Scottish whisky experience

Country

United Kingdom

Duration

9 Days/8 Nights

Travel Type

Escorted Tours

ACTIVITIES INCLUDED WITH YOUR TOUR:

Whisky & Food Tasting at Mharsanta
Enjoy a night of amazing food and drink at the wonderful Mharsanta (Gaelic for Merchant) restaurant in Bell Street. They offer a 9-course tasting menu accompanied by section of fine whiskies (minimum: 2 people).

Sample Menu:
∙ Cumbrae Oyster with Rock Oyster Whisky Mist
∙ Hand Dived West Coast King Scallop with Pea Puree and a Lemon and Herb Butter
∙ Stornoway Black Pudding Fritter with Pea Puree and Lemon & Herb Butter
∙ Cullen Skink
∙ Haggis, Neeps and Tatties with Whisky Cream Sauce
∙ Sliced Chicken Balmoral with Whisky Sauce and Clapshot
∙ Scottish Sirloin Steak with Hand Cut Chips and Peppercorn Sauce
∙ Homemade Cranachan
∙ Irn Bru Ice Cream with Crumbled Shortbread

Malt Master Experience at Glengoyne Distillery
The experience starts with an incredibly in-depth tour of the distillery – a chance for our Distillery Ambassadors to really share their knowledge of our unhurried ‘Glengoyne Way’. Then it gets extra special – you create your own single malt in the Sample Room. You cannot do this anywhere else in Scotland. The Malt Master plays a crucial role in making Glengoyne, balancing the flavours from different casks. You take on that role – and displayed before you will be a selection of cask strength whiskies hand-selected from the Glengoyne warehouse. A taste of each, and you assume the role of the Malt Master straight away – adding a little from a bourbon cask here, bringing out a touch more sherry wood there. Like a chef, you’ll taste and tinker your way to a unique cask strength, un-chill filtered Glengoyne Highland Single Malt. It’s a one-off creation, presented to you in a 200ml Glengoyne bottle, boxed with a label and a record of your recipe.

Whisky Maker’s Tour at Glenturret Distillery
Discover if you have the skills to be a master whisky maker. You will start with a Glenturret Tour, a journey through our long and remarkable history, where you can learn about the skills of whisky making and why we embrace the words, by hand and heart. Following on from your tour, you will begin to sharpen your own whisky making skills under the expert guidance of our hosts. You will learn the secrets of whisky blending and be able to create your own unique whisky to take home and enjoy. Your signature dram will be placed in a specially designed presentation box, along with some beautiful whisky related gifts.

Please note that this is a suggested itinerary only and the order of activities might change, depending on travel dates, arrival and departure times and days on which the experiences are running.

Inclusions

•8 nights’ accommodation, in double occupancy (4 nights in Hotel in Glasgow and 3 nights in a B&B in Islay)
•Daily breakfast
•Arrival and departure transfer between Glasgow Airport and Glasgow Hotel
•Glasgow 24-hrs Hop-On-Hop-Off City Sightseeing Bus
•Four-Day Islay Whisky Tour with stay at Bowmore House (B&B)/ shared service (max 16 people) **
•Malt Master Experience at Glengoyne Distillery
•Whisky & Food Pairing Evening at Mharsanta Restaurant
•Whisky Maker’s Tour at Glenturret Distillery (includes return transfers)
•Service and VAT

Exclusions

Flights – lunches, dinner & drinks unless otherwise indicated – travel insurance – gratuities – optional excursions – entrances other than the ones mentioned in the above inclusions – car hire – personal expenses – anything not mentioned in the above inclusions.

Additional Information

IMPORTANT:

Due to the Four-Day Islay Whisky Tour operating on selected dates only, the Scottish Whisky Experience tour has a limited number of departure dates as follows:
01/04/22 – 19/04/22 – 14/06/22 – 18/06/22 – 28/06/22 – 28/07/22 – 26/08/22 – 30/08/22 – 03/09/33 – 16/09/22 – 27/09/22 – 30/09/22 – 21/10/22 (subject to availability)

OPTIONAL EXCURSIONS (+$)

Like the tour, but want more? Here are some extra activities and experiences you can choose from, to enhance your stay. If you have anything else in mind, please let us know – we are happy to speak to our wide range local suppliers and tailor the package to your needs!

