before our tour started. When the tour started the guests were provided a "cocktail" which was a mix of whisky and too much vermouth. Since I was driving I was giving a glass of house made peach soda, which wasn't bad. We were informed by our guide, Collum, that their video projector was down and he would have to provide the history of The Macallan the old fashioned way, by mouth. This was frustrating since the tour was supposed to be a visual marvel. This tour was the most expensive of the local options and we could have simply read the plaques instead of listening to him paraphrase. When we got to the distillery he gave the shortest talk on how whisky is made and distilled I've ever heard. Given all the money they spent on grand high ceilings and renewable energy, the small lit up table showing the stages of production was underwhelming. Nothing against Collum, he was friendly and engaging, but the whole place wreaks of pretension, and it is definitely not worth it. Save your money and take a tour somewhere else. We were given some Macallan glasses to make up for part of the tour being unavailable, but I can't say it was an even trade. I will add, that I am not a whisky drinker, but their 18 year old Colour Collection was served as part of the tasting and that was one of the better whiskies I ever gotten to sample.

We highly enjoyed our time at The GlenAllachie!…read more The GlenAllachie isn't one of those fancy, sprawling corporate distillers. It's smaller, more personal, and a welcome breath of fresh air after a few of the big names down the way. We found our way to the tasting room, which is apparently quite new, and delightful. My only suggestion for improvement is some sound absorption materials around. One loud guy can really take over the whole room in a place like this, and from what I've seen, there are often loud guys at places such as this. We each selected a flight for tasting, and they were expertly poured. We were given detailed info about our selections and were happy to head over to the small but well-appointed gift shop to make some purchases. Definitely make The GlenAllachie a part of your Whisky adventure in Speyside! Their Whisky is delicious and the folks there are kind and fun.

Our tour guide, Kaleigh was very friendly and informative. The tour was comprehensive and…read moreinteresting. The tasting at the end was great and it was to meet others.