I'm not a whiskey drinker but thought I'd give the tasting experience a try while in town. I got the silver (most basic) tour and it includes a barrel ride (with a recorded personality explaining the process of making scotch), a guided tour of the four scotch-making regions, a tasting of one of the four varieties of your choice, and a visit to the massive scotch collection room. It's definitely a good way to introduce someone to the art and craft of making scotch, and the background information on the regions was useful. However you don't get to taste all of them. They give you a piece of cardboard with different smells representing the characteristics of the four regions but you only get to taste one. The place is located next to the castle so easy pitstop on your way to or from there. After that enjoy a leisurely stroll down the Royal Mile while trying to sober up, or hop next door to the restaurant before some shopping. read more

The Scotch Whisky Experience - Tours Near Me - Edinburgh, MLN

Lauren was very knowledgeable, and made the whole experience fun. My husband & I did the silver tour. Highly recommend!

I come from a family of whisky drinkers, but am far from connoisseur - not even a huge fan, really. But Dad made sure I knew a few things about this lovely brown liquor and as such, I was totally not offended with going to a whisky themed tourist attraction. While one should consider adding just a touch of water to release the aromas of whisky, The Scotch Whisky Experience more or less poured gallons of into a perfectly balanced barrel. If you're already a hardcore whisky fan, this is probably not the place for you. Well yes it is whisky 101, presented in interactive little cars that resemble a Disney ride. The whisky guides were knowledgable and obviously fans of the product. I did like their presentation. Almost everyone in my tour group raised their hand when the guide as who is a whisky fan... But I was the only one in the group who bought the Silver ticket. I have no shame in drinking alone when surrounded by lovely whisky selections in a tasting room overlooking scenic Edinburgh! I definitely have renewed interest in whisky after. Please go with a full stomach, or maybe carry some bread with you. It is liquor after all :) read more

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"add a few drops of water into your whiskey, mate." This is what I learned. This and a bunch of other stuff about drinking whiskey, properly. They give you free samples and there's a sweet bar at the top. I drank quite well in this bar. There's also a ride, like at Disney World. Except, for drunken idiots like me. Dope. read more

The Scotch Whisky Experience - hooooly shizzat, lookit all a dat whiskey. - Tours Near Me - Edinburgh, MLN

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I have been a Bourbon enthusiast for a number of years and I never disliked Scotch Whisky, but it wasn't something I got very excited about. This place gave me an enthusiasm for Scotch Whisky. Get the gold package when you pick your tour. The tour starts with a fun little barrel ride that is interesting and helpful especially for beginners or people looking to build a foundational knowledge of whisky. You then watch an interesting video about the different whisky producing regions within Scotland (complete with scratch-and-sniff card). Then it is on to the tasting room where you get to pick a region that you want to try a whisky from. I recommend Campbelltown or the blended since Highlands, Lowlands, Speyside and Islay will all be included in your flight at the end. You the are guided through a tasting (always fun) in a room containing the largest Scotch Whisky collection on earth. I could spend hours in there. Finally the bar at the end is a great spot to relax and enjoy the rest of your whisky flight. read more

The Scotch Whisky Experience - The first blended Scotch whisky - Tours Near Me - Edinburgh, MLN

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Such a fun tour! Learned a lot about whisky, and tasted some fabulous varieties. The tasting menu is overwhelming, so I definitely recommend letting the bartenders choose for you. read more

The Scotch Whisky Experience - Tours Near Me - Edinburgh, MLN

I had a whisky tasting experience here not long back. To begin with the food was incredible, some of the best I've actually had the pleasure of having. The table service was also incredible and really friendly. I'll admit I discovered my love for malt wasn't as big as I'd like, due to finding it all too strong, but the experience was perfect all in all, the staff had a lot of knowledge on what malts would go well with each dish, and catered to my needs with ease. The only thing I'd say let it down, was the bar member didn't seem all that interested when I was telling him I felt the tastings were too strong for my liking. read more

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We were headed for the Edinburgh castle and this was on the way. We popped in, not being whiskey drinkers, and decided to give Scottish whiskey a try. The tour was fun and we learned a lot about whiskey, it wasn't boring. We also had the opportunity to taste lots of whiskey and got a whiskey glass to take home along with our favorite whiskey purchases. Highly recommend this tour and tasting. Take your time enjoy the bar and a few tastes of whiskey afterwards. read more

