Now I’ve had my share of distillery tours and that has taken me to keep walking to Edinburgh’s Johnnie Walker Experience.
The JWE for those who know the Scottish capital and Princes Street, and even those who don’t, occupies the old House of Fraser store.
Where whisky fans are kept walking and drinking through more than 200 years of Scotland’s most popular dram.
Now we’ll not try to bottle the history of whisky into this post.
And better visit the Scotch Whisky Experrience next to Edinburgh Castle on the Royal Mile for that.
Nor will we bring into the distillery and face to face with pot stills.
You can visit the any of the hundreds of whisky manufactures, big and small, across Scotland.
Bells and whistles
Instead take in the Johnnie Walker Experience in the hands of actress Rachel and guide Grace.
For the best bells and whistles interactive tour of the life and reach of the grocer from Kilmarnock in the west of Scotland.
Everyone’s whisky takeaway, of course, will be different but ours was an explanation of the distinctive square bottles.
To increase the amount of bottles that could be transported on ships from Britain to North America.
Of course, it’s what is in those bottles that is always more interesting.
And which makes listening to the science bit in any ways palatable.
Band of gold
To get you started JWE ask you to take a quiz in reception.
To find out what flavours suit you for your cocktails.
You get three and depending on the colour of your band it should reflect your tastes.
Although guess what, there is no whisky police to say what you can and can’t put in your whisky.
And this traditionalist was happy to try.
A pineapple-infused highball alongside a smoky bay leaf flavoured smoky whisky and spicy old-fashioned.
Tour de force
Now at the end of your 90-minute tour you will arrive, unsurprisingly, at the merch shop.
Where you can also buy the uisge beatha and at a 10% discount although at a ceiling of £400.
Which means you won’t be able to get a cut on the £15,000 bottle of 1978 Isle of Arran whisky.
Although you’ll be disappointed anyway as I’ve raided the Scary One’s House Refurb Fund.
KEEP WALKING
