Tag Archives: whisky

Hebridean Island Cruises

Scotland and Northern Ireland 2017, Part four…

By the time we got back to Glasgow, it was late afternoon.  It was still kind of cold and wet outside, so we went back to the hotel and got cleaned up.  Later, we ventured into the “Executive Lounge”, a privilege granted to us because we booked a “Club Room“.  Every time we stay at the Carlton George, I upgrade our room.

The first time, we stayed in their “Superior Room“, which is their most basic model.  It’s a pretty comfortable place to stay, complete with a free mini bar which includes decanters of vodka, scotch, and whisky, but you don’t get to use the lounge with that room.  You are also pretty much bound to have a view of an elevator shaft or something like it.

Last year, we visited in March and I got us an “Executive Room“, which is a larger room with a free mini bar and access to the lounge.  But again, you’re likely to have a view of the elevator shaft.

There is only one category higher than the Club Room and that’s the Club Room with a balcony.  Given the weather in Glasgow during our stay, it was probably good that I didn’t go that far.  Maybe next time I’ll pull the trigger.  Here are a few pictures of our Club Room.

The all important free booze.  I think I tried the whisky, which naturally was decent quality.

 

Nice coffee set up.

The ever important bed.

And the bathroom.  Once again, I was tickled by the need for instructions on the wall for using the shower.  The Holiday Inn at the Glasgow Airport needs to take a memo.  More on that later.

 

We decided to have a drink in the lounge, then got really lazy and had dinner in the hotel’s restaurant, Windows.  We had not eaten there on previous visits, so it was good to try it.  Now that I’ve tried it, I don’t know that I’ll try it again.  That’s not because the food was bad; it’s more because Glasgow has a lot of great restaurants and Windows, while not bad, is not among the best there are in Glasgow.  In any case, here are a few pictures of our Sunday night repast at the hotel.  One of the nicest aspects of a dinner in Windows Restaurant is that you do, indeed, get a nice view of the city… which is a great thing when the skies are clear.  We did experience that at breakfast.

A nice bottle of red to go with dinner.

Bill went with a sirloin steak, which was served with tomatoes on the vine, chips, and a mushroom.  He said the steak was cooked very well.  As many readers may know, mushrooms give me the creeps.  

I went with seabass, which was served in parchment paper.  It came with a slice of white bread and lots of vegetables on the side… 

It was also stuffed with lots of fresh vegetables and was very healthy.  Looking at my figure lately, I realize I probably should eat more fish.  If you like fish, Scotland is a great place to be.  

 

Unfortunately, my disdain for mushrooms got the better of me when the lady sitting at the table behind Bill ordered a vegetarian dish that smelled like it was loaded with mushrooms or truffles.  The aroma was overwhelming to me.  People who love the smell of truffles, like Bill, would have been enchanted by it.  As for me, you would have thought I was pregnant or something.  I had to beat it.

After a good second night’s rest, Bill and I awoke Monday morning with big plans.  We were going to get Bill fitted for a kilt!  I am very excited to get this done, since I have been nagging Bill to get a kilt for years now.  Granted, he’s more of an Irishman than a Scot, but there are only so many years a man can get away with wearing the Army Service Uniform post retirement… especially a man who enjoys food and booze as much as Bill and I do.  Aside from that, I think kilts are pretty damned sexy, especially when they are worn “properly”.

Bill was originally going to visit a kilt maker called MacGregor & MacDuff.  He chose it because it carried the Donegal tartan, which is the Irish county where Bill’s people come from as evidenced by our surname, Crossen.  MacGregor also happens to be the name of our very sweet dearly departed “bagel”, whom we lost to canine cancer a few weeks after our first Hebridean Princess cruise.  I ended up talking him out of MacGregor & MacDuff because it appeared to be a large operation.  Instead, we visited the much smaller James Robertson, Kiltmaker.  I am so glad we did.  We spent a couple of hours there with the delightful proprietor.

He has a tiny little “hole in the wall shop” next to a tattoo parlor!

Bill gathers his gumption for the fitting.

We settled on the Donegal pattern displayed above.  There was another Donegal pattern that was mostly oranges, greens, and reds, but the blue, green, and red seemed to suit Bill better.  I could wear tartans for a few Scottish clans myself due to my heavy ancestry, but if I ever get a stole, I’ll probably get one to match Bill’s new kilt.

The tartan Bill is wearing is not the one we’re getting, just to be clear.  However, I was impressed by how well it matched his shirt!

Bill ordered the whole “kit”, which set us back about $1200.  However, it includes everything but a tuxedo shirt and the kilt will be handmade.  Aside from that, the jacket comes from County Donegal. 😉

I get excited just thinking about it.

Bill tries on shoes.  The proprietor even asked me to film him showing how to tie the laces.  See below.

 

This is how you do it, guys.

Bill checks out the rest of his accessories.

First time I’ll ever get him to wear a purse…  😉

Settling the bill…  We noticed a bottle of whisky sitting by the desk.  I have a feeling if it had been later in the day, we might have shared a wee dram with the kiltmaker.

On the way out…

 

Edited to add:  This was the finished product.  It got to us in time for Christmas!

The kiltmaker advised us to visit The Pot Still, a very cool pub that serves food, beer, and, most of all, lots of whisky.  Apparently, it has one of the best selections of whiskies in Glasgow with over 700 varieties.  And though it wasn’t quite noon, we decided to stop in to try a few.

A rather unassuming looking place, isn’t it?

We started with a Longrow from Campbeltown’s Springbank Distillery, a place we’ve visited twice, thanks to our Hebridean cruises.

A look at the loot.

We tried a couple of others, included blends we had not heard of prior to our visit.  The proprietor looked to be about my age and was busy with inventory, but he was very friendly.  We shared a moment when he started whistling a tune and I quickly identified it as “Can You Feel It” by The Jacksons.  Every time I come to Scotland, I’m reminded of just how strong the musical vibe is there.

A look at the dining room.  I was tempted to stay for lunch, but it was still a little early.  We decided to walk around a bit more.

At around noon, my nose caught a whiff of something delicious.  We happened to be standing in front of Iberica, a Spanish restaurant chain in the United Kingdom.  Since we knew we’d be eating a lot of Scottish food on the boat, we decided to stop in for a Spanish repast.  It was a good decision.  We split a couple of tapas and paella for two, then had lovely desserts.