The Scotch Whisky Experience - Oldest bottles in the collection of unopened Scotch, the whiskey evaporated, it's called "the angels share". - Tours Near Me - Edinburgh, MLN

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Great experience for the family. We have two boys (5 and 4) and opted for the silver tour, since they are a shade too young to partake in the full whisky experience. For those traveling with children, don't let the "Whisky" in the "Whisky Experience" keep you from enjoying the tour. First, you get to ride a wooden barrel, which takes you through the different steps of how to make Scotch whisky. The ride is very cool and will definitely keep the kids entertained. The master distiller is with you throughout the ride and explains the different processes of Scotch whisky. Your guide (a real person) explains the different regions of Scotch whisky and the different smells of the scotch from the regions. Our guide was Heather, and she did a great job explaining everything and wrangling our large group of 20 people to be quiet through the presentation. After the presentation, you get to pick a whisky and move on to the taste testing. The aspect which put my experience over the top was Heather and what she said during our whisky tasting. "Don't let anyone tell you how to take your whisky. Drink it how you please. If you drink it straight, with ice, with soda, or with lemonade, that's your business. If someone tells you that you are drinking it wrong, tell them to buy you a scotch and you'll be more than happy to drink it their way". This is what whisky tasting (or any spirit tasting) is all about, getting people interested in learning how these spirits are made and getting them to try it. You may not be a scotch person now, but perhaps you've had people telling you that by adding soda, water, or lemonade to it, that you are ruining it. Do yourself a favor and take the tour and invigorate (or reinvigorate) your taste for Scotch whisky. My hats off to the Whisky Experience and Heather, our tour guide! A+++ read more

The Scotch Whisky Experience - Sign at the entrance - Tours Near Me - Edinburgh, MLN

Whisky can be a bit intimidating but after going on The Scotch Whisky Experience tour I feel a lot more comfortable with the spirit! I went on the Silver Tour last week and had a really great time. You start by boarding a whisky barrel that tours you through Whisky's early beginnings. There's a really fun "guide" who goes through the process with you and explains everything. Once you are done with that portion, about a 10 minute ride, there is a tour guide who takes you further on a tour and you see a video of the regions for whisky. One of the coolest parts I thought was the scratch & sniff card that let you smell the aromas you can find in the whisky from each region. Based on your favorite, you can select which type you would like for a "wee dram" on your tasting. I opted for Campbeltown while Mike went with Islay. We got to taste these in a room filled with the most incredible Scotch collection you will ever see! It was donated to Diageo from Claive Vidiz and the bottles were never opened. Really awesome to look through and check them out. Loved the experience and would recommend it to anyone visiting Edinburgh, or just wanting to get introduced into the wide world of Scotch. read more

Part bar, part museum, part Epcot Center Disney attraction - the The Scotch Whisky Experience is a great tourist trap. It trapped me for about 3 hours, and I was only in town for 12! My friend and I signed up for the Platinum tour which included 3 tastings (including one 21 YO premium Scotch), a tour of the collection, and a gift bag and certificate proclaiming my liver's endurance level. To be honest, the most enjoyable part of the experience was going downstairs beforehand to their awesome bar and having a few glasses before the tour. The bartenders were awesome and really guided us to the their best bottles in the types of scotches we wanted to try. read more

The Scotch Whisky Experience - The premium scotch included in our Platinum tour - Tours Near Me - Edinburgh, MLN

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I do not like whiskey at all but my bf loves it. So when we were in Edinburgh we went to the scotch whiskey experience for him and it was pretty cool. A little gimmicky with the ride in a scotch barrel while a ghost of some dude tells you how whiskey is made. After that part is over you watch a video about the different regions of whiskey and you get a scratch and sniff card to smell the different types and then you pick one of the four regions to try. (you can also pay more to try more of the whiskey's) Then they take you into the tasting room which contains one of the world's largest personal collections of whiskey. It was pretty impressive. I would not have guessed that many whiskey's existed. My boyfriend enjoyed it and I wasn't bored out of my skull so it's a-ok in my book. read more

