Now here’s a fun fact for you. The only day alcohol is allowed in the House of Commons is on Budget Day. Parliamentary tradition dictates that while making the budget speech, the chancellor may drink whatever he wishes, with most opting for whisky.
Kenneth Clarke, I’m told, was rather partial to sipping a wee Glenfarclas from Speyside while delivering his speeches.
I’m impressed by this. Having been lucky enough to spend a few days exploring Speyside ahead of the 2016 Spirit of Speyside Whisky Festival, which takes place from April 28 to May 2, and having then sampled numerous whiskies produced in this bonnie part of the world, I don’t think I could deliver such a serious speech without thinking about my dram.
You see, Speyside whisky is a little like a lover. It needs to be treated kindly and with respect, looked at and admired, and of course, sampled. Where you drink it is also important, especially with some of the more expensive malts, as you want to absorb the flavour while making a connection with your surroundings.
Speyside is awash with good places to enjoy a dram, and there’s no shortage of experts on hand who will quietly but proudly tell you about their favourite dram, where it’s produced and something of the history of it.
In the early days, distilling whisky was rather dodgy. Primitive equipment, lack of expertise and knowledge often saw potentially lethal spirit being created. As distillation methods improved, considerable advances were made – monks apparently had a pretty good knowledge of distilling which may explain why they are often depicted as looking quietly happy – and whisky soon became an intrinsic part of Scottish life and drunk at numerous social gatherings.
Like most fun things in life, there’s a price to be paid, and the taxman soon wanted his share of the profits. As a result, stills were driven underground. The remote Braes of Glenlivet is thought to have had more than 200 illegal stills operating during the main whisky smuggling era and three major whisky roads started from here enabling smugglers to transport their wares to cities in the south and east.
Evading excise men and smuggling whisky became a way of life after the English Parliament introduced excise duty in 1644.
Today, it’s a different story. Speyside is still recognised as the home of Scotch whisky and is home to more than half of all Scotland’s distilleries, many of which are putting on special events during the festival – which sell out fast so advance booking is essential.
Our hosts pulled out all the stops to ensure we got a fantastic flavour of what the festival has to offer. Highlights included numerous tastings in different distilleries – they looked after us so well I bet none of us could have delivered a speech containing anything more than name, rank and serial number – a trek in an Argo-cat; fine dining experiences, live music and a challenge to find the best whisky to go with a bacon roll.
OLD-STYLE CHARM
Our accommodation during the trip was The Craigellachie Hotel on Victoria Street in Speyside. The name may be familiar as this historic hotel, which has been beautifully upgraded without losing any of its period style and charm, has become something of a haunt with celebs including Kate Moss and Noel Gallagher.
I could see why. Old-style charm and service, combined with a relaxed vibe and a bar that’s home to more than 700 bottles of whisky, make it a fun place to chillax.
The Copper Dog restaurant in the hotel’s basement is a hip and cool place to hang out with great food and live music being the norm. Equally hip and with a wealth of expertise at his fingertips is Lomond Campbell, Brand Ambassador for Aultmore Distillery in Keith which is opening its doors to Festival visitors for the first time this year.
Built in 1896 and owned by John Dewar & Sons (Bacardi), it’s well worth a visit. Aultmore sits at the bottom of the road to Buckie and there’s an expression: “I’ll grab a wee dram for the Buckie Road,” and having taken us on the tour, Lomond certainly went out of his way to ensure we’d grabbed a dram or two.
On next to Gordon and MacPhail’s shop in Elgin where we had a blind nosing experience, which involved sniffing different aromas found in drams – everything from toffee to leather, while trying to guess what they were, which was followed by a whisky and chocolate pairing. The word ‘delicious’ doesn’t begin to describe what a lovely and fun experience this was.
After a lovely meal and relaxing overnight stay in the Craigellachie Hotel, we chased away the cobwebs with a walk through the gardens of the Glen Grant Distillery in Rothes. The Victorian gardens have been restored to their former glory and with Dennis Malcolm, Glen Grant’s master distiller, an all-round gent who was actually born in the grounds of the distillery as our guide, we enjoyed a stroll and an outdoor dram at the Major’s Safe and Cave, a secret wee area next to a bonnie waterfall.
This distillery has an excellent coffee shop and visitor centre and with more than 27 acres of lush gardens to be explored, should be added to the must-visit list of Speyside distilleries to be visited.
One of the more unusual experiences took place at The Whisky Shop in Dufftown where owner Mike Lord challenged us to find the best malt to go with a bacon roll. The rules were simple, find out which one of four malts went best with a plain buttered roll filled with unsmoked bacon – and no sauce!
I felt the Balvenie went best but different tastebuds meant there was no clear winner. This independent shop is a real treasure trove and for buyers keen to try before they buy, there are numerous bottles open for a sample and free advice and information offered freely.
Another highlight was a trip to Glenfiddich Distillery in Dufftown. After lunch in the Malt Burn, a superb restaurant, Yvonne Bruce took us under her wing and gave us a tour which included a visit to Glenfiddich’s unique Solera warehouse, a tutored nosing and tasting before we had a go at making our own special blend of whisky which is much trickier than you think.
Then it was back to Elgin for dinner at the Drouthy Cobbler where our host was the likeable, Paul Rollo, one of the Festival’s directors. This hidden gem is tucked up a side street but has become a destination pub, with good food and regular live music and entertainment sessions attracting both locals and visitors from a fair distance away.
The bar has a good selection of local beers and more than 130 single malt whiskies. The hard part is not being tempted to try too many on the first visit. This will be a key venue for a number of the Speyside Sessions, the musical arm of the whisky festival but a good place to visit throughout the year too.
Sunday and on to Aberlour Distillery in Aberlour, founded in 1879 by James Fleming, a man of enterprise, vision and compassion who generously funded the Town Hall, Cottage Hospital and the Penny Bridge across the River Spey.
Although more informal, this was a fascinating tour which ended in an exclusive nosing and tasting session which again made me realise that every malt is unique.
Warm jumpers and outdoor clothes were required for our next jaunt, a trip up a steep heather-clad hill on the Crown Estate at Blairfindy, Glenlivet while sitting in an eight-wheel Argocat. Breathing in the clean mountain air while enjoying fine views of the hills that were once thick with smugglers – and a sneaky wee dram – was a great experience.
So far, everyone we’d met had been passionate about whisky and our host at Glenlivet Distillery, Ann Miller was no exception. Her knowledge of whisky and the Glenlivet story was impressive. When prohibition ended in the US in 1933, Glenlivet’s legacy spread across the Atlantic, and The Glenlivet has never looked back, expanding over the years to become one of the best-known whiskies in the world.
Ann was also our hostess for a special whisky themed dinner at The Dowans Hotel in Aberlour, a place that blew us away in terms of style. It’s been tastefully upgraded, very cool and sophisticated. The hotel offers a fine dining experience focusing on fresh produce, sourced locally and is fast gathering a reputation for the quality of its food which I can certainly vouch for.
There are also one-off and special events such as a cask firing demonstration at the Speyside Cooperage in Craigellachie.
Festival manager Pery Zakeri said: “Distilleries and communities have pulled out all the stops to ensure that this year’s programme is one of the best yet, with some innovative new events at venues that have not previously participated.”
Put simply, it’s a festival that has something for everyone and all ages so those thinking about attending should book as soon as possible as demand for tickets is always strong.
Spirit of Speyside Whisky Festival, April 28-May 2. Tickets for all events in the 2016 programme can be bought via www.spiritofspeyside.com