Scotland's Hidden Gems - Whisky Tail
Iain Lundy

In Scotland there are whisky distilleries everywhere, from the Borders to the Highlands and Islands and all points in between. Even the main cities of Glasgow and Edinburgh now boast their own whisky-making plants.

However, if you fancy doing a Scottish whisky pilgrimage and spending a day or two hitting as many distilleries as possible, there is only one part of the country worth considering, and that is Speyside. In the little towns and villages that dot the Aberdeenshire and Moray countryside, it often seems that a distillery lurks around every corner.

Most of the leading ‘Glen’ brands are headquartered there – Glenlivet, Glenfiddich, Glen Grant, Glenfarclas, and Glen Moray to name a few. Add in classics such as Macallan, Benromach, Aberlour, and Balvenie, and you have a malt whisky trip to savor.

The places that house the distilleries are all reasonably close to each other and are all picturesque and well worth visiting. They include Dufftown, Tomintoul, Rothes, Forres, and Aberlour. If you use the town of Elgin as your base, then you’ll be close to them all.

All malt whisky aficionados have their own favorite or favorites. Like music, food, and literature, whisky is subjective. But here, in no special order, are three of the best distilleries in the Speyside region that you might want to consider visiting.

Macallan: The whisky distilled at the Macallan factory, just outside the village of Craigellachie, has long been considered among the finest Scotland has to offer. It is listed as the third-highest selling malt in the world Now it has a building that is as spectacular as the taste of the product.

Visitors to the Macallan plant walk up a long path to what seems like a space-age visitor experience. The building, opened in 2018, is an architectural gem. It is buried deep into a grassy hillside, and the rooftop appears as a series of rolling grass-covered peaks. The interior is like a five-star hotel, with a wall of whisky at the entrance. The building is as spectacular as the whisky.

Glenfarclas: Located near the village of Ballindalloch, the Glenfarclas is typical of the old-fashioned, family-run distilleries that have been in this part of the world for several centuries. The Grant family started operations here in the 1790s and the whisky has consistently been a favorite.

A Glenfarclas tour with one of the many knowledgeable guides is a highly enjoyable experience and topped off by a free dram at the end. It is situated in rolling countryside and provides a flavor of whisky-making that appears almost unchanged for generations.

Glen Grant: The Glen Grant distillery – not the same Grant family that runs Glenfarclas – is in the small town of Rothes. The whisky is delicious, and the visitor tour is a treat. But there is one added extra that sets it apart from others.

Guests are taken out of the main building into a long garden, and eventually to a rock face, inside which Major Grant kept his cast iron safe. The rock is then ‘opened’ with a key and a silver platter of whisky glasses is taken out of the safe for the visitors to sample. Incidentally, Glen Grant was the first distillery to use electric light.

Genealogy at the Phoenix Scottish Games

by Robert M. Wilbanks IV, B.A.
Chief Genealogist & Historian, C.S.A.
genealogy@arizonascots.com

The genealogy tent has been among the most popular features of the Games for the past few years. The Society is fortunate to have the services of Robert Wilbanks as its chief genealogist, and he and his team deal with dozens of Scottish ancestry-related inquiries every year.

Once again there will be several professional genealogists ‘on duty’ in the tent as well as a team of volunteers who will direct visitors to the vast collection of maps and books on display. Those who are interested in getting help with establishing a Scottish genealogical link will be passed on to a researcher.

The tent will be situated at the north end of the park, beside the clan area. All those interested in making a family connection with Scotland should pay the genealogists a visit.

A couple of eye-catching books have just come on the market, both extremely amusing in different ways.

The first is an autobiography by arguably the funniest comedian produced by Scotland in the second half of the 20th century, Billy Connolly. In the book, Tall Tales and Wee Stories, Connolly describes his life growing up in Glasgow and his decades-long career from the shipyards to the stage.

Watch out too for Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stane, the JK Rowling classic translated entirely into Scottish. And good luck when you try reading it out loud in a Scottish accent.

Four Peaks "After Party"

We’ll all need to relax and chill a little after the hectic weekend of the Scottish Games. To that end, we have been invited along by event sponsor Four Peaks Brewery to spend an afternoon at their premises the following weekend.

The Games after-party starts on Sunday March 15 at 3 pm at the brewery, based at 1340 East 8th Street, Tempe. CSA members are all welcome to come along, enjoy a few drinks and something from the food menu, and share their stories from the Games.

Scotland has long been behind the concept of green energy – but concerns have been raised about the felling of trees to make way for turbines..

www.heraldscotland.com/news/18270734.14m-trees-cut-scotland-make-way-wind-farms

A message in a bottle thrown from the liner Queen Mary ll by an American publisher has been found on a remote beach on the Shetland Islands. The finder, Henry Anderton, will receive a $1,000 prize.

www.bbc.com/news/uk-scotland-north-east-orkney-shetland-51586980

For the princely sum of £199 a night, visitors to Edinburgh can now stay in the old Queen’s Apartments at the foot of the Royal Mile facing the Palace of Holyroodhouse. The buildings date to 1490.

COMING EVENTS and Highland Games in Arizona and Nearby