9 September - Out and About Ballater

We began our day today with a tour and tasting at the Royal Lochnagar Distillery which was just down the road a bit from where we were staying.  The first Lochnagar distillery was burnt down in 1824, and the replacement was burnt down yet again in 1841.  John Begg built the "new" Lochnagar in 1845, and in 1848 it was awarded it's Royal Warrant when John invited Prince Albert to visit the distillery.  The distillery is located nearby Balmoral Castle, the Queen's residence in the Highlands.

Today Royal Lochnagar is owned by Diageo, ad the distillery produces a relatively small amount of whisky, most of which is used in making Johnnie Walker Black and Blue labels.

The distillery Welcome Center

It's as if its calling my name....

The distillery

The malt kiln

What??

Time for the tasting!  So what if it's only 10:30AM....

I think Gin is taking a liking to scotch....

Royal Lochnagar Gardens....

From the distillery, Alan thought it would be nice to take us up above Ballater Castle so we could perhaps get a small glimpse of the place.  We couldn't do a proper visit because the Queen was in residence while we were up there.  I had gone up and asked security is she was available to have tea with the Olson's from Minnesota, but that didn't go over too well.  A view from afar will have to do!  A drive up to the Knock Gallery and this is what we could see....

Balmoral Castle as viewed from the Knock Gallery.  The flag means that the Queen is in residence.

An art gallery full of original pieces from all over Europe

Entrance to the gallery

Very nice garden

On the way back to Ballater we stopped at the Crathie Kirk.  Located in the village of Crathie, the Kirk is a small Church of Scotland parish church best known as the regular place of worship for the British Royal Family when they are on holiday in nearby Balmoral Castle.

Dedication Plaque

Walking up to the Kirk

The Queen's pew when she's attending

Once back at Ballater, we took a walk into town again to find a place for dinner.  We made reservations for the Alexandra Hotel Restaurant....a small, but cozy place.  We wanted to go to La Mangiatoia, but they weren't open on Mondays!

I took a photo of the place we couldn't eat at, but not of the one that we booked!

Downtown Ballater

This used to be a hotel, now it's apartments to let.

I like the chimneys over here...

The River Dee

Before dinner, Jeff and I did a malt whisky tasting with Gordon Muir, who taught us some of the finer points in tasting and nosing whisky.  One trick that I learned was to rub a bit on your wrist until it's dry....this brings out the oils and lets you get more of the "smells" such as grass and wet hay.  I know, it doesn't make whisky sound that appealing, but how about fresh pear or toasted coconut?

Gordon Muir - strangely enough, he's distantly related to John Muir of California (Muir Woods)

We tasted the following spirits:

Royal Lochnagar (for the second time today), Glenlivet, Craggenmore, Dailuaine, Glendronnach, Bullet Bourbon and a 30 year old sherry (so we could get a feel for the taste of the barrels that Scotch whisky is aged in), Talisker, and Lagavulin (ranging from lighter and sweeter to heavier and smokier).

We needed a good dinner after tasting all of those!

After dinner we were back to our cottage for a nightcap, and a review of the route we'd be taking tomorrow on our way to Dufftown.  Finally....our Balvenie tour!!