11 September - Rainy Day to Braemar

The plan today was to do some hiking around the area, but alas....we woke to clouds and rain.  Considering this was really only the second day of our trip where we couldn't do as we had planned, that's not too bad.  Instead we took a trip into Braemar for a look at the town.  From Ballater, over The Bridge of Gairn, through Crathie, past the Balmoral Castle grounds and past the Invercauld Estate, and then past Braemar Castle....it was a nice drive even in the rain.

The Bridge of Gairn (again)

Invercauld Estate (photo from the Internet)

Braemar Castle (photo from the Internet - this was covered with scaffolding when we drove by)

The first building we walked by in Braemar was the Butcher Shop.  I REALLY wanted to stop in, order a brace of haggis and ship it home....unfortunately, that's not allowed.  Someday I'll figure out a way to get some shipped over her instead of smuggling a tin of it home (not the same as fresh haggis).

The Butcher Shop

"Locally Caught"....that cracks me up!

We spent the next hour or so just walking around town, doing a bit of window shopping and such.  It was a nice little town (and I do mean little).  I came across a WWII war memorial while walking around.  In January of 1942, an RAF trainer crashed in the Cairngorm Mountains....all eight crewmembers lost their lives that day.  One of the engines from the wreckage was salvaged and turned into this memorial.

The Vickers Wellington R1646 Memorial

The River Dee....it was quite low.  Normally it looks like this

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PKzOT4z6FD0

The Streets of Braemar

The pipes...where do they go and what are they

for?

It was a busy day in Braemar

The weather was improving so we made our way back to Ballater for lunch at the golf club.  After lunch Annette, Jeff, Gin and I did a walk around the the outskirts of th golf course along the River Dee.  After the walk we stopped in town for some quick shopping (Annette was looking for a specific Scottish Thistle pillow) and of course, a pint or two.

Socts seem to be very serious about picking up poop....

This is the River Dee.  I should be able to fly fish here....where's the water??

The Queen's Royal Guard resides here....Jeff thought he could sneak in.  A nearby neighbor thought otherwise.

Again with the poop....I came across these at a shop in town.

Refreshments were needed after that long hike!

"The Brew Crew"

On the way home we decided to take a "short cut" up and over

the hill

Up, up, and up....

A moss cover stone wall nearby our cottage...I want to build one of these around our property at home.

After a long hike home, we rested a bit and then got ready for dinner.  Dinner tonight was at the Glen Lui Hotel.  Dinner tonight was on us....a thank you to Alan and Jette for allowing us to stay with them for the time that we were in Scotland.  It really didn't seem like enough of a thank you, but it was a start.  The Lui Restaurant enjoys views over the Ballater Golf Course and the Cairngorm mountain range, and this was a fancy affair.  We began our evening by being escorted to a back sitting room where we enjoyed a pre-dinner cocktail (not really, they couldn't make a proper martini so I had to settle for a pint).  Our waiter then took our order and when our starters were ready, we were take to our table for the evening.  

Dinner was incredible....I started with a Smoked Duck with Pomegranate and Honey Salad, followed by a Roasted Venison loin with caramelised Red Cabbage and a Parsnip Puree, served on a rich Red Wine and Vanilla Jus.  And for dessert (which I normally don't do) I FINALLY had my Sticky Toffee Pudding.  Oh....My....God....it was so incredibly good!

Alan and Jette after dinner

After dinner we were taken back to the sitting room where we enjoyed a coffee and some homemade shortbread cookies.  Jeff and I walked back while the others all drove.  Back at the club we sat and listened to a local Scottish musician and had a nightcap (I had an IronBru) and then it was off to bed.  Tomorrow we'll be making our way back to Edinburgh via Pitlochery.

Irn Bru - the local Scottish soda.  It kind of tastes like bubblegum. Weird.

Balvenie and beyond....

After the tasting at Balvenie, we needed to fuel up....or rather soak up some of the wondrous alcohol that was now in our systems (well, it was in mine since I has some of Gin's, some of Annette's and some of Jeff's samples.  It made no sense to let it go to waste).  We drove into Dufftown and stopped for lunch at The Stuart Arms.  I can't tell you what I had to eat, but I know it was tasty.  I do remember that I did support The Walking Wounded....a program to help injured Scottish soldiers....by partaking in a dram of 15-year old Glenfiddich.

a "dipping dog"....an example of what we 

used to pull our samples from the Balvenie casks

Jeff and Annette

Monkey Shoulder

High end whisky selection at The Stewart Arms

After lunch, it was time to head back to Ballater, but before we did we were going to add a stamp to our Classic Malt Passport and stop for a quick visit to the Craggenmore distillery.  We drove in circles for a while trying to find this place (and we never DID find it).  We did find the Cardhu distillery (by accident) and did a quick tasting there.

On the way to Cardhu Distillery

Art....I guess.

Pagoda on the Malting Kiln

After Cardhu, we were making our way back to Ballater and we missed out turn.  This misstep led us into Tomintoul, and in Tomintoul is The Whisky Castle.  This little shop has over 500 different whiskies, with many independent and private bottlings (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MnrKtoQvCkg).  It's a great place to visit, and the small shop next door had Tomintoul Whisky Ice Cream....yum!!

