Another post with photos from my trip to Scotland, this one covering The Scotch Whiskey Experience, a tourist trap we went to near Edinburgh Castle. I say “tourist trap” in the kindest way, because when you are offered the opportunity to see how scotch whiskey is made, and then to sample some drams, well… it is the tenderest trap of them all.
I was never a “whiskey man” – my preference has been, and always will be, gin – but after enjoying some of the fares that was shared at this establishment (as well as the numerous bars my wife and I explored on the Royal Mile)… well, I can understand the appeal.
(Sidebar – I thought She Who Must Be Obeyed would prefer the sweeter, lighter notes of Highland whiskey, while I would like the smokier notes of Islay whiskey… and it was the other way around. Huh.)
The tour starts with a ride inside a barrel – literally, the two-person cart you sit in is shaped like a barrel. You see the process that is involved in making whiskey, and it’s like a Disney ride for alcoholics. I jokingly call the first part of this experience “It’s a drunk world, after all.”
Then you get to taste and then view the largest collection of unopened whiskey bottles in the world – that is the bulk of these photos, as you were not allowed to take photos of the “ride” or lecture. The collection is mind-blowing, especially when you realize just how much some of those unopened bottles are worth.