The Scotch Whisky Experience - pouring - Tours Near Me - Edinburgh, MLN

We did the Whisky Tour cause it's kinda the tourist thing to do and we... eh.... were tourists. Having said that, it was somewhat enjoyable. We were a little surprised at the little wine barrel ride, thinking somehow we were back at home in adult Disney or something, but like another reviewer said, it was welcoming since we've been walking alllll day long and it was a chance to rest our legs. I've never tried whisky before... so it's a new experience and to be honest, I didn't like it. But I think it must be an acquired taste and didn't expect to fall in love with it right away. The tour itself was pretty decent. The whisky tasting was cool because the tour guide provides you with the basic information and introducing you to whisky from different regions. The whisky collection room was pretty impressive. So, I wouldn't exactly put it as highlight of my trip. I think it's a neat thing to do if you have a few extra days in Edinburgh and have toured the castle, the royal mile, Arthur's Seat etc.... and looking for something more to do. Or if you simply love whisky and/or wanted to learn/try more. Otherwise, it's far down the priority list for me. read more

The Scotch Whisky Experience lies in the center of some Venn diagram of things that are embarrassingly touristy, goofily hokey, and actually pretty cool. The Experience (which seems to also be referred to as the Scotch Whiskey Heritage Center) consists of a few different elements: a. A tour you can take that teaches you about whisky. b. A bar/tasting room you go to at the end of the tour. c. A gift shop where you can buy bottles of whisky and various souvenirs. d. A restaurant (which I did not go to). The tour itself is a combination of interesting and cheesy. It starts off with an "educational" amusement park-style ride that you might find in Epcot Center. You sit in a barrel-shaped cart that goes down a track while a hologram explains the process of making whiskey to you in the language of your choice. No, I'm not making this up. Following that you go into a room where an actual non-holographic human being gives you scratch-and-sniff cards and teaches you about the four regions of whisky-making in Scotland. I am not making this up either. You then get to choose which region you want to sample whiskey from (hint: if you've never had whiskey before go with Speyside or Highlands malts. They tend to be the sweetest and smoothest. Islays are the harsh peaty whiskeys) and your host pours you a small tasting glass. The next step of the tour is the largest collection of whiskey in the world. It's an impressive collection and very well presented. I believe you can pay more to take the last tour of the day which allows you to spend more time in the collection room. I found it interesting, but didn't feel like I was missing out on anything by mainly looking at the collection as a whole, and not examining each individual bottle. Finally, the tour exits into the tasting room. If you paid for the "silver tour" you are now done. If you bought the "gold tour" you get a flight of whiskey from the tasting room. This flight is chosen by the museum and will generally consist of a lower-end whiskey from each of the four regions. Please do not ask the host to give you top-shelf 30 year malts instead. You can also purchase glasses of whisky in the tasting room. I found if you sit at the bar and wait until the wave of people from the latest tour group have trickled out, the host will have time to talk to you and make some good recommendations based on what you've tried that you like. The hosts were all very friendly and very knowledgeable. When you decide you're done there, you can go to the gift shop and buy whisky to take with you or any number of little tchochkes. I wouldn't say I learned a ton at the Scotch Whisky Experience, but I found the tour design to be fascinating (you can tell some serious money and thought went into it - even if it is hokey), the large whisky collection to be impressive and getting recommendations from the hosts to be worthwhile. All in all an enjoyable way to spend part of an afternoon if you like whisky. read more

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If you were wondering how whisky was made (scotch being the drink of the country) then this is the place for you. Located right next to the castle it offers a tour of about 15 people around a "distillery" from grain to drink in glass as well as explaining very well all the processes and differences from area to area in Scotland. Its entrance is a bit pricey but there's a complimentary dram at the end. Its good if you can't make it out to an actual distillery but were still curious about whisky. read more

The Scotch Whisky Experience - courtesy of official website http://www.whisky-heritage.co.uk - Tours Near Me - Edinburgh, MLN

If you're a fan of some good old scotch then you will love this place, if like me, you hate the stuff, this place will be of little interest. As whisky is Scotland's drink this distillery is a rather appropriate tourist attraction and just an excuse for a good old fashioned knees up. On the tour you find out all about how whisky is made and the journey it goes on before it ends up in your hip flask. At the end of the tour you come to the big guns and end up in a room surrounded by whisky, in fact, it's the largest collection of whisky in the world. Thrilling. A ticket on this tour is £11.50 and you're given a dram of scotch on the tour... I can't help but think this is a bit measly considering the tour is so pricey plus you get teased by being surrounded by 3,500 bottles at the end. Hmm... read more

