Scotland, as well as being the Home of Golf, is also the home of the single malt whisky, and no trip here is complete without sampling a selection of these or visiting a distillery. Combining a golf trip with a visit to a distillery can be tricky though, as most distilleries are located in the Highlands; hidden away in glens where the taxmen could not find them in the past. The links courses are located by definition in coastal areas. Trips to golf in the Highlands and play courses like Royal Dornoch, Nairn and Castle Stuart, offer the opportunity to stop by the famous Glenmorangie Distillery…but visiting distilleries from St. Andrews is less convenient. Instead, an option to consider is a whisky tasting session in your hotel. Various hotels can arrange this for you and the experience allows you to sample a range of different blends from all over Scotland. Alternatively you may have more fun experimenting yourselves!
Like wine, Malt Whisky is shaped by the environment it is made in and typically Scotland’s whisky regions would be the Lowlands, Highlands, Speyside and Islands. Malts from the lowlands are usually light and delicate in character; good examples are Glenkinchie and Auchentoshan. The Highland whiskies are more full-bodied and sweeter with a touch of smokiness. And those from Speyside are again usually sweeter with a fruity character which comes from the sherry barrels the spirit is matured inside. Great Highland malts are Dalmore, Glenmorangie, Edradour and Dalwhinnie.
Speyside is the area in Scotland with the largest concentration of distilleries and is the home to Glenfiddich and Glen Livet – not to mention other excellent malts from that area such as Balvenie (the 12 year old is a personal favourite), Strathisla and of course, Macallan. The island malts vary in style but typically they are much smokier and peatier then the mainland malts, especially those from the island of Islay where the malts pack a real punch. Amongst the best would be Highland Park, Ardbeg and Laphroaig. Of course this is personal opinion but the fun is in tasting them and finding your own favourite (this may take years of careful sampling though) – enjoy!
By Alastair Niven. Alastair has been with PerryGolf for over 9 years and is one of our Golf Travel Specialists.