Glasgow’s West End Whisky Tour
Shared. Offered daily from 4:30 pm to 7 pm. Private events and tastings available upon request. Maximum 8 guests.
Price: starting at $115 CAD per person.

Private English-speaking Guide
Guides available for Half Day (4 hours) or Full Day (8 hours).
Price: starting at $475 CAD

Tour Options at Tennent’s Brewery
Shared. Various options ranging from the standard Tennent’s Brewery Tour to the Craft Beer Masterclass. Some tours run daily, others only on specific days, so please enquire for availability.
Prices: starting at $25 CAD per person

Please note that the above suggestions might only be available for specific dates or for part of the season – additions and adjustments to the itinerary will need to be discussed at time of enquiry to evaluate the best options and pricing.

GLASGOW

Welcome to Scotland! After you have cleared arrivals, your transfer service will collect you from Glasgow Airport and drop you off at your hotel for check-in. Take some time to settle in the city and enjoy the rest of your day at leisure to explore. Local tip: take a walk around town on the Mural Trail:
https://www.citycentremuraltrail.co.uk/About

GLASGOW

Your second day in Glasgow will be aimed at taking in some more of its beautiful and iconic sites. Make use of your 24hrs Sightseeing Hop On Hop Off Bus ticket and visit Glasgow’s most famous landmarks as for example Glasgow Cathedral, Kelvingrove Museum. For dinner, head to the wonderful “Mharsanta”, located at 26 Bell Street in Glasgow’s merchant City (Mharsanta actually means Merchant, from the Scottish Gaelic). Here you will be taken on a whisky and food journey by Sophie and her team – the food his brilliant, the Whisky choice wide and the atmosphere ever so charming.

Local Tip: You can experience “ A play, a pint and a pie” at the local Òran Mór Theatre located in the West End of GlasgoW ; their lunchtime shows are a local favourite and run Monday to Saturday

Meals : Breakfast

OBAN - KENNACRAIG - ISLE OF ISLAY

Today you embark on your accomanied small group tour to the beautiful Isle of Islay, “Queen of the Hebrides” and home of peaty and smoky whiskies. You will meet your transport at a central Glasgow location (to be confirmed at time of booking) and depart north, towards the Highlands. The landscape becomes more mountainous, and your guide tells the history and culture of this stunning part of Scotland. Passing Loch Awe and into Argyllshire, with some great photo stops along the way, you arrive in the Victorian town of Oban where we tour the distillery and enjoy a tasting before you have free time for lunch and some exploring.
This is the seafood capital of Scotland, so make sure you make the most of it. The seafood shack at the harbour is perfect – get the platter if you’re feeling hungry! When then journey to the ancient Neolithic landscapes of Kilmartin Glen. There are hundreds of ancient monuments and historic sites in this region, some of which you get to explore. It is then a short drive down the Kintyre Peninsula to Kennacraig, where you board the evening ferry to Islay. The ferry crossing is around two hours and offers for some beautiful views of the islands of Gigha, Jura and Islay as well as the area surrounding West Loch Tarbert. There is time to relax in the ferry bar with an Islay whisky, grab some dinner from the restaurant and soak up the sea air before you arrive. On arrival into Port Ellen or Port Askaig, it is a short drive to Bowmore to check in to The Bowmore House or Freewinds for your three-night stay.

