When in scotland be sure to stop by the MacAllan distillery. How to find it? Easy: Do as I did. I drove through the highlands on a road littered with dead rabbits. (The frequency of cars on these roads lead me to suspect, that every car (including the one I drove) must at least have killed five rabbits).

Then, suddenly, you pass a sign that says: "The MacAllan Distillery, Visits by Appointment only".

You then enter the driveway, drive for a couple of minutes past gigantic trees, lush greens (i.e. lush, scottish landscapes) and finally come to the main building (a 17th or 18th century house.

Enter the building, find the receptionist and plead: "I know, we don't have an appointment, is there a chance to get a tour anyway?"

"You are lucky, the tour just left. Drive in this direction and you'll catch up with them"

So off we went, looking for the "tour". And there it was: A female tourleader and two german tourists. We attached to the group (doubling it in size immedidately) and followed the lady around the premises.

What we got was the best ever tour of a whisky distillery. We saw things, you don't see in other distilleries, we tasted things and learnt how to use the tastebuds in your mouth while using the nose. We walked for two hours, four people in a group and saw, smellt and felt how whisky is made.

The wee dram really wouldn't have been necessary - for In any other distillery you get 50 people in 30 minutes and a wee dram. We got a piece of Scotland
The Macallan distillery is situated on the banks of river Spey (making this renowned single malt a "Speyside"), near the town of Craigellachie. The Macallan has been continuously distilled here for over 300 years.

A special feature of The Macallan is the distiller's insistence on ageing the whisky exclusively in Spanish sherry casks. The source of these enormous oaken casks is the northern Spanish region of Andalucia. In fact, the master distiller of The Macallan goes as far as selecting the oak timber that is used to manufacture the casks, specifying the sherries to be casked, and even oversees the vineyards and bodegas that make the sherry to order.

At the time of writing, the Master Distiller was David Robertson and the choice reserve whisky was the 1948.

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