Bill checks out the menu…

While I check out the bar…  Our waitress was beautiful.  She looked like a young Rachel Hunter circa 1990 or so…  She recommended we order a couple of tapas to hold us over while the paella was being prepared.  It takes awhile.

Bill picked the sausage and cheese tapas which came with bread and fig jelly.

I had the crispy chicken, which was absolutely delicious.  I could have enjoyed a whole lunch of this.

Seafood paella.  It was very good, although I liked my chicken tapas even more.

This was just the beginning of our week eating seafood…

For dessert, I had churros, which were so good… but man, my ass didn’t need that present!

Bill was a bit more sensible and had something lighter.  Looks like it involved apricots.  I remember the waitress told us about a dessert that involved Parmesan cheese and strawberries.  I wrinkled my nose at first, but then realized it was a pairing of sweet and salty.  And given the time of the month, that was kind of appealing.  I’m glad I went with churros instead, though.

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Sundays

Schnitzel, song, and sunshine on the Schönbuch ridge…

I had thoughts that maybe Bill and I should venture to Stuttgart for some fun today, but then I decided to do laundry.  As anyone who lives in these parts knows, laundry can be an all day affair, even if you use the short cycles.  I wasn’t finished washing the bed linens until about 1:30pm, which seemed kind of late to be heading out to Stuttgart, especially since we wanted to have lunch.  We decided to go to Herrenberg instead.

As we headed into town, I noticed the ads for the Whisky Messe that is going on right now.  Tickets were being sold at the Alte Brennerei, an excellent place to buy all manner of exotic spirits and wines.  I told Bill I wanted to stop in there today, since we’re out of whisky.  But first, I wanted to have lunch.  I remembered from last year, when we took our dogs, Zane and Arran, on a walk through nature trails on the Schönbuch ridge overlooking the outskirts of Herrenberg.  Right across the street from the nature park, there is a restaurant/biergarten that looked inviting.  We didn’t try it last year, but decided to stop in today, sans dogs.

Lots of trails and a nice little self-service restaurant for your hunger, big or small.

The biergarten at the was full of people when we arrived at the Naturfreundehaus am Schönbuch.  They were serving a few specials along with the usual schnitzels and such.  It’s a self-service place that appears to be quite popular among locals.  In fact, when we walked inside, there was a group of people in a closed off room having a group singalong of some sort.  I was grateful that they were on key, because they sang the same song several times.  I had it stuck in my head the whole time we were dining.

My first impression… it seemed a bit “church fellowship hall” like.

Bill and I both decided to have small schnitzels with fries, washed down with hefeweizens.  I sat down while Bill ordered.

The lady took his order and gave him a ticket with a number on it.  He sat with me to wait.

You can’t go wrong with a local weizen.

Bill laughs as I snark on the singers in the next room.  They were actually entertaining.  I wouldn’t have minded joining in on the singalong.

Finally, our number was called.  We were 122.  Bill picked up our lunches and we commenced eating.

They had large and small schnitzels.  We both got the small size, which was plenty.  I didn’t finish the fries.  I noticed they had a number of nice looking cakes.  I wouldn’t have minded trying out the Black Forest Cake they had, but I refrained for the sake of my behind.

Nice napkins that tell you where you are.

Once you’re finished eating, you take your dirty dishes to the window.  Put bottles and glasses on the counter where you give your order.

 

This was a pretty typical schnitzel and pommes lunch, but I noticed some of the other options looked pretty good.  Prices are also very reasonable.  It’s a nice, no frills place to stop in after your hike in the woods.  I probably would have enjoyed sitting outside in the sun, but I’m glad we caught the German singing group.

They have handy maps for people who want to walk.

A view of the Biergarten.

Across this highway are more trails.

 

After lunch, we went back to Herrenberg, parked the car, and walked to the Alte Brennerei.  I have written about this awesome wine and liquor store more than a couple of times.  Today was our first visit back since Christmas.  Let me warn you… they are experts at upselling!

Interesting sight by the parking garage.

 

We were originally attracted to their Springbank whiskys, but the one I really had my eye on was priced at about 200 euros.  So we turned our attention to Kilchoman, which was one of the distilleries we visited last year during our Scottish whisky cruise.  I picked up a bottle that was intriguing.  Bill picked out another bottle he liked.  We put them up on the counter.  The saleslady, who spoke some English, invited us to try a couple of whiskys.  We were happy to do it.  Of course, we loved the other two she brought out for us and ended up buying four bottles of scotch.  It may be time for me to start a Facebook whisky lovers group…

Good stuff.  I hope it holds us for awhile.

Bill assesses the damage.  But they softened the blow with a gift of Italian tartufos.

 

I think tomorrow, we will try to go to Stuttgart for a bit… and do some harmless sightseeing rather than shopping!  At least lunch was cheap.  It was a mere 23 euros, plus parking was free of charge.  Edited to add, the Nature House is apparently affiliated with the Friends of Nature, which is an international group dedicated to making nature more accessible.  This particular restaurant is open from 11am-6pm.

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Uncategorized

Whisky/Whiskey: our first tasting at The Auld Rogue!

Several weeks ago, Bill and I went on an AAFES run and decided to stop at The Auld Rogue, a popular Irish pub in Vaihingen.  After we’d had our lunches, the ever present Nick, who is always running things whenever we stop by, asked us if we’d be interested in attending the next whiskey tasting.  Although Bill and I very much enjoy whisky (and whiskey) and are keen to taste as many as we can, we had never been to a tasting at The Auld Rogue.  Bill had been wanting to go to a beer or whiskey tasting at the much beloved Irish pub for as long as we’ve been back in the Stuttgart area.

The Auld Rogue always inspires good memories.  The last time we lived here, The Auld Rogue was first a Greek restaurant and then a dance club (which we didn’t try).  When it was still Taverna Faros back in 2007, I ate my very first dorade at the place that is now called The Auld Rogue.  It’s kind of a special venue for Bill and me for that reason, although I also love The Auld Rogue for its good food, excellent music, and friendly service in English.  Even though we knew yesterday would involve a lot of drinking potent spirits that might bring on temporary amnesia, we figured we could make even more good memories.

