Day 1
You head north through the Kingdom of Fife, stopping for refreshments along the way before heading to Glenshee viewpoint for a view out over the kingdom. You then enter the UK's largest National Park, Cairngorms National Park. This will be a stunning drive, so keep your cameras ready.
You stop in Braemar and have some time for lunch and a little explore. A bite to eat is a good idea though because your next stop is Royal Lochnagar Distillery*. The outstanding flavour of its whisky was appreciated by Queen Victoria and Prince Albert on one of many visits to their summer residence, Balmoral Castle.
Once you’ve warmed with this dram of “the gentle spirit”, you continue through the Cairngorms National Park before reaching Grantown-on-Spey, your base for two nights. If the group is feeling up to it, you can stop in at The Whisky Castle shop for another cheeky tasting along the way.
*If your tour departs after 1st April 2024, on this day you'll visit Lindores Abbey Distillery and visit The Whisky Castle instead of Royal Lochnagar Distillery.
Day 2
Today you spend the whole day exploring Scotland’s most famous whisky region. Your first stop is Cardhu Distillery*,which is the first distillery pioneered by a woman, Helen Cumming. Today, Cardhu is the most important whisky in Johnnie Walker Black Label.
After lunch in nearby Aberlour, you travel along the Spey River to Craigellachie for a visit to the Speyside Cooperage**, where you see another aspect of the whisky making process.
After a scenic drive towards the coast, you head to Glen Moray, where you can try whisky matured in a wide selection of casks.
Time permitting, your driver-guide might stop in at Sueno's Stone for a quick photo, where you can admire this incredible Pictish standing stone. From here you travel back to Grantown-on-Spey.
Day 3
In the morning you visit Scotland's highest distillery at Dalwhinnie, set in splendid mountain scenery at the heart of the Cairngorm National Park.
You then leave the Highlands and journey south to Perthshire. Lying in the heart of Scotland, Pitlochry is a beautiful little town with plenty of shops, restaurants, and cafes. The time is yours to explore and have some lunch.
From here the route south takes you to the stunning wee village of Dunkeld, where you've got some time to explore before heading to your final whisky experience of the tour.
Lindores Abbey Distillery is a modern Scottish distillery built on the site of the first ever recorded distiller in the country. The beautiful flavours of their whisky have been enjoyed since 1494, owing its origins to the Tironensian monks that lived at Lindores Abbey, or the ‘Church by the Water’, over half a millennium ago.
You then over the Firth of Forth, take in the magnificent South Queensferry bridges, and head back into Edinburgh.
*Itinerary and distillery visits are subject to change.
**If your tour departs after 1st April 2024, on this day you'll only visit one distillery - Dalwhinnie Distillery