Scotland Travelogue 5/19 (Day 3, Part 1)

Of course, it rained on day three as well. (Laugh) It seems like I fell asleep immediately after returning yesterday, so I took a shower and brushed my teeth to feel refreshed. For breakfast, I ate local kipper and haddock (herring and cod), along with black pudding and haggis, which I had missed eating the day before, filling my stomach completely. I checked out of Claymore Hotel, which had been accommodating me for two days, and headed to Morrison & Mackay (Scottish Liqueur Centre), located near Pitlochry. Farewell to Claymore Hotel. It was a wonderful hotel. Heading south on A9, the route runs through many mountains and their foothills, making it impossible to go straight in a direct line. I realized this as I drove. Along the way, there was Dalwhinnie Distillery on my right hand side. I was moved to see the actual outdoor worm tub, which is unique. Driving for two and a half hours through the desolate, rainy scenery, I finally arrived. Morrison & Mackay has an office and warehouse, but the exterior is not particularly clean, although it's not in financial trouble. It seems they will be renovating soon. I was guided by Mr. Kenny McKay, the Managing Director, and met the casks in the warehouse. There were many casks placed or rolling around, including some that had already been sold. It seems difficult to get old casks. The tasting list mainly features young whiskies from the late 2000s onwards. I didn't have high expectations, but many of them were well-made despite their specs. I was surprised that there were quite a few that tasted good even without peat or strong sherry notes. Of course, younger whiskies tend to be cheaper. Filling bottles with affordable, delicious, and interesting whiskies is one of the themes of Fuup, so encountering good young whiskies like this was important to me. I was given casks one after another and tasted them. After saying goodbye to Mr. Kenny, I continued southward and made a detour to Tarbert. The modern facilities attached to the distillery might be bottling facilities or visitor centers? They were quite large, which surprised me. I then went to Glenkinchie. Glenkinchie Distillery Entrance This is a distillery that holds casks for new make whisky, which is part of the Fuup initiative. Recently, I had the impression that they released many good sherry casks, but their hand-bottled cask was European oak first-fill sherry, which had some bitterness but was rich and delicious. The price was £85. I really wanted to fill many bottles, but since they do all the processes for you, it takes time. The process involves filling the whisky into bottles, capping them with corks, applying seal caps, labeling with various information, packaging, and putting them into boxes. It's a fun task when you have time, but since I had other plans to attend to, I only filled one bottle and left Glenkinchie. Additionally, it was impressive that there were many visitors despite being a weekday, and the place was full of international tourists. The visitor center is spacious and has a wide range of products, likely due to its proximity to Glasgow. To be continued in the next part.