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Free Whisky Tours in Scotland?! Sign us up! When we heard we could tour not one, but 12 different distilleries for free in Scotland, it was a no brainer to join the Classic Malts Club! And we reckon, it’s going to be a no brainer for you to enjoy all the free whisky samples and learn of the distilling process on these 12 free whisky tours!
Apart from one person saying “Ahh.. Scotland, good Irish Whisky” (literally had to hold a laugh in when hearing that one, like what?!), when most people hear we lived in Scotland, the first question they ask is about the Scottish Whisky. It’s without a doubt one of the most popular bits of the country, and certainly is that way with good reason!
Luckily for you, you can partake in whisky tours all across the country finding the perfect Scottish whisky to match your taste buds!
Whether you decide to do a full day tour popping in and out of different distilleries, or just do one whisky tour, you need to take part in learning of Scotland’s national drink and dive into the whisky experience!
Learning To Love Scottish Whisky
Now, we’d be lying if we said we loved Scottish whisky straight away. It took some time to really grow a love for it, and a huge part of that love grew from the 12 distillery tours we partook in. Yes, twelve of them, and each offering a different twist and deeper insight into the way Scottish whisky is made.
You may think traveling around to twelve different distilleries and taking twelve different whisky tours is a bit much, but we’re here to tell you otherwise.
First off, when things are free we tend to jump in, and when something gives us a purpose or goal to shoot for we become fully committed. Not to mention you really have to learn the art of whisky making to truly enjoy the dram before you!
Learning about the distilling process and the heart and soul that goes into making each dram of whisky, truly makes the whisky experience better! Don’t believe us, join in on some scotch whisky tours yourself! Your mind will surely change!
How To Do Scottish Whisky Tours For Free
When we toured our first distillery during our inaugural run in Isobel (our van), we caught glimpse of the Friends of the Classic Malts brochure and had to get in on the membership. Talking with the worker at Talisker, she explained that the membership is free, there’s a gift once visiting all 12 distilleries on the list, and you get to tour each distillery for free too. I mean, come on, how could we pass this up!? We were going all in!
Traveler’s Tip… To join the Friends of the Classic Malts, visit one of the 12 distilleries themselves, you may have to pay for the first distillery tour, normally £6, though it depends who you speak with! You used to be able to sign up online, however, we can’t find the link to that anymore!
With the 12 Scotch Malt Whisky Distilleries spread all about Scotland, it gave us a reason to really travel far and wide through the country to grow a love for this traditional Scottish delicacy. If you’ve got the time, try and make it to all twelve distilleries! If not, just visit a few on a rainy day and be amazed at the distilling process and history behind making whisky.
Single Malt Whisky Trail
Getting Around To The Distilleries
Flying into Scotland
When you book your flights to Scotland, chances are the cheapest flights are going to be to Edinburgh, but keep in mind this isn’t the best place to fly to for whisky tours of Scotland!
We suggest flying into Inverness. Easy Jet (a budget airline) flies from London to Inverness, and you’ll also find flights from other airlines/airports into Inverness as well!
We always recommend searching for flights with Momondo, or Skyscanner, as they tend to have the cheapest flights typically!
Getting Around Scotland
Trains are a great way to explore Scotland, though they aren’t nice on anyone’s budget! While trains are extremely reliable, and always leave right on time, not a minute late, they are a spendy way to explore the country!
Sometimes, Scotrail will have discounted prices on certain trips though. We recommend checking out Rome2Rio for planning your trip! Rome2Rio compares the pricing on how to get from point A to point B, for all sorts of travel, (bus, train, rental car, flying).
Renting a Car
With rental cars in Scotland being under 10 USD a day, (if drying manual), we 100% suggest using a rental car to get around to different distilleries in Scotland! Not to mention rental cars are great for all the extra stops along the way you’ll want to make too! Find cheap rental car prices and book your next rental car here.