The Whisky Castle in Tomintoul

So MANY choices.....

Black Adder Independent Bottles....

Thor - by Highland Park

I will be back someday....

Another Highland Coo that we came across....he liked having his ears scratched.  Sort of.

A little further up the road, we drove by Corgarth Castle/Tower House and drove over Cock Bridge.  Yes....I said Cock Bridge....cock-a-doodle-doo?

Corgarth Castle

It's probably childish, but this just makes me giggle.

A little further up the road and almost back to Ballater was a stone arch bridge (The Bridge of Gairn) and a field full of sheep....probably weresheep.  I might be crazy, but I saw a movie a while back and up in Scotland there were some experiments being done....DNA testing.....cloning.....and things went wrong.  "Things" were created.....unholy things.....the movie was called Black Sheep.  Check out the trailer here....and beware - http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0779982/

The Bridge of Gairn

Field of sheep.....weresheep.

Up and over

Weresheep.  Just look at the hatred in his eyes.

Tomorrow is another day, and we'll be spending it hanging around town and hopefully going for a bit of a hike if the weather cooperates.  Until then.....TTFN (ta ta for now).

The Balvenie Cooperage and Tasting.....

As I mentioned earlier, all spirit made that is to become Scotch whisky goes into once used American oak bourbon casks....and wood makes all the difference in taste and flavor.

American Oak Bourbon Barrels

"The transformation of new spirit into mature whisky is a miraculous as the change from caterpillar to butterfly.  The chrysalis is the oak cask."

- Dr. Jim Swan

"It's all about the wood, son!"

- Ian McDonald, Balvenie Head Cooper

Ian McDonald - Head Cooper

"Cuparius" is the Latin word that is the root of the word "cooper."  Coopers are a highly skilled lot and the average cooper will serve a minimum of a four-year apprenticeship before becoming a fully fledged cooper.  We watched two young apprentices at Balvenie working under the tutelage and very watchful eye of Ian McDonald, head cooper and 43-year veteran of The Balvenie (all 43 years spent as a cooper or cooper's apprentice....this man knows barrels).

Parts of the barrel

The cooperage

Checking the barrels

What do the coopers actually do?  They verify that the used barrels are in good working order and will properly hold liquid.  Barrel hoops and tops are removed, the staves are checked, new reeds are added between staves to tighten the seal, they are put back together again and then "pressure tested" with air.  If nothing leaks, they are moved to pallets and taken to the warehouse to be filled.  It's incredible how fast these guys work!

This machine takes about a minute to complete a barrel.

Ian McDonld can do this himself....faster than the machine.

Barrels waiting to be "rebuilt"

Barrels, barrels, barrels!

I want a full one of these at home (only, a Balvenie barrel)

Gin and Annette in the Land Rover - ready for the ride back to the tasting

Finally....the tasting!

After the cooperage, we went to Warehouse 24 (yes, I was a bit out of order with my previous post) and had the opportunity to fill a 20cl bottle directly from the cask.  Before doing so, we were allowed to taste each one.....David dipped the "dog" into the cask and poured a sample into the palm of our hand for us to taste.  I cupped both hands together in hopes of getting a larger sample, but that gesture unfortunately didn't work for me.  :( 

We ended up filling two bottles....one from a 12 year old Sherry Butt (59.6% Alcohol) and the other from a 2nd Fill Bourbon Barrel (60.7% Alcohol).  Both were extremely tasty and I was hoping to sneak a bottle or two more from there, but no luck.

Sherry Butt and Bourbon Barrel

Because I am a member of Warehouse 24, an exclusive club for fans of The Balvenie, we were also treated to a sample from a 39-year old cask.  I say "we", because I was kind enough to offer a sample taste to the rest of the group that were not Warehouse 24 members (although I'm pretty sure David gives it to everyone on the tour).  

Ready for tasting

So what did we taste?  I would love to say that we were treated to all the expressions in thier line....from 12-year old DoubleWood to The Balvenie Fifty, a 50-year old malt created to celebrate Master Distiller David Stewart's 50+ years with Balvenie.  Since there were only 88 bottles of that rare whisky created, the only way that I'll be able to taste that will be to come up with $34,000 (minimum) in order to purchase a bottle.  If you would like to contribute to the Fifty for Greg fund, please contact me!  

Where was I heading with all of this?  Oh yes....the tasting.  We had: the 12-year old DoubleWood, the 12-year old Signature, the 14-year old Caribbean Cask, the 17-year old DoubleWood, the 21-year old PortWood and the 39-year old sample drawn straight from the cask in Warehouse 24.  

39-year old Cask Strength from Warehouse 24....

liquid gold.  Seriously.

David also talked about Tun 1401, a special bottling of some of the rarest whiskies in Warehouse 24.  Jeff asked if we could "nose the bottle"....and David poured us four samples to share.  It's an incredibly complex whisky....selected from seven traditional whisky casks and two sherry butts.  The ages of these whiskies span a number of decades and were all hand-selected by David Stewart.  The whisky was then rested for several months in Tun 1401 - Balvenie's traditional oak marrying vessel.

So....in all total we tasted seven expressions of the Balvenie....all wonderful.  I want to go back.