Speyside Whisky Experience by Whisky Trails: Three Speyside Distilleries

My wife and I wanted to take a tour of Speyside distilleries and landed on this one and we couldn't be happier that we did and feel like it was worth every penny. As soon as our tour was booked we received an email confirmation directly from Brett, our tour guide, with contact info so we could ask any questions and iron out the details before our tour which was still months away at the time. The Glenlivet is my favorite Scotch Whisky and their distillery is closed during the winter and I knew this at the time of booking, but still wanted to visit Speyside. I mentioned to Brett very early in our WhatsApp messages that The Glenlivet was on my bucket list knowing we wouldn't see it, but carried on with planning our visits to the other distilleries. Months passed after our initial exchange and Brett contacted me three weeks before our tour to let me know that SURPRISE, The Glenlivet is opening earlier than usual this year, literally two days before my scheduled tour date! What amazing customer service to remember our initial conversation months prior and make it a point to let me know that I'd have the chance to visit the #1 distillery on my wish list! Little did I know that this was just the start of an amazing customer service experience. The online interactions were great, but you never know how it'll be spending an entire day with a person you haven't actually spent time with in person. When we finally did meet, Brett was friendly, easy to talk to, and very knowledgeable and instantly made us feel at ease. We spent a good amount of time in the car driving from Edinburgh up to Speyside and back down. The time flew by with the beautiful scenery and great conversation - each way, pre and post scotch consumption. It was made clear when we booked that we could pretty much customize our own tour, ultimately we chose to keep the suggested three: The Glenlivet, Glenfiddich and The Macallan distilleries. Each distillery experience was amazing in its own way. I knew I wanted to visit The Glenlivet because of my affinity for the brand and The Macallan because of the pictures I'd seen of it and how modern it was, but I was pleasantly surprised by Glefiddich. The staff, the distillery itself and the whisky all exceeded my expectations. We ended up spending a little more time at The Glenlivet than scheduled, putting us behind schedule, but Brett never made us feel rushed. The drive back was as pleasant as the drive out there, which by the way was extremely comfortable. I can't recommend this tour enough to anyone that's even slightly interested in Speyside Scotch Whisky. It was phenomenal. I suggest this trip for a couple, double date, girls trip. men's trip, a trip for learners, a trip for fun lovers - just the best. Highly recommend.

This was probably the best possible way to discover the Highlands. After a short talk Brett, our driver, was able to propose just the right experiences for our needs. I wasn't very interested in Whisky tasting itself (although I drank some excellent whisky at Glenfiddich and Cragganmore), but came here to learn how Whisky is made. So our tour included one huge, one big and one small distillery, the option to have an talk with one of the masters of the craft as well as a tour around the Speyside cooperage, where I learned about how to treat, use and choose the right cask for the Whisky I want to make. Expectations exceeded and well worth the money!