After a brief hiatus we are back online …
A beautiful morning - warm and sunny. Perfect for …
This was the day I was looking forward to - distillery visits at two Speyside distilleries 🥳
Of course being a German and all, nothing was left to chance. I even brought some Katerfrühstück (some preserved fish in a soucy tomato & pickled cucumber sauce) all the way from Germany, to strengthen my stomach and get ready to buffer the alcohol before the tasting tour …
Little one was entertaining his new-found friend and trying to teach her all the games he had. So much patience in that young girl …
First distillery was Benromach, one of the very few Speyside distilleries that produces a lightly peated whiskey.
They had a lovely visitors center with even more lovely personnel (with the loveliest Scottish accents you could imagine). But then the lovely guide asked: “is anyone here driving ?”, which I unfortunately answered truthfully with “me”. This excluded me automatically from the tasting set after the tour 😪*.
The distillery was very “manual” and the expertise on controlling the process was impressive. I had a talk with one of the distillers that was running around how they determine the change from the methanol-rich forerun to the real distillate in the absence of any proper process control equipment, and his answers (and willingness to share those) were really great. I was impressed …
Filling casks with a hose would be my next dream job. The room,
though well ventilated, was perfumed with the scent of nascent whiskey …
All in all a great visit (minus - of course - the inability to taste). I bought a bottle of a rare expression, filled my tasting samples into a provided kit (for later, they were paid for) and headed to pick up the family for the second visit of the day …
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* they were adamant on that: I told them I am a big guy, and three little sips don’t do anything for me, but …
