Exceeding Expectation

Before I go into all the details of what we learned about making Scotch whisky, I want to interject a comment about our experience in Scotland overall.
When I put this trip together, it was for my husband Don. I wanted to surprise him with something great for his birthday as a way of saying "thanks" to him for all the great things he does for my life.
I was "going along" to someplace I had never really been deeply drawn towards because I wanted to see his delight in the experience. I expected to see gray, rainy skies and temperatures that would require a great deal of layering to be comfortable -- especially coming on the tail end of a nice warm summer in Ohio.
As you can see by the pictures here of Islay, I neither needed my raincoat nor my heavy sweaters. The only two days it rained were the day we arrived and the day we left. The rest of the time the sky was vibrantly clear and the temperatures were in the low 70's. The water looks like something from the Caribbean or Hawaii.
As if the weather wasn't enough to win me over, the PEOPLE of Scotland were such a delight! From the first stop at our B & B with Val and Keith, through the Bruichladdich experience with Ella, Andy, Adam, Alan, James, Peter I and Peter II, David, Budgie and so many more, though our new friends in Glasgow at Whisky Live and right up until our final dinner where our waiter offered to take our picture and did a fantastic job of it, everyone was delightful!
I only hope that in my travel planning profession, I am as successful at exceeding expectaions as of of these folks were for me.

Arrival at Islay International airport!



The drive from the Islay airport to our "home" for the next 5 days at Bruichladdich's Academy took about 30 minutes. We passed through Bowmore and saw the three peaks of Jura in the distance.

Our Academy mates were already settled in when we arrived so we met them right away. There was Jim from Scotland and Patrik, Johan and Bertyl from Sweden. The two ladies that would be feeding us and taking care of our rooms were Ree and Mary.
Our first meal consisted of Asparagus soup, ham steak, potatoes, cauliflower, cooked cabbage and salad. We had a wonderfully decadent brownie pie for dessert then an assortment of cheeses and coffee and tea. There was always plenty of beer, wine and, naturally, Bruichladdich Scotch for everyone.

This evening we learned who our work partner for the week would be and were given our schedules. The schedule was broken down into Mashing, Milling, Fermentation, Distilling, Peat cutting, Water supply,Warehousing, Filling, and Bottling hall. We would report to work at 8:30AM and work until around 4:30 with a break for lunch. It was only when we saw the schedule that we also learned we would have an EXAM at the end of the week! Yikes!

Our "welcome gift" at Bruichladdich

More on Scotland

PHOTOS OF THE DRIVE FROM GRANTON-ON-SPEY BACK TO GLASGOW



The next morning we rose early (and also caused Val to do so to prepare our breakfast!) so that we could have plenty of time to make it back to Glasgow for our 2:25PM flight to Islay. Armed with new directions from Keith, which would help us avoid the traffic between Stirling and Glasgow, we headed out following our final wonderful breakfast in Granton-On-Spey at An Cala Guest House.
It was a beautiful morning and we were treated not only to lovely scenery but even a few rainbows enroute! Our route took us past Loch Lomond but we didn't take time to look around as we feared missing our flight. Had we called ahead, we would have learned that we had plenty of time since our flight had been cancelled and we were now booked on the 5:00 flight! Bummer! Even worse, we had to wait in a long line to get the ticket reissued. British Airways did, however, give us a meal voucher so we had lunch and a beer (or two) at Garfinkels in the airport.
We still had about 2 hours to kill so we wandered the airport a bit. Found that the duty free shops in Scotland give samples! :>)
We did finally get on our way to Islay by about 5:15 and arrived there about 6:00. Two of our three bags did the same. The third naughty little red bag had separated itself from us and we would not see it again until the next day.
Tomorrow -- all about Islay!