The Scotch Whisky Experience - http://www.whisky-heritage.co.uk - Tours Near Me - Edinburgh, MLN

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Nice area to discover whisky making during a stop at Edinburgh. The experience starts with an interactive explanation of the whisky production (could be in several languages) followed by a presentation (could be in different languages) of the different whisky producing areas in Scotland with a degustation. Possibly to drink other whisky a at the bar and to buy bottles. A restaurant is also available. This experience is the first step for discovering whisky and should be followed by a visit of a whisky makers especially for the whisky lovers ! read more

The Scotch Whisky Experience - Whisky collection - Tours Near Me - Edinburgh, MLN

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FANTASTIC! We discovered a love for Scotch at this place. We chose to do the Master's morning class. We got to see the entire whiskey collection which is some 3,000 + bottles, simply amazing. Our guide was extremely knowledgeable and we enjoyed the various tastings we did. If you are a lover of scotch, or think you might be, make sure to tour this place! read more

I love carnival rides! Especially the haunted houses where you sit in a rickety cart and terrible animatronics pop out at you. When I learned that the Whisky Experience started with a similar ride in a barrel (although not scary, except for the yeast) I added this to the top of my to dos. After the ride we had a lesson on Whisky flavors from the different regions of Scotland. I found this to be the most interesting part of the experience. Then we got a dram! Can't beat an attraction that ends with a drink. read more

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Went July 2018. Chubby red head dude was working. I ordered 4 tasters and he took my order. I asked "you sure you can remember that without writing it down?" And he said yes. Maybe 20 minutes later of serving people that showed up after us, all the patrons left and we were alone in the bar. The bartender then took off. I went to find him and what seemed like the manager saw me looking inquisitively and asked me if i needed anything. I said yeah I ordered drinks and was looking for the bartender. The red headed guy showed up and the manager asked him about me. He said "oh yes, I forgot. Tell you what, next time you come in, I'll serve you first." Rediculous "attempt" at solving the problem. I would have been fine with him just finally serving me. I guarantee no one goes here twice, especially after being disregarded and shrugged off. This place is a tourist trap and the only reason I went is because of word of mouth recommendation of a beer club member. Save yourself from crappy service from bartenders AND management and go to literally any bar nearby and you will have more options than you could ever drink in a month and be able to get good food at the same time. read more

We loved this tour! As weird as this might sound, it is like "It's a Small World" for Scotch lovers. You will ride in a barrel through an animated instruction on how Scotch whisky is made. Even better after the ride is a widescreen presentation (with a scratch and sniff card!) Of the 5 regions of Scotland where the whisky is made. I recommend the gold tour, where you can sample 4 additional whiskies along with the one you get for the basic silver tour. Highly recommended! read more

The Scotch Whisky Experience - World's largest Scotch collection. - Tours Near Me - Edinburgh, MLN

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I had fun doing the basic tour. There is a barrel cart-ride that took us through a video experience of the whisky making process. And then we go into a room with panoramic view with videos of the regions of Scotland that make whisky. We had a tasting of a whisky of our choice in a special room at the end. They also give us a glass to keep as a souvenir. It is around 17 pound tho. If u are a whisky lover, definitely a must! read more

Great tour! The ride about how Scotch Whisky is made was entertaining. The tour was very informative. The short video about the types of Scotch Whisky was very informative as well. Our tour guide (Dale) was funny, knowledgeable and interactive. The room with all the scotch collection was incredible! I am not a hard alcohol enthusiast to begin with so I didn't really enjoyed drinking the samples. I was making weird faces when I had some. Haha! I think this tour would be really good for Scotch enthusiasts! read more

