The other day I got the chance to try out the new tour Tasting Tales by The Scotch Whisky Experience in Edinburgh.
The Scotch Whisky Experience is a hub for scotch whisky and is located right next to Edinburgh Castle so it's very easy to find. Here you can visit the shop, the restaurant, the whisky bar or do one of their whisky tours.
Silver tour
If you don't know much about whisky but want to learn more about it, then the Silver tour is great for you. You get to sample one whisky that you choose from one of the different regions you'll learn about and the guides will take you through production, regions and a tasting.
Gold tour
On the Gold tour you'll do the same as the Silver tour but you'll get an additional tasting of 4 pre-selected regional whiskies at the bar at the end of your tour.
Platinum tour
The Platinum tour is in the evening and pre-booking is recommended. On the Platinum tour the guide will take you through 5 different drams, usually 4 regional single malts and one premium blend and they'll take a bit more time to talk them through invidivually.
Morning Masterclass
This tour is every day at 10.00 in the morning and pre-booking is essential. This is the tour that is tailored towards people that might already know a little bit about whisky or enthusiasts that want to get a bit more nerdy. During this tour you get to sit down in a smaller group with your guide and they'll take you through one grain whisky, one premium blend and 2 contrasting single malts. I really love the masterclass as you get more time to focus on the whiskies and where they come from as well as having the time to ask your guides any questions you might have, and perhaps wouldn't want to ask in front of a larger group.
And then there's the newest tour: Tasting Tales! This is also for smaller groups and is focused on pairing whiskies with food, alongside storytelling.
The tour takes place in 'The Stillhouse Suite' on the newly renovated floor underneath the restaurant and the bar. It's a lovely room with wonderful blue walls and wooden details which creates the perfect atmosphere for a whisky tasting.
Our excellent guide introduced what was gonna happen and we started off with the first whisky; Glenfarclas 10yo alongside some delicious dark chocolate from the local Coco Chocolatier. He told us about the history of the distillery and some interesting facts before introducing the chocolate and letting us sample; whisky first, followed by the chocolate and then back to the whisky.
Dark chocolate & whisky is such a nice pairing! The following pairings were Old Poultney 12 with smoked salmon, Glengoyne 12 with venison and finally Laphroaig Quarter Cask with smoked cheddar! Yum!
My favorite pairing was the cheese and Laphroiag cause I'm a bit biased towards both cheese and smoky whisky - it is an amazing pairing of flavour!
All of the pairings were presented through a visual presentation on a screen which showed photos from the distilleries and the producers of the food. There were also photos alongside the stories we were told and one of my favourites was learning more about the interesting life of Bessie Williamson who worked for Laphroaig during the 1900s. .
I really think it enhances the experience when you get to learn more about the whisky - everything from what casks are used, to who founded the distillery or made it grow and how the flavour was achieved. This is the perfect tour for anyone who'd like to know more about what they're drinking and what makes it so special. It's also a great experience if you're just learning about whisky since this is an approachable and interesting way to explore flavours.
Perhaps you'll find your new favourite whisky.
Thanks to The Scotch Whisky Experience for a lovely experience!
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