I may be headed to Scotland for a few days at the end of January. I thought it would be cool to go to tour a distillery, but wanted to see if anyone had done it or had recommendations.

Couple of things... I don't know anything about Scotch really. I love whiskey and bourbon, just never gotten into Scotch. I've had Chivas and like it, but that's about it.

I won't have a ton of time, so I don't know if I'd be able to make it way up into the highlands. Anything on the islands probably not either, unless they are easier to access than I realize. I would be doing a day or two in both Glasgow and Edinburgh, so I was trying to see if there was anything close to them that would actually be worth it.

I found the Oban and Glenkinchie distilleries doing some googling. Oban looks pretty cool and like a fun train ride. But figured I'd ask some experts.


Thanks in advance for any advice.

The highlands and islands are gorgeous and worth seeing, but it is very rural, and travel takes time. There are no highways like you'd have to get around a similar area in the US. If you have the time to see the countryside it's definitely worth it. If you're onlythere a couple days, I'd stick to the cities and see what you want to see in them.

What you can do in the cities is hit up whiskey shops. The good ones really know their stuff, and usually carry some special bottlings that can be some really great stuff.

In Edinburgh, I highly recommend stopping by Royal Mile Whiskies, and Cadenhead Whisky Shop. Royal Mile has one of the most knowledgable staffs in the business, and Cadenhead is an independant bottler that will have a rotating selection of hand picked barrels from distilleries all over Scotland.

I also recommend a meal at the Witchery next to Edinburgh Castle if you have the time for a nice meal. Fantastic food in a one-of-a-kind atmosphere.

The Scottish Malt Whisky Society is another cool option in Edinburgh.

https://www.smws.com/about/venues/28-queen-street

Where will you be based? They're spread all over. Oban is a cool town but I didn't do the distillery.

Near Glasgow we went to Glengoyne and Auchentoshan. Glengoyne was a cool little distillery I thought. Neat setting. The whiskey is ok. Auchentoshan was meh all around.

Famous Grouse is supposedly a great tour. The property is very cool but we got there too late for a tour. It's out of the way. Closest major city is Glasgow.