Coffee Coffee
This was a fun moment, from a few weeks back. Prior to our Scotland trip, Liz and I were busy planning and also trying to do the basic things like get groceries and food to keep us alive, prior to our vacation.
Posts Tagged "liz"
Lazy Day, Travel Prep
This is a bit out of order, but sharing a few photos from before our trip to Scotland. I was rushing a bit before our departure, and wanted to see about some clothes for hiking.
Drammers Club: Ardnamurchan Tasting with Carl Crafts
Though we just got back from Scotland, there was a Drammers event that featured a distillery that Liz is fond of: Ardnamurchan. So we signed up and headed out to join some fellow whisky lovers for a Chicago tasting.
Scotland, Day 17: Breakfast at Greenwoods, Browsing at Golden Hare Books, Drams at The Vaults (Scotch Malt Whisky Society), Dinner at Timberyard
A few hours and a super sketchy Uber ride later… we arrived at The Vaults (another Scotch Malt Whisky Society location, this time in Leith).
Scotland, Day 16: Breakfast at The Pantry, Drams at Bow Bar, the World of Harry Potter at Museum Context, MinaLima, Exploring Dunbars Close, Drinks at Scotch Malt Whisky Society (Queens Street), Anniversary Dinner at the Scran and Scallie
Back outside, mingling with the Muggles.
Scotland, Day 15: Breakfast at Urban Angel, Comics and Exploration, Dinner at Amarone, Movie at the Scotsman Picturehouse, Drinks at the Bon Vivant
Our tickets included a bottle of wine and some popcorn to share.
The movie we saw was The Roses (I didn’t quite remember that it was a remake, until after we got back in the States).
Scotland, Day 14: Speyside Falconry, Aberlour Distillery, GlenAllachie Distillery, Lunch at the Gather’n Cafe, Coffee Stop at Cafe Calluna (Pitlochry), Driving to Edinburgh
A big travel day for us, leaving Speyside and trekking to Edinburgh for our last city and stay, before heading home.
Scotland, Day 13: Tasting at Glendronach, Dinner at The Mash Tun
Our big event for the day wasn’t until later on: a tasting a one of our favorite distilleries, Glendronach.
Scotland, Day 12: Drams at Strathisla, Tasting at Gordon & MacPhail, Beers at Against the Grain, Dinner at the Drouthy Cobbler
Dram 1: 39 Year Caol Ila (filled 1984 in a Refill American Hogshead, bottled in 2023).
Dram 2: 29 Year Glentauchers (filled 1995 in a First Fill Sherry Butt, bottled in 2024).
Dram 3: 26 Year Dailuaine (filled 1998 in a REfill American Hogshead, bottled in 2024)
Dram 4: 23 Year Macallan (filled 2001, bottled in 2024)
Dram 5: 17 Year Linkwood (filled 2008 in a First Fill Sherry Hogshead, bottled in 2025).
Scotland, Day 11: Tasting at Glen Garioch Distillery, Newburgh Seal Beach, Dinner at Islay House
We got what felt like a very behind the scenes look at the whole process. Of particular note – Glen Garioch only recently returned to floor malting (some more background) – a very manual and labor/time-intensive process.
The smell of the malt was quite incredible – and I really wish I could have taken some photos to share. But I guess you’ll have to go on the tour yourself, if you want to see it.
Scotland, Day 10: Travel to Speyside – Visiting the Highland Coos at Drumbuie Farm, Duffus Castle, Arrival at Islay Bank House, Dinner at Toot’s
Travel day! We left Portree, packed all our things in the car, and are headed to Speyside.
Scotland, Day 9: The Old Man of Storr, Lealt Falls, Constables Coffee Truck, Shilasdair Yarn, Kilt Rock and Mealt Falls, Lunch at the Hungry Gull, Dinner at Three Chimneys
Liz and I started to take shorter and shorter distances. The heights were getting to us, but we felt confident and strong. So we’d pause, gather ourselves, and then decide to go up “a little further,” picking some visual marker.
And then we’d repeat that a few times, and get higher and higher.
Scotland, Day 8: Handspinner Having Fun, the Old Pier, Tasting at Torabhaig Distillery, Walking Along the Carbost Waterfront, Dinner at Old Inn
A really cool thing about Torabhaig – they made it a point to hire locals to work at the distillery. And more than that, also made it a point to hire folks who may not have been directly involved in the whisky industry.
Of particular interest, they have a Journeyman’s Series: a program where they set aside one month each year for their distillers to have free reign of the distillery, to work on their own custom recipes.
Scotland, Day 6: Fairy Glen, Rha Falls, Quiraing Trail, the Gold Cave, An Corran Beach
A lovely view from Portree (this is a row of houses, on a lower street – not actually of the downtown area).
Scotland, Day 5: Fort William, Ben Nevis, Lunch at Cluanie Inn, Chocolates of Glenshiel, Eilean Donan Castle, Arriving in Portree (Isle of Skye), Bosville Hotel
Travel day today – we’re on the road for just about 3 hours (125 miles), going from Glencoe to Portree (Isle of Skye). A lot of it was highway driving, A82 – A87.