So Bill told Nick we’d be happy to attend his tasting, a special one that pitted Irish whiskeys against Scottish whiskys.  The official title of yesterday’s tasting was Uisce or Uisge– Battle of the Giants!  It promised a selection of interesting spirits from Ireland and Scotland to taste.  The price was 55 euros a person– 110 in total for us– and included food.  Bill paid Nick; he gave us our tickets; and we waited for the big day to arrive.

Meanwhile, our beagle Zane had some urgent veterinary issues.  Friday morning, he had a little minor surgery to flush out one of his ears and remove a cyst that kept troubling him (and me).  I was worried that maybe we wouldn’t make it to the tasting because I wasn’t sure what kind of shape Zane would be in on Saturday.  I see now on The Auld Rogue’s Facebook page that, had we needed to cancel, we could have transferred our tasting tickets to a future tasting.  That’s good to know, although I didn’t know that before Zane went under the knife.  He’s doing fine, though and was no worse for wear when we got home last night.

Nick advised us to arrive at the restaurant by 1:30pm to ensure that we’d get a table.  Since we knew there would be lots of booze at the tasting, Bill and I opted to take the train from Herrenberg to Vaihingen.  Fortunately, we had decent weather yesterday for the walk to the restaurant.

Once we got to the Auld Rogue, we took a table at the back of the room.  If we do another tasting (and we probably will), we’ll try to get a table closer to the bar.  That makes it much easier to get to the bathroom!  I must have let out a frustrated sigh after a noticed the tight obstacle course to get to the toilet.

Then Bill took a look at me and noticed I was also getting a little hangry.  He said, “You’re hungry, aren’t you?”  He can always tell!  I nodded and asked him if there was going to be food; I remembered that the initial announcement said there would be, but didn’t remember what it included.  The other guys sitting with us also wanted to know.  The information about snacks was not in the handout Nick gave us when we first arrived, so people were a little confused.

I noticed other people ordering lunches.  They didn’t know that there would be pub food offered at the tasting.  One guy had ordered food before the tasting started and ended up sitting alone after the first round.  The couple who had been sharing the table with him left early.  He was totally inundated with snacks he couldn’t eat!  Although I was tempted to get a sandwich, we just ordered some Guinness as we waited for the tasting to start.  Unless you have a huge appetite, I would recommend the same.

Yesterday’s tasting was very well attended and we were packed in.  Bill and I shared our table with four young men working in Stuttgart temporarily.  They turned out to be great company, even if they did make me feel old!

Here’s a first shot of the first whiskey samples we tried.  This was the Hyde No. 2, 10 year old Caribbean Dark Rum Irish Single Malt.  I was in the back of the room and it was a bit too crowded to easily come closer for inspection.  I opted to make use of the zoom lens on my digital camera instead.

Nick passed out the samples and asked us not to start drinking yet.  He told us to hang on to the glasses and rinse them with the water he’d placed on our tables for diluting the spirits.  Also, he explained that if he had to wash the glasses in the dishwasher, they’d come back to us hot and that would evaporate the alcohol.  We certainly didn’t want that!  Nick then showed us three different ways to get the most out of the tasting.  One method involved using your hands, which I opted not to do.

Next, Nick explained the basics of whiskey/whisky, which starts out as beer before it turns into liquor.  He told us that “whisky” is the Scottish spelling, while “whiskey” is how the Irish spell it.  Then he went into rather lengthy, yet entertaining speech about the differences between the way Irish whiskeys are made as opposed to Scotch whiskys.  Irish whiskeys tend to be smoother because they are triple distilled in copper pots.  Scotch whiskys, by comparison, are usually a bit less refined because they are double distilled in wood, stainless steel, or copper pots.  Bill and I learned a lot about the process of making whisky/whiskey last spring, when we went on a whisky themed cruise in Scotland and visited quite a few distilleries.  I thought Nick’s explanation was especially useful for those who haven’t visited half a dozen distilleries within a week of travel!

It wasn’t quite full at this point.  By 2:00pm, we were cozy!

The list of boozes…  The last one had to be replaced with a different whisky because the supplier sent the wrong one.  The replacement whisky was supposedly similar– it was simply aged in both oloroso sherry casks and Pedro Ximenez casks instead of just Pedro Ximenez casks. 

Full house!

After the first tasting of whisky, Nick paused and we were given our first round of snacks.  I was actually very pleased with what they offered us.  This is great bar food, especially if you’re feeling hangry!

Onion rings, chicken wings, cheese sticks, carrot sticks, and celery sticks, served with an interesting dip that tasted kind of like chili without the beans.  I was less hangry after we shared this with our young companions.

 

After we tasted the first scotch whisky, a lovely fourteen year old Balvenie Scottish single malt aged in a Caribbean cask, we took a vote to see which one was more popular.  On the first round, I was partial to the Scottish offering, though Bill preferred the Irish whiskey.

More food was brought out…  We had to explain to our young friends what was being served.  Basically, it was a round of tiny “gemischte” hamburger patties (pork and beef) and pieces of Fleischkaese (pork meatloaf) with tortilla chips, hummus, and a spicy red chili sauce. 

The next two selections were the eleven year old Teeling White Burgundy Single Cask from Ireland and a twelve year old Glenmorangie Nectar D’Or Sauternes Cask from Scotland.  That time, I preferred the Irish offering.  I would have liked to have purchased a bottle to bring home with us, but Nick said he didn’t have many to sell.  It was also priced at 86 euros, which was the most expensive bottle we tried.  I’ll check MasterofMalt.com to see if they have it in stock (ETA: They don’t. 🙁 ).

We lost one of the guys sitting at our table because he needed to get to the movies.  He missed the last two selections, the Connemara (sherry) Distillers Edition of an Irish Single Malt versus the BenRaich (Sherry) Scottish Single Malt.  Again, the last Scottish whisky we tried was a substitute for what had been planned.  Although I enjoyed it very much, Nick was a bit put out that he’d gotten the wrong whisky and said he was going to kick his supplier’s ass!

The final round of food.  A nice bowl of chips.  I wish we’d had plates or ramekins so I could have used the ketchup!

 

This video was taken toward the end of the tasting.  Nick tells a good story.

