Castles and Whisky Casks – A wee taste of Scotland
June 30, 2022
I’m afraid to say the only place I’ve visited in Scotland before this year is Edinburgh. Our American friends Donna and Frank wanted a trip to Scotland to sample the whisky, so it seemed time to rectify the situation and find out what else Scotland has to offer. Do we want to go back? Oh yeah…
A Scotland know before you go
I don’t know what I was expecting. I mean I’ve seen Scotland on Television many times; Braveheart, Highlander and more recently Outlander. So, I’ve seen what the wild and rural landscapes of the highlands look like. Why then was it such a surprise to see it IRL? I can’t explain it. A few things we did learn though:
- The Trosachs national park looks like hiking heaven. Beautiful mountains with Lochs dotted in between. We will definitely be returning with our hiking boots laced up and ready to go.
- Scotland isn’t well known for it’s good weather. We lucked out a bit and only had to don our rain coats once….this is not the norm. Wet gear required.
- Book ahead. I think since Covid the need to book restaurants, tours, even a ferry to one of the islands, has increased exponentially. Flying by the seat of your pants and spur of the moment decisions don’t seem to work anymore.
- Do not let your petrol get too low once off the motorways. We made the mistake of thinking another service station was just around the corner. It did not materialise until we got to our destination and we had less than a ¼ of a tank. That’s OK you think, but then the petrol station in the town wasn’t open and the nearest was 30km away. Eye roll and a very tense and unnecessary journey in the wrong direction to fill-up.
- Look outside the main touristy areas. We found a boat tour that was half the price of going from Oban harbour, but just a 15 minute drive along the coast. Added bonus, the boat was just for our party (Anyone wanting a great private boat tour, go to Etive Boat Trips, great skipper, great boat and amazing 4 hour tour).
- Try not to get too excited when you see a man in a kilt…or one playing the bagpipes. We were not the cool tourist on either occasion.
Oban - an explore from the door
Pronounced ‘Oh-buhn’, emphasis on the ‘O’. Oban is on the west coast of Scotland and appears to be the gateway to a lot of the islands just off the coast, aka the Inner Hebrides. What a stunning location it is too, and a fabulous base to explore, being close to the Inner Hebrides, the Trosachs, a selection of distilleries, hundreds of lochs and a plethora of castles. Where to start?
Oban itself is a small and beautiful port town. A few things to do while in Oban:
- Walk along the harbour side, from the ferry port to the south (look out for the seafood shack, a great place to buy local seafood to eat there or take-away – the oysters were particularly good) all the way to Dunollie castle to the North. Watching the ferries come and go is a great pass-time.
- A walk up to McCaig’s Tower to see a stunning circular monument and the best views of Oban.
- A visit to Dunollie Castle. It’s a lovely one-mile walk along the coast.
- A visit and tasting at Oban distillery. We didn’t book the tour (full unfortunately), but it’s possible to visit the tasting room without a reservation. We opted to try a couple of flights of their whisky. All in the name of research.
- Taking a boat tour is a must. We had a tour around an island called Lismore, which included seeing ruined castles, lighthouses, sightings of seals, porpoises, white-tailed eagles and other sea birds. As earlier mentioned, go outside Oban for a more personal experience and better prices.
Loch Fyne
A mere 50 minute drive from Oban and you’ve reached Loch Fyne. No, not the restaurant chain, but its namesake. However, the original Loch Fyne oyster bar and deli is still on the lake. Their saying; “Nach urramach an cuan” – “How worthy of honour is the sea”, hints heavily to the fact that Loch Fyne is a salt-water loch. I had to check, it seems the majority are freshwater (over 30,000 lochs in Scotland apparently) Of course we had to drop in for a lunch and sample the oysters…it was right there. 
There are a few must visits around Loch Fyne:
- Inveraray Castle – an absolutely stunning gothic style castle and family home. It’s definitely worth a tour of the castle and grounds. Also a walk up to the watch-tower on top of Dun na Cuaiche for amazing views of Loch Fyne is well worth the 35 minute up-hill stroll.
- Inveraray town for a lunch in one of their very cute cafes, or if you’re smart enough to book ahead, the restaurant “Samphire“.
- A visit to Loch Fyne Whiskies, a shop with an endless choice of Scotch whiskies as well as their own blended version and their ‘living cask’. The owners were very obliging and let us sample a few of their own offerings. It would have been rude not to purchase a bottle to enjoy on the rest of our trip….
- A drive down the Loch to enjoy the stunning loch views, stopping at Tarbert to visit the ruin of Royal Tarbert Castle and continuing on to get a ferry over to the Isle of Arran….more whisky tasting and castle ruins to enjoy plus a boat ride. What’s not to like.
- To finish the day a stop at Fyne Ales – a micro brewery at the northern end of the Loch. We were able to try some flights of Ales before selecting a few for our evening entertainment.
