Our other 2 travel companions are not joining us until Monday so we thought we'd stay busy and are go on our first, of what is likely to be many, whiskey tasting tours. We are going to visit the Dalwhinnie Distillery.  Dalwhinnie Distillery is located in the Cairngorm National Park at the heart of the Scottish Highlands in the village of Dalwhinnie.
We had a good nights sleep, met for breakfast and set off towards Dalwhinnie for our 3:00 tour of the Dalwhinnie distillery.
We made a quick stop in a cute town called Pitlochrie, where we walked around, in the rain, and did some needed grocery shopping - milk, bread, butter, beer & wine (all the staples).
Dalwhinnie has long been one of my favourite Scotch whiskeys.  I first sampled it in Newfoundland on a business trip and have loved it ever since.  We walked into the visitors centre and what did my gaze fall upon but a special Scotch called Lizzie’s a Dram - meant to be?
The tour provided an explanation of the traditional art of malt whisky distilling. Afterwards, we sampled some Dalwhinnie single malts with specially selected chocolate that combines beautifully with the whisky. Who would have thought scotch & chocolate!?!?! Our guide also gave us advice on the best way to appreciate whisky (don't you just drink it?). On this tour we were entitled to 2 tastings. He poured the 15 year old, which we sampled, and then pulled out another bottle to try. He poured us a dram and then realized he gave us the same one we’d already tried. So he poured us the Winter Gold. So now we had 3 shots ( I had about 5 because Valerie kept giving me hers after she tasted it - she was driving). We ended on a high note (no pun intended) recieving a complimentary Dalwhinnie whisky glass. I had to try Lizzie’s Dram so we went to the bar and asked to try that. Our guide gave us a free taste (delicious) so I had to buy a bottle. I’ll save that for a special occasion.
Then we made our way back to the villa. Unfortunately, the restaurant was packed so we ordered take out and enjoyed some wine.