 

The tasting was finally over after almost four hours.  Bill purchased a bottle of the Connemara whiskey, which gave me a thrill since prior to yesterday, all I knew about Connemara was that it’s the source of some wonderful ponies.  Now I know there’s also fine whiskey made there.  Maybe we’ll visit when we go to Ireland in a couple of weeks!

Anyway, now that we’ve done our first Auld Rogue tasting, I will offer a few tips to those who want to try one in the future.

1.  Get there early to score a seat.  

 

2.  Dress in layers.  I wore a sweater and was a bit too warm because the place filled up with people.  I might have preferred something lighter or maybe even a t-shirt!

 

3.  Consider your seating location’s proximity to the restroom.

 

4.  Plan on spending several hours.  We noticed a number of people hadn’t expected the event would last as long as it did.  They ended up leaving early.  

 

5.  Because of the amount of alcohol you’ll be tasting, consider how you will be getting to and leaving the event.  We took the train, just to be on the safe side.

 

6.  Note ahead of time whether or not there will be food offered (and I’m sure most of these events include food).  If there will be food, you might not want to order food before the event starts.  Portions at The Auld Rogue can be very large and filling!  You might even want to show up hungry for the snacks.

 

7.  This may not be the best time to bring anyone with you who might be offended by off color language.  Nick dropped the f bomb a few times.  I was, of course, delighted by that, but other people might not be.  But then again, it IS an Irish pub.  Use your best judgment!

 

8.  If you need to cancel your reservation, let Nick know.  It’s possible to transfer the ticket to a future tasting.

We really enjoyed our first tasting at The Auld Rogue.  I’m pretty sure we’ll do it again.  The next one is a beer tasting that, I believe, is already sold out.  As it will occur on November 12th, we wouldn’t be able to attend anyway.  We will be in Ireland celebrating our 14th wedding anniversary!  Stay tuned for posts about that trip!

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booze tourism, whisky distilleries

A repost of my review of the Scotch Whisky Experience in Edinburgh, Scotland…

This review was originally posted on the now defunct review site, Epinions.com.  Although it’s a few years old, I figured it could be useful reading on this blog for those planning a trip to Scotland.  I also like to preserve my old reviews when I can.  So here it is for all those interested…

    • Going to Edinburgh? Learn about scotch whisky!

      Review by knotheadusc
       in Books, Music, Hotels & Travel
        December, 10 2012

Pros: Fun, informative, campy.

Cons: Kind of pricey for what it is. No discussion of Campbeltown whiskies.

    • My husband Bill and I just got back from a 17 day trip to Scotland. We spent two nights in Glasgow, ten nights on the Hebridean Princess, and four nights in Edinburgh. One of the ways I managed to sell Bill on the trip to Scotland was reminding him of the prospect of getting to tour whisky distilleries. We visited both the Arran and Springbank distilleries while we were on our cruise and learned a whole lot about the process of making scotch. Nevertheless, when we approached Edinburgh Castle after a long walk on The Royal Mile, I talked Bill into The Scotch Whisky Experience, which is a tourist attraction designed to teach visitors to Edinburgh about Scotland’s national drink.

Bill and I are not strangers to booze tourism. We’ve visited a beer spa, a beer museum, and Vinopolis, in London, which is basically a museum dedicated to boozers. When we first walked into the Scotch Whisky Experience, I was reminded a lot of Vinopolis. There, on the wall, was a menu of the types of tours that were available. They ran the gamut and included everything to a master class for experience scotch drinkers to tours designed for elementary school aged kids. The desk agent told us a “silver” or “gold” tour was available within the next five minutes. The silver tour was the cheapest tour available and included a trip through the exhibit and a single scotch tasting.

Because Bill and I are hedonists, we went for the gold tour, which included everything included in the silver tour, plus a year’s membership in the Scotch Whisky Experience, which entitled us to discounts on merchandise and admission, and at the end of the tour, a scotch tasting which included whiskies from four different whisky producing areas in Scotland. The gold tour cost 22.50 pounds per person, while the silver tour was 12.75. Since we later learned the whisky tasting we got at the end cost about nine pounds, we thought this was fair enough. A “platinum tour” is also available at certain times of the day. It includes more scotch tasting, including one aged 21 years.

The “experience”

The first part of the Scotch Whisky Experience is admittedly pretty silly. It basically consists of a short ride in a whisky barrel while a campy guy in a film explains the basic process of making scotch. It’s entertaining enough. I’m sure it’s a big hit with kids, not that we saw any in there with us. That part of the tour takes a few minutes.

Then, you’re taken into a room where you are handed a scratch and sniff card with four colored circles on it. Each color represents a scotch region and the usual aromas associated with that region. A tour guide gives a brief talk about the different scotch regions: Islay, Speyside, Highlands, and Lowlands. There is a fifth region, Campbeltown, which used to be the scotch capitol of the world. Sadly, there are now only three distilleries in Campbeltown and I gathered it’s not too easy to get whisky from there, since this region wasn’t covered. Luckily, Bill and I visited Campbeltown and it’s biggest distillery, Springbank, when we were on our cruise. As you discuss the different essences from each scotch region, you scratch and sniff the corresponding color.

During the lecture, the tour guide hands out tasting glasses and asks which region you want to taste scotch from. I elected Speyside, while Bill tasted a scotch from Islay. The tasting glass is yours to keep.

After that, you visit the world’s largest scotch whisky collection. There are over 3,000 bottles in this collection, some of which are very old. None of the bottles have been opened, yet some of them have been exposed to air, which has led to evaporation.

At the end of the tour, you go into the McIntyre Whisky Gallery to see more of the collection, as well as the world’s largest bottle of scotch, which is about as tall as I am. There is a large bar in there, which offers hundreds of different scotches for tasting. You pay extra to taste scotches in the gallery, unless you’ve purchased the tasting by getting the gold tour. The scotch tasting that comes with the gold tour includes four scotches from different regions which rotate regularly. One couple that was on the tour with us and got the silver tour opted to purchase the tasting afterwards; they got one and split it.

If you want a whisky that isn’t included in the tasting, you have to pay for it. By the time we were done with our tasting, we were a little scotched out!

The Scotch Whisky Experience also has the Amber Restaurant. Bill and I did not eat there, but there is a tour that includes a meal in the restaurant or you could opt to eat there independently of the tour. I’m pleased to confirm that there are clean restroom facilities available, too.