We opted for the Gold tour, which includes 4 extra pours at the end. It starts out a bit cheesy like a Disneyland ride where you ride through a series of videos and images showing you the brewing process. Since we did a distillery tour the day prior, I had already gotten this information, but it was good to reinforce what I learned. Then you go into a tasting room, which gets a bit crowded since they try to squeeze everyone in. They introduce the four major regions to you, and you play with some scratch and sniff cards (the people next to use were scratching obnoxiously and it sounded like nails on a chalkboard...). You then get to choose a pour of one of th 4 major regions or one from Cambletown, so I went with the Glenscotia. You then move into the most impressive room with the world's largest collection of scotch: 3384 bottles, all unopened, which belongs to a guy from Brazil. This room is gorgeous and incredibly impressive. The gold tour includes 4 extra pours of single malt scotch at the bar: 1. Lowland: Auchentoshan 12 2. Highland: Loch Lomond Original 3. Speyside: BenRiach Heart of Speyside 4. Islay: Laphroaig Select However, they had a good list of over 400 scotches at the bar you sample by the dram. - Old pulteney 1990 for £8.32 after the discount, tasted sort of like the sea, very interesting - Fettercairn 24: reminds me of Gruyere. Sadly, we got the last drop of it, and we can't find the bottle anywhere else They're supposed to have some of the bottles available at the shop, but they didn't have the Old Pulteney and Fettercairn. The bar here has surprisingly good prices. They do 25 ml pours rather than the more common 35 ml pour outside, but this lets you try more. Note: the bar closes at 7pm. read more

It costs nearly £12. It isn't a proper distillery. There's no information availabe here that you can't find by going onto Wikipedia and typing in "whisky". Don't be a mug. read more

Great place to find a good variety of all the scotch made in Scotland. The down side you don't know what the variety taste like. however they have one of the largest selection of scotch whisky. The weekday hours are not as busy as weekends. When I went back Monday afternoon was I able to get some help from the staff to help me select what I want. read more

Let me preface this by saying: Do not buy your whiskey here, it's much, much too expensive and severely marked up to accommodate tourists with fat wallets. Okay, with that single point made, let me go one with the review. We did the platinum tour and I feel it was well worth the investment (I think it was 27£ each for the tour and tasting. That's about $43 Dollars or €34 Euros). This included 4 tastings, one of which was a relatively rare Scotch and absolutely wonderful! In this tour, you will also get to view the largest, privately owned whiskey collection in the world with thousands of bottles; some considered to be priceless. I have to admit, we were tempted to try sneaking some bottles from their secure cabinets :-) The tour also included an education in Scotch Whiskey making and I was delighted by the experience. They did a wonderful job teaching how the libation is made and it was a memorable lesson. If you're looking to buy some nice bottles of Scotch while in Scotland, I recommend High Street or the Airport Duty Free for better prices. Additionally, you can also save by driving well out of the touristy areas to shop like a true local and get local prices; but since Edinburgh is a walking city, most visitors won't have cars. read more

Good whisky intro... A touristy overview... A bit overpriced. read more

My friend and I went here on a whim and had no idea what to expect. I think we both thought it would be a tasting where you simply sit at a bar then leave when you're done. It was way better than that. We loved it. We opted for the package that includes the tour as well as the four additional tastings. The tour itself was very cool. We sat in a barrel-shaped car that took us along a track through a tour of the whiskey-making process. Afterward, we learned more about tasting whiskey, did one tasting with the tour group, saw a massive collection of whiskey (including really old bottles), and then did our four additional tastings on our own at the bar. It was a nice touch that we got to take home a souvenir tasting glass. read more

This place was way too hyped. If you go on a winery tour in France for example, the experience is quite authentic. The Scottish Whisky Experience was not much more than a video tour and a lame themepark ride. The guide had little knowledge of the Whisky making process and in general it feels more like a tourist magnet than a genuine peek into whisky production, culture and history. read more

What was that? That was so weak. The tour guide was a trainee and knew NOTHING about Scotch. Worse yet is that you can't pick your Scotches when purchasing the gold tour. Lame. Better to spend your money on Scotches at some bar. Pfft, I can't believe I blew so much money on *that*. read more

This was one of the best highlights of our trip! We had such a blast from beginning to end. We took the GOLD tour and plan on coming back every two years! Hugh was our tour guide and couldn't have asked for anyone better! He rocked it! This guy was cheeky from start to finish and ...we loved him! We met great people, drank great scotch, and even walked away with a nice buzz in the end! The best tour in Edinburgh...hands down! You will not regret and may even become a whisky drinker after this:) read more

