We had been planning our trip from the US to Scotland for many years. We cancelled twice due to the pandemic but FINALLY got to go. Although there for a couple weeks, we wanted to plan something awesome in advance in terms of learning and tasting the fabulous whisky of the Speyside area for a couple days. After carefully researching all options, we selected Michellle and Speyside Tours. We arrived in Dufftown in the afternoon, checked into our B&B and then met up with Michelle's walking tour. It was a delightful day and a fantastic experience. Michelle has lived in Dufftown her whole life and is a wealth of knowledge! She knows EVERYTHING about whisky, the region, the people, the history and chocolate! That's right, we were on the Whisky & Chocolate Tour! Michelle selected precisely the right chocolate for each whiskey tasting. We started at her home office garage where we were issued whisky glasses tied to a lanyard that we had around our heads. We hiked through town and the beautiful countryside, taking relevant stops along the way. Michelle had a large backpack full of great whiskies and a several tins of different chocolates. We would stop in front of a distillery, and she would give us all the background while pouring tastings and serving chocolate. It was so cool! The walking tour was a group tour of about 12 of us.
We weren't done with Michelle. The next day, we had booked a driving tour with her. She used her van and took the 4 of us to Speyside Cooperage where we got to see how whisky barrels are refurbished. Then we went to Cardhu Distillery where we got a professional tour from the distillery. It ended with a nice group tasting plus a cocktail. Then Michelle drove us to the River Spey where we hiked down the riverbank and had a delicious sampling of more whiskies from the area. Then we went to Glenfiddich / Balvenie and did more sampling and gift shopping. From there, Michelle cooked us a traditional Scottish lunch with amazing food (salmon, venison) and delicious desserts....PLUS - a cocktail. Following lunch, we took a digestive walk, looking for local botanicals suitable for making gin. This was so fun! We came back to Michelle's office/garage, and proceeded to distill our own personalized gin using some of our fresh botanicals!
Overall, I highly recommend Michelle and Speyside Tours. We felt that it was well worth the cost. This was one of the best parts of our entire Scotland adventure! read more