You can’t leave the tour without walking through the shop, which offers a lot of whiskies for sale. We already had two bottles of scotch from touring distilleries, but Bill did buy a couple of minis so he could try a couple of whiskies he can’t get in the US. Sadly, you can only bring one bottle of liquor per person to the USA from abroad without paying duties.

Overall

Bill and I enjoyed the Scotch Whisky Experience. However, we probably would have been more impressed with it had we not already visited a couple of actual distilleries! If you’re just going to be in Edinburgh and are interested in how scotch is made, I think the Scotch Whisky Experience is worth seeing. It was a fun tour that ate up an hour or so.

For more information: http://www.scotchwhiskyexperience.co.uk/index.php

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booze tourism

Part 9… Sunday morning at Kilchoman Distillery…

I mentioned in a previous post that Bill and I aren’t church people.  But we sure felt the spirit on Sunday morning, March 20th, when we visited Kilchoman Distillery on Islay.  After a hearty breakfast at the Columba restaurant, many intrepid whisky enthusiasts clambered off the Hebridean Princess and back on the old schoolbus with the busted seatbelts and boogers for a trip for one of Scotland’s newest distilleries.  The drive to Kilchoman was breathtakingly beautiful as we passed many fields of grazing sheep, lightning fast hares, wandering partridges, and majestic herds of deer.

We were originally scheduled to visit the Bowmore Distillery, but for some reason, that plan was changed in favor of Kilchoman.  I am mostly glad we went there.  I say mostly because I suspect that I picked up a nasty stomach bug at the Kilchoman Distillery.  I will explain more about that later.  For now, I will just say that I forgot my education at this lovely place as a very friendly staffer hopped on our bus near the distillery and guided us in.

The Kilchoman Distillery was founded in 2005.  It was the first distillery to be built on Islay in 124 years.  It is one of six Scottish distilleries still doing floor maltings (and I guess we must have seen two of the others during our cruise) and is unique in that all steps of the whisky making process are done on Islay.  Our guide, Leha, explained that the owners had just purchased the adjacent farm, giving them plenty of room to grow their own barley and feed whatever’s leftover from the whisky making process to the farm’s own livestock.

More barley malting…

Another kiln…

We were a little delayed waiting for people to use the restroom, which wasn’t such a good thing.  The staff at the distillery had made fresh scones for us.  One group enjoyed the scones while the rest of us toured the facility.  We were supposed to flip flop, but ran short of time.  I managed to grab a scone to go, anyway.

Spirit safe.

Here’s where things get a bit sketchy, though.  At one point, Leha pulled a metal tubelike container out of one of the tanks.  It was full of wort.  She passed it around and invited people to try it.  Though I had tried the wort at Laphroaig (whose staffers were kind enough to put it in little plastic communion cups for us), Leha simply passed the metal tube around.  And I was dumb enough to try it.  I think this is where I ended up picking up the stomach bug that made things go so awry on the last day.  I don’t know for certain, but my guess is that I am not the only one who paid for that mistake.

I’m mostly pretty good about hygiene, especially on cruise ships.  I wash my hands and use the alcohol cleansers, although those are not effective against Norovirus.  I usually only share glasses with Bill.  But I forgot myself while I was on this distillery tour and I think that’s what caused me to get so sick; not coming from the UK, I was not used to the bug that invaded my body so quickly.  It didn’t even have to be someone from our cruise that spread the germ.  Norovirus can survive a long time without a host.  I hasten to add, I don’t even know that I definitely had Norovirus, but I sure had all the symptoms of it.  And based on how long it took for me to get sick, then Bill, I have a feeling I got it at Kilchoman and then spread it to him and perhaps a few other unlucky people.

I thought the bottling machine was pretty cool.  Also, I was surprisingly interested in how they came to choose their distinctive bottles.

Apparently, it’s hard to break those suckers, even when you drop them.

Sample time.  Besides whisky, Kilchoman makes a liqueur that I immediately dubbed a “lady’s drink”.  

It is possible that I got sick on the ship or somewhere else, but remembering what I did during the cruise, I really think I got the bug when I tasted the wort at Kilchoman.  It takes a minute amount of the virus to infect someone and that seems like the most obvious time it would have happened.

But just because I got a stomach bug, that doesn’t mean I didn’t enjoy the tour and Kilchoman’s products immensely.  In fact, Bill was very excited to pick up a bottle of Kilchoman to take home with us.  It may be awhile before I want to drink any whisky, but I bet he’ll be opening it soon.  And, if anyone from Kilchoman reads this, I loved visiting your facility.  I just hope you’ll follow Laphroaig’s lead and provide little individual cups for people who want to taste the wort.  And, I also hope I learned my lesson in hygiene.  Fat lot of good that master’s degree in public health did me!  The wort isn’t even that tasty, though on the bright side, at least my immune system got some practice.

Unfortunately, we were a bit rushed out of Kilchoman.  We had to get back to the ship because we were headed for the Jura Distillery that afternoon.  Jura is another island.  But, at least until I started hurling a couple of days later, I had a glowing impression of Kilchoman and my experience there taught me to remember not to drink from communal containers.

Bill’s butternut squash soup.

More seafood for me…

I had a smoked salmon sandwich.

Bill had Irish stew.

Rice pudding for Bill.

Ice cream for me.  I was blissfully oblivious about what was coming.

 
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Part 8… Finally, a new island for us! Islay!

There are many distilleries on Islay, so it makes sense that our next stop on our whisky cruise would be on Islay.  However, because we were coming from Kintyre, we had some distance to travel before it would be time for another distillery tour.  We spent Saturday morning cruising past Northern Ireland on the way to our next stop, the Laphroaig Distillery.  Laphroaig is a well-known whisky and when I posted that we were headed there, I got a few likes from friends, as well as a spelling lesson.  It’s not so easy to spell Laphroaig properly, you know.

Bill and I took the opportunity to enjoy some local-ish beers offered on the ship, as well as try a gin that was new to us called Isle of Harris.  I had to point this out to an old friend of mine from Virginia whose last name happens to be Harris.  After lunch, we anchored in Port Ellen.  I was excited because I had heard about Islay, but had never actually been there.  Iain, the hottie hotel manager, came from Islay and told us where he grew up.  Apparently, everyone on that island knows each other.  This was later confirmed to me when Bill and I were in England and happened to run into an Englishman with ties to Islay.  He said he went there once, mentioned his family name to a bartender, and the bartender called up his relatives and they later showed up at the bar to drink with him.