Great time! Informative and worthy the money. It's one of those things that you only need to do once but I would suggest it to others. We did the Gold Tour and felt like the samples alone were worth the price we paid. read more

I should mention here that we did not take the tour; for £11.95 per person we didn't feel that the history of Scotch was sufficient to support the cost. Does this mean I was frugal like a Scot in the face of Scotch? Yes. Yes it does. We opted for the retail centre where several gents in kilts danced around the room like Whirling Dervishes. The cutest thing you ever did seen! Saw. Exactly. One such Dervish was kind enough to let us sample a few of the open whiskies for tasting. I've never understood the deep appreciation for Scotch but the Heritage Centre did open my eyes to what makes a good Scotch whisky and what makes a great one. We were pointed upstairs to the Amber bar for a tasting of Scotch made with peat which, as it turns out, I happily enjoy. I prefer feeling the fire in mah belly than in the back of my throat, and the taste of smoky charcoal is rather delicious. I don't understand why anyone would pay £7500 for a Scotch whisky made from 19th century spirits, but then I'm not a true Scotch aficionado. But the Heritage Centre certainly helps you feel like one. read more

Fantastic tour. We visited Edinburgh for the first time and made sure to stop here. Our guide Hugh was super. He had great knowledge about Scotch and the entire distilling process. Stop in, worth the fee. read more

While this is a touristy place, don't be afraid! I only came here because when I was in Dufftown, a whisky shop owner recommended I come here. I assumed the proximity to Edinburgh Castle would be directly related to higher prices but that's not the case, prices were lower than some other places further down the Royal Mile. Great selection of whisky. read more

At the Scotch Whisky Experience you're first put into a big wooden barrel. This wooden barrel is a slow ride that guides you through the whisky-making process. This is their way to entertain visitors and to differentiate themselves from other distilleries, storehouse, or other similar experiences. The tour guide will pick you up at the end of the ride and clarify any questions you may have as well as give you additional information. You'll learn so much about four whiskey regions... Islay, Lowland, Highland, and Speyside. There is a scratch and sniff card that you'll have to work with to smell out what main ingredient is used in what region- so much fun! Then prepare yourself for the largest Scotch collection ever! This consists of 3,384 (correct me if I'm wrong) whisky bottles!!! Then the tasting begins... You get to pick one region that interests you the most and taste one of their whiskys- chose from Highland, Lowland, Speyside, Islay, and Campbeltown (campbeltown they didn't talk much about). Depending on what tour you've purchased, you'll have more whiskys waiting for you at the bar. I enjoyed my time here. The gold tour included enough whisky to make me feel pretty good after, haha. You get to taste a Scotch from four regions. This was £17 ($24.50USD). Lowland Single Malt- Glenkinchie 12 year notes: gentle, citrus, sweet Highland Single Malt- Aberfeldy 12 year notes: honey, dry, light smoke Speyside Single Malt- Tomintoul 10 year notes: raisins, caramel, citrus Islay Single Malt- Smokehead notes: peaty, heavy smoke, seaweed The only downside was the tour guide's heavy accent. It was hard for me to comprehend since he was talking a bit too fast. Side notes: Different tours are available from £14.50 t0 £65.00 ($20.90-93.71USD). The more you pay the more you get out of the experience. Morning masterclasses are also offered here £60.00. Website: https://www.scotchwhiskyexperience.co.uk/ My Photos: http://travelbae.net/europe/scotch-whisky-experience-edinburgh/ read more

I signed up for the Morning Masters Class and was happy with the result. Quite a bit of information was conveyed; questions were answered; hostess was helpful. This is a great venue to get yourself to the next level. At the Amber bar - two separate visits - bartenders were approachable, ready to answer questions and assist with specific types of regions or flavors I was after. At the Amber restaurant - the staff was wonderful, personable and knowledgeable too - eager to assist. The haggis here is a MUST!!! WOW flavor... you won't be disappointed. read more

Never thought I would end up in a being driven around in a barrel under the ground in Edinburgh City!! this was fun, expensive but hey, back in my accomodation, rest and see what tonight will bring us!!! read more

We had one day in Edinburgh and did this tour - it was totally worth it! Learned a lot - I would highly recommend this if you don't have enough time to visit distilleries! read more

The Scotch Whisky Experience - Tours Near Me - Edinburgh, MLN