Meals : Breakfast

4 - 5

ISLE OF ISLAY (DISTILLERY TOURS)

With two full days to explore, there are plenty of options for sightseeing, and your guide will share some of their favourite places with you. These can include empty beaches, whitewashed villages, ancient sites, the Kildalton Cross, medieval strongholds, fresh seafood, local wildlife and traditional cultures. With only around 3000 people and nine world-class distilleries, the chances of finding a ‘wee dram’ on Islay are pretty good. The distillery and whisky experiences give you an insight into Islay’s most famous export. We’ve planned a wide range of tours and tastings, including a warehouse experience at Lagavulin, a tour and full range tasting at Ardbeg and a look at the Laphroaig maltings (with a few extra special drams to finish your day).
Your second day on Islay brings a private tour of Bruichladdich and a chance to sample some of their whiskies or perhaps a Botanist gin is your idea of the perfect morning drink. You’ll then get a behind-the-scenes peek at the independent Kilchoman before a chance to gaze over the Sound of Jura from the Bunnahabhain before delving into some casks in their warehouse!
Each night on Islay, there are plenty of options for eating, drinking and relaxing. Your tour guide and wonderful hosts at Bowmore House will let you know all the best places to get the most out of your time in Bowmore. There is an eating option for all budgets and tastes, and with so much local produce on offer, you will be spoilt for choice. The whisky bars aren’t too bad either. Slainte Mhath, as they say in Gaelic.

Meals : Breakfast

INVERARY - REST AND BE THANKFUL PASS - LOCH LOMOND - GLASGOW

Kennacraig. Arriving on the mainland, you head to the loch-side town of Inveraray. This is the seat of the Clan Campbell, home to the Loch Fyne Whisky shop and your stop for lunch. After lunch (and some last-minute whisky shopping) your journey now hugs the shores of Loch Fyne and Loch Long before climbing up to the Rest and be Thankful pass for sweeping views. Then it is to the shores of Loch Lomond. With time to stop for some lovely views and stretch of the legs, this is the last stop on your tour before crossing the River Clyde and into Scotland’s largest city of Glasgow.

Meals : Breakfast

7 GLENGOYNE DISTILLERY (DUMGOYNE HILL)

Today you dip into the bag of whisky-knowledge you have brought back from Islay to experience a Malt Master Experience at Glengoyne Distillery. Glengoyne is located in Dumgoyne Hill, just 14 miles north of Glasgow and the X10 bus (destination Balfron) departs from Buchanan Bus Station in the centre of Glasgow and stops at the gates of Glengoyne. The experience starts with an incredibly in-depth tour of the distillery and you will have the opportunity to create your own 200ml bottle of Whisky. Head back to Glasgow for your evening.

Meals : Breakfast

GLENTURRET DISTILLERY (PERTSHIRE REGION)

Yet another possibility to fully immerse yourself in the art of Whisky-making, before your adventure in Scotland draws to an end. Today you will reach Glenturret Distillery in beautiful Pertshire region via a private transfer – After a tour of the distillery, which includes a Whisky taste and a complimentary gift, you will be seated comfortably in our purpose built Blender’s Room and enjoy a guided nosing and tasting session of premium Single Malts. Your knowledgeable host will then test your sensory skills with a Malt Challenge and guide you in the art of blending your very own whisky. Sample a range of whiskies whilst creating your own unique blend which you will be able to take away in a 100ml bottle. You will also receive a Glenturret bag of Whisky themed goodies to take away and a coffee and cake voucher to enjoy in the Café. The experience will lasts around 3hrs and a private transfer will bring you back to Glasgow for your last overnight.
Local Tip: A bit unconventional, but if you have a taste for Vietnamese food, head to the secluded Hanoi Bike Shop in the West End. This is an absolute local gem and a very rustic place – but the food is outstanding. As this is an extremely popular spot for locals, advance booking is necessary. If you want something a little less defined, head to Stravaigin in the West End – it offers a mix of different cousines, combined with some delicious Scottish produce.

Meals : Breakfast

Prices per person, in CA$, starting from DAILY DEPARTURES – LAND RATES 2022

Double Occupancy	4579
Single Supplement	+ 1389

**Prices in this document are for information only; they were issued at press time, for the current year. Please note that due to exchange rates and temporary promotions, they can increase or decrease at any time. Contact your travel agent for the price and promotion of the moment The prices indicated exclude the contribution to the Customer Compensation Fund of $3.50 per $1,000 of tourism product or service purchased from a travel agent in Quebec.