We were loaded up on a truly *shocking* bus.  It appeared to be a school bus with a big sign at the front demanding that everyone wear seatbelts.  However, all of the seatbelts appeared to be badly damaged.  I noticed the upholstery on the seats was torn and poorly repaired with duct tape.  Then I noticed food stains and dried boogers smeared on the seatbacks.  Apparently, we were using a schoolbus!  Never mind, it got the job done.  Some of the cruisers weren’t interested in the whisky distillery, so they went to see Kildalton Cross and walk around Port Ellen.  The rest of us went to taste more whisky.

More barley malting…  Laphroaig has much of theirs trucked in.

Peat, which gives Laphoaig its distinctive flavor…

And another kiln…

The Laphroaig Distillery has an interesting history which I read about on the display boards in the visitor’s center.  Our group was divided into two groups.  I am sad to say that I don’t remember our tour guide’s name, but he was a very knowledgeable and entertaining chap.  He had been told that we knew about the whisky making process, so he simply showed us around the distillery and allowed us to taste the wort.  A wort is basically the same stuff one uses to make beer.  In fact, all whisky starts out as beer before it turns into spirits.

The Duke and Duchess…

Stainless steel tanks as opposed to the oak ones we saw at many other distilleries…

The spirit safe.

Like Springbank, Laphroaig was in the middle of malting barley.  Once again, we were shown how it’s done, though it appeared to me that Laphroaig has a slightly more sophisticated system all the way around.  I noticed a couple of shots of Prince Charles and Duchess Camilla on the walls, indicating that they had paid a visit.  Also, a lone stag passed us as we walked through the distillery.

After we toured the distillery, we visited Kildalton Cross, where I managed to take some really beautiful photos of Islays’ stark and haunting landscape.  Bill commented to me that he’d like to find a self-catering cottage on Islay and just hang out there for a week.  I’d be up for that myself.  It really is a beautiful place and there are plenty of other distilleries there that we didn’t see, namely Bowmore and Ardbeg.  We were supposed to see the Bowmore Distillery, but that was replaced at the last minute.

I like to buy music when I take trips, so instead of buying whisky, I purchased a couple of new CDs from Laphroaig’s gift shop.  I have now listened to both of them twice and really enjoy them, though I had never heard of the performers before I bought their music.  That night turned out to be pretty musical anyway, since Angela Paterson and her violin playing friend Fiona showed up to perform for the passengers after we’d had dinner.  Bill and I only stayed for about a half an hour.  That’s not a reflection on the quality of their playing.  I thought the ladies were very talented and I would have liked to have stayed longer.  However, Bill was nodding off and I was pretty tired myself.  I usually spend a lot of time by myself, so it can be taxing to spend the whole day around people.

I heard that after an hour or so, people started dancing to the music.  I wish I could have seen and/or participated in that.  I did, however, take away some inspiration from the musicians who played after we visited Port Ellen…

I learned “Wild Mountain Thyme” after hearing it performed on Hebridean Princess.

Credit the call of nature for my getting this shot…

Kildalton Cross…

John, our guide, and the lovely musicians from Islay.  I think that was the only time I ever saw John wearing pants as opposed to his kilt.

I just learned “Wild Mountain Thyme” today, thanks to Angela and Fiona…  

Laphroaig casks!

Stags!



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Part 7… Springbank Distillery in Campbeltown…

Bill and I visited the Springbank Distillery in 2012 on our second Hebridean cruise.  Naturally, we visited again in March 2016 on our third scotch whisky themed Hebridean cruise.  Springbank Distillery is kind of a special place because it represents one of the last of a dying breed.  In the early 1900s, Campbeltown was a bustling place where many Campbeltown whiskies were made.  Thanks to Prohibition in the United States and advancing technology, the vast majority of Campbeltown whiskies died out.  Springbank remains and is one of only two distilleries in Scotland to perform every step in the whisky making process on its premises.  Springbank grows and malts its own barley and does its own bottling.  It’s also one of a very few family owned distilleries and very little whisky produced at Springbank finds its way into blended whiskies.

Bill stands outside the distillery, shivering.  It was cold the day of our visit!

I have genuinely liked most of the Springbank whiskies I’ve managed to try.  But I also think the distillery is one of the more interesting ones we’ve encountered.  With help from the assistant manager of the distillery, Cameron, we were shown what makes Springbank such a unique distillery.  I especially enjoyed Cameron’s accent, which was very thick and charming.  Like the two guides before him, he displayed a keen wit as he described all the steps of whisky making.

Malting barley.
 

A pile of peat.

The kiln where peat is fired.

 It was interesting to see the Springbank Distillery again because this time, they had barley malting on the floor.  The first time we visited, we had to imagine that step of the process of whisky making.  Cameron explained how labor intensive it is to malt barley.  He showed us the primitive tool used to turn the barley so it’s properly prepared for whisky making.  He also showed us the very impressive and OLD equipment used at Springbank.  Most of their machinery is still working great after many decades of use.  I think Springbank is one of the more charming distilleries I’ve been to, as well.

Cameron explains the kiln.

 

An old fashioned record keeping system…  Don’t look now, but I think that’s our captain standing to the left of the pole.

 

These photos are from 2012.  On that trip, we were allowed to visit the room where the casks are stored.  We didn’t see it on our most recent trip, but I’m including the photo for interested parties.

After the tour, we walked to the whisky shop, which is off site.  We all tried some Springbank and took home a small sample bottle given to tour participants.  Then we went shopping.  Bill bought a 24 year old cask end that was slightly discounted.  He poured himself a dram last night and pronounced it good.

On our first visit to this particular whisky shop, there was a very old bottle of scotch being offered for 50,000 GBP.  I took a photo of the bottle.  It has since been sold to someone in China.  Go figure!

The 50,000 GBP whisky… It’s gone now!  A “sold” sign now sits in its place.

The very cool front step of the whisky shop.

I took a photo of this cool van as we were walking back to the ship.