The Castles of Scotland
Whilst the splendour of Inveraray castle was an absolute delight, I think we all preferred the ruined castles that seem to pop up around the edges of the lochs or on top of small mounds. Only pictures can show the beauty of what we saw….and I believe we didn’t even scratch the surface.
The whisky
We’ve been to Kentucky and toured the Bourbon distilleries. It’s time to compare to whisky (or as the Americans say, Scotch….in fact, bourbon and Scotch are both whiskies as pointed out by our whisky expert Frank, but Scotch is the American term for Scotch Whisky).
Scottish Whisky - The rules
What makes a Scottish whisky? The basic rules:
- It must be made in Scotalnd
- There are only 3 ingredients; cereal, water and yeast.
- It must be stored in an oak barrel for a minimum of 3 years
- It must be a minimum strength of 40% ABV
The difference between whisky and bourbon? Check out our Kentucky post about Bourbon, but a quick reminder:
- Bourbon has to be made from at least 51% corn
- It must be made in the USA
- It must be matured in new oak barrels that have been charred.
However, it’s not as simple as that. Scotch Whisky has several sub-categories:
- Single Malt scotch Whisky, which must be made from 100% malted barley, distilled in a copper still and produced at a single distillery.
- Single Grain Scotch Whisky, which is made from a mix of grains but from a single distillery
- Blended Malt Scotch Whisky – A blend of two or more single malts from more than one distillery.
- Blended Grain Scotch Whisky – a blend of two or more single grain whiskies from more than one distillery.
- Blended Scotch Whisky – one or more single malts blended with one or more single grains.
The tasting...
Phew! That’s exhausting. But what did they taste like? First things first…how to taste your whisky like a pro. It’s very much like a bourbon tasting –
Smell first, smell with your mouth open, take a tiny taste, and the last was specifically for Scotch Whisky, add one drop of water at a time to “open” the flavour.
What did we taste?
We may have squeezed in a few different distilleries, in the name of research of course; Arran, Oban, Inveraray and Ben Nevis.
We were promised noses of toffee, honeyed vanilla and woody aromas, followed by the taste of fresh pears, apricots, malty sweetness, creamy and woody finishes…to name a few. While I definitely got the woody, malty, earthy and possibly creamy elements of the tasting, I’m still not sure about all those fruity flavours. It tasted like….well, whisky. Good enough for me. Did the water make a difference? I can say definitely yes. It made some of the flavours more identifiable and it takes down the heat a little. What experts we are…
...and Oysters
I thought when we lived in Boston that we were in the best place ever for Oysters. When we left, our 2 or 3 dozen per week habit suddenly went to an “occasional treat”. Scotland is known for its seafood and oysters, but we found something new in the oyster world.…giant Caledonian oysters. We saw these first in the seafood restaurant Eeusk in Oban and then we couldn’t believe it when we were told that we could find some on the side of the road with an honesty box system. How fortunate we brought our shuckers with us…
some fond memories from our trip...
- The fascination of sheep loose in fields. This is not the first time American friends have been fascinated by sheep in fields. Seriously guys, where do you keep them?
- Highland cows. The loveliest looking horny long-haired red-heads. And so photogenic.
- White-tailed eagles.I was keen to see Golden eagles as they are present in Scotland. However, we went one better and saw 2 white-tailed eagles, the largest bird-of-prey in Great Britain.
- A favourite joke of the Scots is to tell the tourists to look out for Haggis running over the hills. Donna and Frank didn’t fall for this but were rather put off by the description; “The heart, liver and lungs of a sheep, minced and mixed with suet, oatmeal and various spices and typically encased in the sheep’s stomach”. I’ve since learned it is actually banned in the USA, something to do with sheep’s lungs not being allowed by the FSA…hmm”. However, haggis was tried and in fact rather liked by all. Did you know you were eating a banned substance guys?
OK, us Brits are used to a stile and have been climbing over them without a thought since we were able to walk. I think this was a new one for Donna and Frank.- Food on the side of the road with an honesty box. Giant oysters anyone? Brilliant!
- Having brought our oyster shuckers on the trip, we were more than delighted to share our skills with Frank. He is now a bonafide expert and has purchased his own shuckers. Nice one Frank. Certificate in the mail.
Where to next...
Having been AWOL from the travel scene for a few months (the house renovation is now complete), we are now back off to Italy via the Alps in France. Bonjour and buon giorno!
Love it!!! What great memories tied up in a neat bow. Thank you for writing this.
It was such a fabulous trip! I can’t wait to go on another adventure with the Hewitts 🙂
What a lovely read , and the photos are very professional , weather looks as if it was on your side
Mum xxx
Great article! Hope you both are doing well! Happy memories of childhood holidays (my Mum’s family come from that area) but we saw it in the rain and heavy mist and comments like “Yes that mountain does have a top and the Loch does have a bank of the other side!!