Whisky Tours From Inverness | Whisky In The Highlands
Dalwhinnie Distillery
- Visit Their Website Here
Dalwhinnie whisky was the first whisky Heather actually enjoyed drinking. We stumbled upon the distillery en route from Skye to Aberdeen, and popped in for a private tour and two samples of whisky with chocolate! With the sweeter taste, Dalwhinnie is a great whisky to begin building your tasting pallet.
Traveler’s Tip… This distillery sends you home with a dram glass. A great little souvenir from a trip to Scotland!
Glen Ord Distillery
- Visit Their Website Here
Popular to tour bus goers as it is the closest of these whisky tours from Inverness, this distillery can be quite busy. 90% of the whisky produced from Glen Ord goes straight to the whisky market in SE Asia! Unlike other whiskies on this list, we were told the whisky produced at Glen Ord can only be bought at the distillery or in SE Asia!
{Traveler’s Tip… Call ahead and schedule your tour around the tour bus times. It’s a much more intimate tour when there aren’t so many loads of tourist in the crowd with you!}
Royal Lochnagar Distillery
- Visit Their Website Here
Right next to Balmoral Castle, a castle with people still living in it, this distillery is set on one of our all-time favorite roads in Scotland. With close proximity to Aberdeen, and right in the middle of castles all around, Royal Lochnagar is a great distillery to visit if you’re in Aberdeenshire. It’s famous for kings and queens touring the distillery, giving it it’s “royal” name.
Traveler’s Tip.. This area of Scotland is one of our favorites! Visit loads of castles and if you’re lucky, catch the heather in full bloom! The road leading to Lochnagar is probably one of the best-maintained roads in all of Scotland — no joke!
Blair Athol Distillery
- Visit Their Website Here
The Blair Athol Distillery is one of those illegal start-up distilleries in Scotland. Like many other distilleries, this one was kept in secret for quite some time.
After the town of Blair Athol began bringing in more tourist, police set up shop in the area, and would literally go around town via horseback following their noses to the smell of whisky production!
Luckily for us, this distillery has now been legal for 218 years, and is one of our favorite distillery tours.. we’ve done it three different times now, even bringing our family along!
Oban Distillery
- Visit Their Website Here
Oban Distillery is one of our favorites. Not necessarily because of the taste of the whisky, but more so the history behind the distillery. The town of Oban was literally built around the distillery, so much so, that the distillery cannot grow because there’s literally no room!
Traveler’s Tip… Oban Distillery sends you off with a proper dram glass. Visiting this distillery gives you a bit of Scotland to bring home with you!
READ MORE | 10 Things to do in Oban
Clynelish Distillery
- Visit Their Website Here
Located in the very northern bit of mainland Scotland, this distillery is full of some rich history. It’s actually been a few different distilleries in its time! After the original distilling house burnt down, the whisky produced here when from under £100 to over thousands of pounds overnight! The older production house is really interesting to see here!
Whisky Tours From Edinburgh
Glenkinchie Distillery
- Visit Their Website Here
The only distillery within the Friends of the Classic Malts in the lowlands, this distillery is the most touristy one we’ve been to.
This is the closest of the whisky tours from Edinburgh, being only 15 miles from the city.
However, if we’re honest here, this distillery tour seems like quite the tourist trap. Scooted in and out rather quickly, and overrun by the next tour group, Glenkinchie’s tour isn’t one we can fully recommend, though the surrounding area is lovely!
Whisky Distilleries To Visit On The Scottish Isles
Talisker Distillery
- Visit Their Website Here
We’ve got a soft spot for Talisker. Found on one of our favorite islands in Scotland, the Isle of Skye, it was our first ever distillery tour we went on. Being on the west coast, this single malt whisky is super peaty, making it an interesting whisky to taste compare to the others!
The whisky tour here is super informative and the views off the west coast of Scotland are phenomenal! There’s an Oyster shack just around the corner from the distillery that’s meant to have some great oysters too!
Lagavulin Distillery
- Visit Their Website Here
Lagavulin is a well-known whisky for many American folks. With its smoky flavor, yet smooth finish, it’s a great one to try! The distillery itself is set on the coastline of the Isle of Islay, Scotland’s whisky isle, and is just a few minutes away from the southern port of the island, making it a rather easy first stop on a visit to Islay!