I came back with an unusual souvenir from the Springbank Distillery.  I ended up needing to use the ladies room while I was there, but they happened to have just painted it.  Though I was warned about the wet paint, I still managed to get some on my jacket!

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Part 5… Arran distillery and majestic deer…

Some of the first casks at Arran Distillery…

I have a confession to make.  My memories of our cruise are a little jumbled now.  It could be because we drank a lot of alcohol on this cruise.  It could be because I’m getting old.  It could be because a lot has happened in the last two weeks!  Anyway, as I was writing the previous post, I realized I was getting some events mixed up.  I may be going back to do more editing as I write these posts, though I suspect no one cares but me and anyone else who happened to be on the cruise.

A shot of the Princess as we left the tender…

The second distillery we visited on our cruise was the Isle of Arran Distillery, located in the tiny, picturesque village of Lochranza.  We were blessed with sunny skies and calm waters as we each took the tender to the tiny pier.  A bus was waiting to take some of us to the distillery and others on a tour around the Isle of Arran.  Arran is a very beautiful place… so beautiful that we named one of our dogs after it!  Anyway, we decided to go to the distillery instead of sitting on the bus, though I have to admit the bus driver cracked me up as he apologized for the bus he was forced to drive.  It was a city transport type of vehicle, without the plush seats and toilets we’d had on our other buses.  He said he was “shocked” at the quality of the bus.  Little did he know, we’d encounter a much worse bus in Islay a couple of days later!

Bill and I visited the Arran Distillery on our first Hebridean cruise and have become fans of their product.  We also really enjoyed our first tour, which was given by an older Scot with a thick accent named Campbell.  This time, our guide was a bearded man named Stewart.  Like Campbell, he wore a kilt as he led us through the distillery and told us about how whisky is made at the Arran Distillery.  We watched a corporate video, newly produced since our first visit.  Arran Distillery has only been around for about twenty years.  It was founded by Harold Currie,  who happened to die on March 15th of this year.  Since he had just died a couple of days before our visit, flags at the distillery were at half mast.

Lochranza is the home to golden eagles.  It’s said they made an appearance when Queen Elizabeth II visited the distillery.

I don’t have much to say about the distillery tour itself, except that Stewart was very entertaining.  I got a kick out of his beard, which looked like it could have served as home to baby animals.  Arran makes a number of delightful whiskies, but they also make Arran Gold, which is a creme liqueur somewhat like Bailey’s Irish Cream.  I have been known to enjoy Arran Gold on occasion and, in fact, I think I like it a bit more than Bailey’s.

Since we had such beautiful weather on the day of our tour, Bill and I decided to walk back to the ship.  I took a few photos of the nature in Lochranza, as well as a family of deer who were enjoying themselves near the beach.

No doubt a source of the water that makes Arran whisky…

Handsome buck watching his does and posing for photos!

Just across from the pier… we heard and saw lots of local kids playing outside, uninhibited by adult supervision!

You really had to watch where you stepped in Lochranza.  Lots of deer scat everywhere.  😉

 

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Part 2… Arrival in Glasgow and meeting up with the Princess!

Bill and I flew out of Stuttgart at about noon on March 14th.  We dropped off our dogs, Zane and Arran, with Max at Dog On Holiday, and had pleasant flights from Stuttgart to Amsterdam to Glasgow.  I was feeling hopeful when I saw the sun out in Glasgow.  On our first trip to Scotland, we were greeted by dismal weather.  It was dark and stormy that November day.  This time, we had almost balmy temperatures and the sun was shining.  I had needed a heavy coat in Stuttgart, but could walk around with no jacket on in Glasgow.

I cracked a smile when I saw the guy directing the taxi stand.  He was wearing a pair of tartan trousers.  I am a sucker for tartans, even though I have yet to invest in a stole of my own.  I would love to see Bill in a kilt, especially if he wears it properly… but he’s mostly Irish, so he balks at the idea of having one made.  One of these days, I’ll get him to pull the trigger.  Hopefully, it won’t be aimed at my head.

We reached the Carlton George Hotel by mid afternoon, deposited our bags, and enjoyed some of the free booze in the mini bar.  Through OpenTable, I had made us reservations at a restaurant called Alston Bar & Beef.  Bill and I both enjoy steaks and this particular restaurant also specializes in gins.  I thought maybe we’d have a couple of gin cocktails, but Bill decided he preferred wine.  We enjoyed a lovely dinner there, with a round of cocktails and a bottle of wine.  We also had dessert… the first of many over the following week.

Bill was fretting a bit because he’d been dieting to get into his dress blues.  Our cruise had two gala nights that involved formal wear.  Bill retired in 2014, so PT tests are now a thing of the past.  He had put on a little weight, but was able to squeeze into the uniform.  I could tell he was working hard not to eat too much steak on our first night in Scotland.

I won’t say too much about the Carlton George in this particular post because I intend to write a review.  For now, I will say we enjoyed a very comfortable evening there.  The hotel is located very close to the main shopping drag in Glasgow and is near Glasgow Central Train Station.  We were due to meet representatives from the ship and our fellow passengers at 3:15pm on March 15th.

Breakfast was not included in our rate, so we decided to eat out on the town.  Again, through OpenTable, I found a very cool bar close to the hotel called the 158 Cafe Bar at Hutcheson’s.  I made us reservations for 9:00am and we both enjoyed a lovely breakfast on our first morning in Scotland.  It would be the first of many sumptuous meals we enjoyed this week.

A yummy mocha…
 
Eggs Benedict…
Scrambled eggs with smoked salmon…

Once checkout time came around, we hauled our bags to the train station and sat in a bar, where we had a light lunch and enjoyed lots of beer.  It so happened the bar we were enjoying was slated to close that Sunday.  Consequently, they didn’t have a very good selection of suds.  I didn’t mind too much, though, because the location was perfect for watching the train station.  It wasn’t long before we saw the folks from the Hebridean show up, ready to welcome a new round of passengers onboard.

An excellent vantage point for spotting people from the ship.

