Whisky is to Scotland like tea is to England, though I’m sure the Scots don’t drink multiple cups of whisky a day! Whisky that is produced in Scotland is called scotch, and no visit to Scotland would be complete without either sampling the many scotch available or a visit to one of the 100+ distilleries still in operation today.
威士忌在蘇格蘭就像奶茶在英格蘭一樣受歡迎。不過蘇格蘭人品嚐威士忌，不會像英格蘭人，一天要喝幾杯茶那麼多！如果到蘇格蘭旅遊，未有品嚐過它出產的威士忌，或到酒廠參觀那就實在太可惜了。
Not long after leaving the Isle of Skye, we stopped by the Claunie Inn which is on the main road to our next stop Fort Augustus。 Claunie Inn is over a century old and is located in the middle of the stunning Highlands surrounded by 21 munroes (mountains higher than 3000ft).
離開天空島後，我們從A87去我們下一站Fort Augustus。在路上我們經過一間已超過一百年老的酒吧Claunie Inn。酒吧位處於美麗的高地中心，外面四周被21座超過3000公尺高的山包圍。
Inside it has over 200 malt whiskies including some which are no longer in production。 The Scots have a very low tolerance on drink and drive, much stricter than England and Wales, so it helps to have an alternative driver particularly one who doesn’t mind not drinking if you are driving around Scotland。 This was my role now that we had started our whisky trail in Scotland。
酒吧裏面藏有超過200種不同的威士忌，甚至有些現在巳不再生產。相對全英國，蘇格蘭酒駕法例非常嚴謹。如果在蘇格蘭要自駕遊，又想品嚐佳餚，最好有一位不喝酒的後備司機。這就是我當時的任務。
Our B&B at Fort Augustus was by the canal which leads into the world famous Loch Ness that was only a few minutes walk away。 I normally prefer to stay at B&Bs instead hotels as you get to know the owner and understand more about the local area and culture。 And sure enough, the owner of the B&B being a bit of a whisky buff himself, recommended some interesting distilleries and shops for us to visit。
我們在Fort Augustus的民宿就在運河傍，而運河是連接到世界著名的尼斯湖，步行也只要幾分鐘就到。通常我較喜歡住民宿多於旅館，因為可以跟主人聊天及了解當地文化。民宿男主人也是一位威士忌愛好者，除了聊天外還向我們推薦一些很別致的威士忌工場及商店可參觀。
Edradour at Pitlochory, the smallest distillery in Scotland was one that he had recommended but unfortunately they weren't open as it was still their winter season。
他推薦的其中一間Edradour是全蘇格蘭最細小的釀酒廠，可惜當時還是他們的冬季休息時間所以未有對外開放。
So we went to the local whisky shop that he had recommended instead。 My husband had a good chat with the owner and bought a bottle before he left。
於是我們去他推薦在附近的一間專售賣威士忌商店，我老公在哪裏跟店主傾談了一會，還買下一瓶威士忌。
We did manage to visit a few other distilleries during our trip including Tomatin where my husband did a whisky tasting。 Tomatin wasn't a brand that he was familiar with so he was pleasantly surprised when he tasted the Legacy which was much smoother than he had expected for a new scotch。 The Cu Bocan wasn't his cup of tea as it was made using peat malt. Tomatin only produces Cu Bocan once a year, and after it is produced, they needed two weeks to clean the entire distillery to get rid of the peaty flavour before they can start producing their normal scotch.
旅程中，我們去了三間不同的威士忌釀酒廠參觀，其中一間是湯瑪丁。我老公試他們的威士忌，出奇地覺得Legacy的口感絕不似新酒。至於Cu Bocan因為有泥煤味所以不是他那杯茶。湯馬丁每年只會出產一次Cu Bocan，而每次生產完畢後，他們需要用兩個星期清洗整個釀酒生產線，確保把泥煤味剷除才可以開始生產其他的威士忌。
If you are interested in visiting multiple distilleries in Scotland but not sure which ones to go, then The Friends of the Classic Malts have 12 scattered around Scotland。 It's also actually quite a good guide to help plan your visit to Scotland, just make sure to get someone else to drive after the whisky tasting! Till next time, cheers!
如果大家有興趣去蘇格蘭參觀不同的釀酒廠，但又不知去哪一間，我可以向大家推薦這個麥芽之友會。他們在蘇格蘭有十二間釀酒廠，我覺得根據他們釀酒廠地點編排行程，其實也是一個不錯的選擇。但記得要同一位不喝酒的司機陪你一起這旅程噢！下次再見,乾杯!
If you've missed the previous posts for my Round the Isle UK trip, you can read them here
如果你錯過了我之英國深度環島遊的帖子，你可以在這裡閱讀
英國深度環島遊菜單 ~~ An overview of my Round the Isle UK trip
英國深度環島遊 # 1 博學多才的Lichfield 和曼城街頭的香港漫畫人物 ~~ Part 1 Lichfield and Manchester
英國深度環島遊 # 2 沒有網絡的日子 Round the Isle UK trip #2 Living off the grid in Yorkshire Dales
英國深度環島遊 # 3 蘇格蘭的世外桃源 Round the Isle UK trip #3 The surreal Scottish Lochs
英國深度環島遊 # 5 主菜天空島 Round the Isle UK trip #5 The main course Isle of Skye
英國深度環島遊 # 6 主菜天空島 (2) Round the Isle UK trip #6 The main course Isle of Skye part 2
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