Traveler’s Tip…You get to take home a dram glass from this tour! While it’s not as cute as Dalwhinnie’s, or as fancy as Oban’s it’s a nice gift and remembrance of Scotland!
READ MORE | Visiting the Islay, Scotland’s Whisky Island
Caol Ila Distillery
- Visit Their Website Here
The last distillery we visited on our Friends of the Classic Malts tour, and hands down our all-time favorite. Partially due to us being the only ones on the tour, and having a killer tour guide, thanks again Nigel, we loved everything about Caol Ila.
The whisky is smooth, the scenery is drop dead gorgeous, and the still house brings the best views of any still house we’ve been in! Located on the Isle of Islay, it’s not the easiest to get to, but it certainly is worth the trek!
READ MORE | All About Visiting Islay, How to Get There and What to See
Speyside Whisky
Cardu Distillery
- Visit Their Website Here
Hidden in the middle of Scotland, Cardhu distillery is a tricky one to find… In fact, this distillery was illegally operating for quite some time. Both before and after Cardhu was a legal distillery, this distillery was run by a woman and her daughter-in-law — something rather unheard of in the time the distillery came about!
Cragganmore Distillery
- Visit Their Website Here
Right in the heart of Speyside, and easier to access than neighboring Cardhu, yet not as touristy as other distilleries in the area Cragganmore Distillery is a great choice for those in Inverness or Aberdeen. It’s in the middle of the Cairngorms, offering amazing views all about the distillery!
Doing Scottish Distillery Tours In A Nutshell
Choosing which distilleries to visit in Scotland can be quite the task with so many distilleries scattered all across the country. While all the above distilleries are now owned by a big name brand, Diageo, each tour, for the most part, had its own charm and loads of character coming from the different tour guides.
Honestly, the tour guides make all the difference in doing distillery tours. As some are there just for the paycheck and others truly love the craft behind making a good whisky.
If you’ve got the time, we recommend visiting more than one distillery. We kid you not, after visiting all these distilleries, some more than once, we literally learned something new with each tour we did!
Tours typically last an hour, and during that time, you learn all about the malting process, get to smell and see the whisky in the mash tuns and fermentation process, and get to see all the stills and spirit safes up close and personal.
You’ll learn that the shape of the stills and the barrels the whisky is put in for maturation, and even the location of the distillery make all the difference in the taste of the whisky. It’s truly remarkable to learn each individual process along the way!
Unfortunately, photos are not allowed throughout the tours, as this is supposedly a major fire hazard, so you really have to get on one to see all the different bits and bobs in the distilling process for yourself! If you do by chance get to all 12 Scotch Malt Whisky Distilleries, you’re gifted with a Quaich, Scotland’s cup of friendship!
Where to Stay While Doing Whisky Tours In Scotland
Scotland Hotels
In big cities like Edinburgh, Aberdeen, Glasgow, and Inverness, you’ll find big hotel chains to stay at. However, with prices up around 100 USD, staying at a big fancy hotel in Scotland isn’t best for any budget.. and you won’t get a proper British stay at a lot of large hotels.
If however, hotels are the kind of stay you’re looking for, our favorite website to search for hotels is Momondo. They compare sites like Booking, Agoda, Expedia and more, showcasing the best prices and the best days to stay! Check out current Scotland Hotel prices here.
Wild Camping / Sleeping in Campervan in Scotland
It’s free and legal to wild camp in Scotland, and there are often places near the distilleries to do so! Just be sure to pack out whatever you pack in — this includes your used toilet paper! And if you don’t have a toilet with you, be sure to dig a hole 6 inches deep, and 100 feet away from water to do your duty!
If you have a campervan and would like to stay overnight at a distillery, chances are the workers will let you park in their lot and stay the night after your whisky tour! Just ask for permission, and you shouldn’t be at all bothered!
READ MORE | Van Life Apps To Help Find Parking And More In A Campervan
Enjoy a dram for us on your trip to Scotland, and don’t forget to comment below or tag us in a post if you visit any of these twelve Scottish distilleries!
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