Hebridean Princess hires guides for its cruises.  They usually change each week and have special interests in the different cruise themes.  The week we were on the ship, our guide was John Harbour.  He was very easy to spot.  Every day, he wore a kilt with a matching tie and v neck sweater.  He’s very tall and distinguished and a proud Scotsman.  When we showed up with our passel of bags, he commented that we hadn’t packed light.  I explained that Bill had brought his uniform.  Then John told us that he had served in the Royal Navy for over thirty years.  He now has his own tour guide business and has been on Princess five times.  Prior to our whisky trip, John had been visiting India.  I knew he and Bill would have plenty to talk about during our trip.

When all of the passengers who were planning to be collected at the train station had arrived, John and the bartender, Egon from the Czech Republic, loaded us into the bus and we headed to the airport to pick up more people.  Thanks to all the beer I drank at the bar in the train station, I had a strong urge to answer the call of nature.  Fortunately, the bus had a toilet.  It also had seatbelts, with John incessantly reminded us to use every time we got on the bus!

We arrived at the Greenock pier by about five o’clock.  After a quick security check, we were each piped aboard the Hebridean Princess.  A young kilted lad stood outside the terminal with his pipes and played for everyone as they made their way to the ship.  I managed to get a very quick film of him playing.

The woman who ended up being our waitress showed us to Loch Crinan, our stateroom on the Hebridean deck.  The Hebridean deck is where the cheapest rooms are.  They have no windows and only a shower.  However, despite being the least expensive of the rooms on Hebridean Princess, they are still very comfortable.  A small bottle of whisky sat on the credenza over a stocked minibar that included water, soda, and fruit juice.  The bathroom was outfitted with Molton Brown toiletries and very thick, luxurious towels on a towel warmer.

The bed in Loch Crinan.
 
The bathroom.

We were asked to unpack our bags and set them outside so they could be stowed.  Then, we were welcome to make our way to the Tiree Lounge for welcome drinks and the muster drill.  The first night, dinner dress would be casual and we would learn about the many distilleries we would be visiting during our week on the Princess.  By the end of the week, we would know how whisky is made and the differences between the different whisky making regions around Scotland.

The very friendly and warm staff, mostly made up of Scots and folks from Latvia and Lithuania, made sure to make us feel at home.  After I made the steep climb back up to the Tiree Lounge, Egon the bartender handed me the first of many glasses of champagne.

Bill suits up for the safety drill.
Just as the sun was beginning to set…
 
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Ten things I learned in Scotland and England…

We’re home at last!  And boy, did we have ourselves an eventful trip!  Since we were gone for almost two weeks and a lot happened, I’m going to do something now that I usually do after I write up my vacations.  I’m going to type a list of ten things I learned on our most recent trip to Scotland and England.  I’m doing that now because I know some readers would prefer a quick and dirty recap and I have a feeling this trip report will consist of many moving parts.

Even though Bill and I have been to England and Scotland before– and I even lived in England at one time in my life– we always learn new things when we travel.  And this trip taught us some truly surprising things.  We spent the first week on a whisky cruise on Hebridean Princess in Scotland.  The cruise focused on visits to whisky distilleries, though we also had a few non boozy excursions.   Next, we went to England and caught Avenue Q in Stoke on Trent and visited my old stomping grounds near Mildenhall Air Force Base.  We had an unforgettable trip that I’m itching to share with everyone.  So here goes.

10.  Apparently, Scotland has its own money.  Yes, it’s true.  Even though Scotland voted to remain a member of the United Kingdom, more than once, we ran into problems when we tried to use Scottish bills in England.  In fact, this morning Bill tried to pay a fee at the Norwich airport with a Scottish note and it didn’t work!  He quipped that he’d have to find a “non-Confederate” note.  But, just so you know, Scottish money is legal tender in England.  It’s just that they don’t seem to see it that much or something.

9.  Driving on the left isn’t so hard.  Bill was very nervous about trying to drive in the United Kingdom.  As it turned out, it wasn’t bad at all.  We had visions of Clark Griswold style driving mishaps when we first considered driving in the UK, but Bill did just fine!  And now he has a new skill to brag about.

We did not have any encounters with Eric Idle in England.

 

8.  There are many roundabouts in England… more than there are in Germany.  Fortunately, none we encountered were as bad as this one.

I heard there’s a really scary one in Swindon, though…

 

7.  My old house in England still looks the same as it did in 1978.  We drove to Mildenhall Air Force Base, which is where my dad did his very last assignment as an Air Force lieutenant colonel.  I was almost six years old when we left England, so it’s where my earliest memories come from.  Very surprisingly, it was easy to find the housing area where I once lived and the house my family lived in.  I sent a photo to my much older sisters who confirmed that I got it right.

6.  But Mildenhall itself is very different…  There are some things around the base that are the same, but I was very shocked by how many more people are there and how much housing there is.  Also, I was surprised by the traffic!  Forty years ago, Mildenhall was surrounded by small towns and lots of open space.  Not so, now.

5.  The story my mom told me about the street named after my dad was not bullshit…  And I will write an updated post about that eventually to explain everything.  Suffice to say, I found the street supposedly named after my dad and having seen it and noted where it is, I believe my mom’s tale was truthful.

4.  It’s not a good idea to drink from the same cup, especially among strangers.   Even though I am supposedly “overeducated” with master’s degrees in social work and public health, sometimes I still do really stupid things.  I did something dumb on this trip and ended up in deep doo doo.  On a related note, toilets in the UK are kind of weird.  It takes practice to be able to flush them effectively.

3.  Scotland is as beautiful in March as it is in November…  I managed to get some gorgeous photos on this trip.  I also got lots of video, which I hope to turn into a new YouTube film.  I will be busy for the next couple of weeks!

2.  Haggis can be delicious!  I don’t remember liking haggis that much the first time I tried it, but this last time, I thought it was very tasty.  That was quite a surprise for me.  I don’t know if it was because of the chefs on Hebridean Princess or just because of my Scottish ancestry.  😉  Having written that, I think haggis will be one of those dishes I sample only when I am in Scotland among people in kilts and surrounded by whisky.

1.  A cruise on Hebridean Princess is a marvelous, yet expensive way to see Scotland.  Okay, I knew that already, but it was reaffirmed on this last trip, even though I got hit with a stomach bug on the last day.  I will explain more about what happened as I blog… or, for those who have strong stomachs and high curiosity, there is a rather graphic account on my main blog.  I promise to keep the account on this blog more or less PG rated.

Anchors Aweigh!

Now, on with my trip report!

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