Scotland and whisky go together like salt & pepper, like Batman & Robin, like Peanut Butter & Jelly… You get the picture! As we were visiting Edinburgh, we simply had to try this iconic activity out.
Found on The Royal Mile, towards the castle end you will find The Scotch Whisky Experience. This place is known as “the home of whisky” and has been running tours for a whopping 35+ years.
Wow...that is a lot of whisky
We were on the silver tour, which is ideal for first timers, but you could also do the gold tour, which ended with a tasting of four drams of whisky rather than just one. The gold tour is the more popular one by far, but we just wanted a little taste (pun intended) of this fab activity.
We were greeted warmly by our hosts who explained that we were about to go through a series of immersive rooms, warning us to bring our belongings with us and we wouldn’t be coming back.
We learnt all about the process
The first room we headed into was all about how whisky is made, including the ingredients needed. This was demonstrated by some mesmerising balls that moved, which is especially good if you are a visual learner. In the second room, things heated up (literally)… as we were in a simulator of a beer barrel that our host hilariously described as “barrels of fun”. The screen surrounded us from all angles making for a particularly immersive experience.
Barrels of fun!
The third room was when things got really interesting. We watched a video dramatically zooming in on a map of Scotland to learn about the five official regions that do Scotch whisky. These regions are Speyside, the Highlands, the Lowlands, Islay, and Campbeltown. Each of these regions offer a distinct taste from smokey to citrus.
We had been given a scratch and sniff sheet with all of the regions on them which meant we could sniff along with the videos to understand what each whisky from each region was like. This was very helpful for when we entered the next room.
The next room was incredibly grand looking with wooden paneling and artwork of majestic looking stags. This is where we got to choose which flavor whisky we wanted to try, using the scratch and sniff card to decide. You could have a single malt, or it was possible to have a mix. I went for the smokey flavor, and oh boy! Was it smokey.
The grandest whisky room you ever did see
It wasn’t till the next room we actually got to try the whisky. The next (and final) room included the one of the world's most famous collections of whisky. Our host explained that they were all fully sealed bottles, but some of them looked like whisky was missing due to evaporation. He then went on to tell us how to drink the whisky and advised us you could put a couple of drops of water in should you like.
Then it was time to sample our drams. Some of us loved our whiskies; some of us were not so sure. The whisky itself was fabulous, but our staff have a range of tastes. If you love whisky though, you’re sure in for a treat. You even get to keep the whisky glass. We ended the tour in the bar area, which is where additional tastings take place. There’s also the Amber Restaurant next door where you can enjoy Scottish tapas and 550+ Scottish whiskies.
Our choice of tipples
That was the official end of the tour, but we were given an additional tour of some of the gorgeous spaces that can be rented out by stag and hen groups. So, if you’re after a private function in central Scotland let us know, as this could be a lovely option for you.
Even if you’re not mega into whisky, the Scotch Whisky Experience is a really fun and engaging experience that’s unique to Scotland. It’s super central too, so there’s no travelling miles out by taxi for a fun group experience.
Make sure to have a look at our other Edinburgh stag activities and Edinburgh hen activities for an exciting selection ranging from doing your own version of the Highland Games to White Water Rafting on the River Tay.
For more information about your stag or hen in Edinburgh check out the Ultimate Stag Do Guide to Edinburgh and the Ultimate Hen Do Guide to Edinburgh!