Scotland continued

After leaving Ballandollach, we headed for Cardhu distillery. While Cardhu itself seems quite tiny, it is a part of the enormous Deagio (sp?) chain which is the parent for a great number of both single malts and blends, such as Johnny Walker. The tour at Cardhu was the equivalent of $8 US but it was applied towards the purchase of their whisky. Our tour guide, Debbie, signed a bottle of Craggenmore for us since her dad works there!
From little Cardhu, we headed (amongst even more pheasants) to Glenfiddich. Glenfiddich is an enormous operation -- perhaps the very largest distillery in Scotland. The comparison of them to Cardhu reminded us of one to T Vines vs Mondavi wineries in Napa! There is no charge for the tour at Glenfiddich and they still give you a "wee dram" taste after the tour.
That evening we had dinner at the Garth Hotel in Grantown-On-Spey. A few unique things about the restaurant service in Scotland: First, they don't fill the restaurant and try to "turn tables" as in the US. Instead, they have maybe a third of the tables filled at one time so the staff can more effectively serve those tables. Second, when you arrive, you are seated in a comfortable lounge area while your table is prepared. It is there you are offerd drinks instead of at your table. I personally liked these concepts a lot. It seemd to make for a lot more relaxing dining experience.
This evening Don had a smoked salmon appetizer followed by Garth's famous chicken which was stuffed with brie then wrapped in puff pastry. I had a vegetable crepe to start then their "Mussel Extravaganza". Delicious! Some restaurants offer an "early bird" discount. At the Garth we received 25% off our bill by eating at 6:00PM.
THe day had been very sunny and pleasant but the clear sky made it a bit chilly that evening. Still, we had a nice walk back to our lovely An Cala.

photo of An Cala Guest House

Scotland Journal cont.

Our first Scottish meal was a delight. We found that Craggen Mill, as well as most restaurants in the GOS area, use local produce in their cooking. This includes lake grown mussels, river Salmon, vegetables and fruits. For a starter, I had Cullen Skink which is a soup with fish and potatoes, much like a New England clam chowder. Next I had local salmon with a really nummy sauce and for dessert I had homemade blueberry, lime and coconut ice cream. We had walked to the restaurant and Val gave us a “torch” (flashlight) for the walk home in the dark. We were happy to have to walk back as it helped burn some of the extra calories we consumed!
The first morning after our arrival, we were treated to a wonderful home cooked breakfast by Val. I had expected Scottish food to be much like English – a little bland and not very appetizing – but Val quickly changed my opinion about that! Wonderful coffee accompanied porridge, eggs, bacon, juice, toast, tomatoes, mushrooms as well as a variety of cereals and fruits.
After a briefing by Keith on what was in the area to see and do, we headed out to Ballandallach Castle (see picture), a privately owned castle about ½ hour away by car. The family living in it has had it in their family since 1542! To get there, we took the VERY narrow river road. Along the way we must have seen 1000 pheasants – another local product, it seems!
We watched the introductory video then toured the interior of the castle then took a walk on the grounds along the River Spey and on to the point where the Avon and Spey Rivers merge (other picture is Don at that junction). This is the area where much of the Highland salmon comes from. The castle owners have a herd of Aberdeen Cows whose lineage goes back several hundred years.

My Scotland trip journal

We started our trip to Scotland by landing at Glasgow then picking up a car to drive to the Highlands. Glasgow airport is very easy to navigate and we had our bags in record time. Had to wait a few minutes at the car rental desk but we were on our way to Grantown-On-Spey well before noon. We only made one wrong turn during the entire 3½-hour trip and that was upon leaving the airport!
The rain was with us all the way north until we exited the highway at Aviemore to head east to Grantown-On-Spey (GOS, as the locals call it). Then the sun came out and stayed out for nearly our entire trip!
In GOS, we had arranged to have the room with the 4-post bed at An Cala Guest House. Our hosts, Val & Keith Dickinson, couldn’t have been nicer! They have a lovely sitting room with comfy chairs and sofas where you can relax and watch TV, read or look at the collection of menus they have provided for the local restaurants. Once we had done the latter, we asked Val to make a reservation for us at the Craggen Mill restaurant which was about a 20 minute walk from An Cala (through a cow pasture!)
Before dinner we had a walk to the center of GOS. Our first stop was at the Wee Spey Dram Whisky Shop – surprise, surprise! We sampled a few single malts and I had something called Heather Cream which was a bit like Bailey’s but with more oomph.
We walked down the main street then came back on Grant Street where there were a few restaurants and many homes with absolutely picture-perfect flower gardens such as the one pictured here.

Scotland - beginning of my journal at last

This is my favorite picture from Islay! Who would believe this is SCOTLAND? It is so beautiful. When your feet touch Islay, your heart rate immediately slows and you find yourself enjoying things in life that you have taken for granted or been moving so fast that you passed them by.