Enjoy a taste of the Highlands at the Tomatin Distillery
Tomatin itself is a small village which once served as a waystation for farmers driving their livestock to Inverness, the hills surrounding it used for illicit whisky production as far back at the 16th Century.
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The distillery was first established in 1897 but until relatively recently focused on blended whiskies, once producing 12.5million litres per year. When the whisky market collapsed in the mid-1980s though it was taken over by a Japanese conglomerate and began focusing on its own single malts.
As such the number of stills were reduced from 23 to 12, the focus on quality rather than quantity.
Alasdair is an engaging guide, telling us the hi-tech solution for checking the pipe which takes grain by-products to a waiting truck isn't blocked: throw a football down it and see if it comes out the other side.
That combination of fine-tuned scientific production and old school methods is present throughout, one sticky lever resolved by a hearty smack with a wrench.
Tomatin Distillery (Image: Newsquest) Alasdair answers any questions we may have, down to the finest details of production or subtle differences in flavours – not to mention the extensive collection of barrels inspected and repaired by award winning cooper Allan Bartlett.
It's all authentically fascinating, but as with any distillery tour we're quite keen on getting a dram.
We're taken through the barn where casks are filled and up the stairs to a cozy bar.
Here there are four barrels which we're invited to uncork and smell, tasked with guessing whether the whisky has been matured in wine, cognac, sherry or bourbon casks. We manage three out of four, which ain't bad…
After that we get a chance to taste some of the offerings, starting with the young, clear distillate which is surprisingly smooth. Another is an attempt to hark back to the illicit stills of the past, which were essentially spirit infused with various herbs and spices. In this case that means oregano and other such things from the supermarket, which I can't say I'd recommend. Much better is the Cù Bòcan, a lightly peated number named after a ghostly dog which allegedly haunts the nearby hills and which is only produced for around a month every year.
Accommodation is at the four-star Grant Arms hotel in Grantown-on-Spey, which dates back to 1765 and looks like a castle by the side of the road. That regal feel is certainly replicated on the inside, with my room featuring a four-poster bed and possibly the biggest bathroom I've ever seen. Seriously, I've lived in flats smaller than this thing.
The Grant Arms hotel, Grantown-on-Spey (Image: Newsquest) Here, too, it's a whisky-lover's paradise, with the Capercaillie Bar boasting a selection of more than 135 bottles from all over Scotland.
So, what's the best cure for a day on the whisky? Zipping around the forest on a quad bike, obviously. Tuesday brings a trip to the Alvie & Dalraddy estate, a sprawling 13,000 acres by the banks of the Spey. Cairngorm Quad Treks offers guided tours over the moorland with spectacular views of the Cairngorms, not to mention the pure childish fun of revving your vehicle through water or down hills, kicking up dust as you go.
Quad Biking on the Alvie & Dalraddy estates (Image: Cairngorm Quad Treks) The estate boasts an Edwardian shooting lodge, bothies, zip-lines and just about everything else one can think of, including its own working farm.
It also features the Coyote Cook House, which is a lot more than your common or garden burger van. When I visit they've just had a delivery of the first venison of the season, deer which would have been roaming this very estate a matter of weeks ago.
You can't get much fresher than that, and the roasted loin served up in a sub roll with chestnut mushoors, onion and a spiced sherry and apple chutney is a delight.
Just the kind of thing that'd go well with a nice whisky, as it happens…
Tomatin's Visitor Centre is open seven days a week from 10:30 to 16:30, from September to March and from 09:30 to 17:30, from April to August. For more information on tours and bookings, visit www.tomatin.com. Find out more about the Grant Arms Hotel here. Cairngorm quad bike tours are £47 per person, with groups welcome. Find out more here.
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