This evening, I am posting a record of today's Speyside whisky themed tour. After departing our lodgings at An Cala, Grantown on Spey, we drove north for about 45 mins through Highland Grouse Moor and farming scenery to the country town of Forres to the east of Inverness. At Forres we enjoyed a private tour of the distillery of Benromach, a small distillery owned by whisky specialist, Gordon and MacPhail. This distillery dates from 1898 and subsequently changed hands many times and was even mothballed for a few years until re-opened by Prince Charles in 1998. In the warehouse we viewed a cask signed by the Prince. This proved a fascinating tour led by a guide with long experience in the whisky industry and a passion for the product. We were taken through the entire malting, mashing, fermentation, distillation and maturation process. Benromach produces relatively young malt whisky although some older expressions are also available. One notable feature is an organic single malt produced with organically grown barley and matured in new wood oak casks, i.e in casks which have not previously been used to hold Bourbon or Sherry. After a tasting and some purchases at the Distillery shop we drove west toward Inverness passing, en-route, the famous Culloden Batllefield, site of last battle on British soil in 1746. After Inverness, self styled 'Capital of the Highlands' we drove down past Drumnadrochit to Castle Urquhart on the banks of Loch Ness. The castle (see image below) is of interest in its own right but the location is popular due to the superb vistas and photo opps of Loch Ness which the site offers. We had a light lunch here and then moved on through Fort William, Glencoe, Rannoch Moor and Stirling arriving at Edinburgh about 7.30pm and fond farewells after conclusion of the three day tour. Sent from my BlackBerry® wireless device

This morning we commenced by availing of a Connoisseur Tour at Glenfiddich Distillery which lasted over 2 hours. This was very well delivered, taking us through the history of this famous and privately owned enterprise and the principal malting, mashing, fermentation, distillation and maturation processes culminating in a sample of 4 malt whiskies. A quality experience. Glenfiddich suffered significant damage to the structure of its buildings-and bonded warehouses in particular-during the recent harsh winter due to the weight of snow on roofs. After the distillery tour we had a light lunch at Glenfiddich and then drove round the corner to photograph Balvenie Castle, an impressive edifice. We next drove to nearby Macallan Distillery where we were provided with a 'standard' tour. The tour lived up to the image of this famous, premium, brand. The visitor experience is excellent aided by a new interpretation exhibition which aids understanding of the Macallan whisky making process with emphasis on the role played by the Spanish and American oak casks in the maturation process. After the Macallan tour we drove down to the large house which now features as the Macallan logo and took pics of the building which overlooks the River Spey and Craigellachie. Our final distillery call was Glen Grant which is owned by Campari of Italy. We were provided with the standard distillery tour which was of good quality. The stills (see image below) feature unique condensers invented by a member of the founding Grant family. Glen Grant produced a whisky which is light and very popular in Italy, often featuring as an apperitif. The malts here are matured for shorter periods than in most other distilleries and hence tend to be cheaper in price. After Glen Grant we drove back to Grantown and a meal at the Craggan Mill restaurant which is famous for whisky themed meals. Sent from my BlackBerry® wireless device

This morning, I collected guests in Edinburgh and then, after navigating through the maze of road works in the city, drove north to Stirling and its famous castle. This is a very popular visitor attraction comprising a former royal palace (James IV and V) and military fortification dating back to the 14th century and earlier. We joined in a Castle tour led by a very competent tour guide which included visits to the Great Hall and Chapel Royal. As the weather was dry and sunny we enjoyed superb views over the local countryside, the Ochills and Wallace Monument. Stirling Castle was key to the control of Scotland in medieval times and close by were fought two critical battles affecting Scotland's independence from England: Stirling Bridge in 1297 and Bannockburn in 1314. After Stirling, we drove further north to Tullibardine Distillery in Perthshire where we joined in a small group distillery tour led by Gavin, a good tour guide who clearly has a passion for the product of this privately owned distillery. We had a light lunch here in the distillery restaurant. After Tullibardine we drove north again, to join in a tour of Edradour Distillery, Scotland's smallest.See image below. It was interesting to observe the owner wearing a boiler suit assisting with some manual work on the access path. Apart from its own niche output, Edradour is part of the Signatory Group which specialises in rare and unusual whiskies which can be purchased in the Distillery shop. Finally, we headed into Speyside and Grantown-on-Spey and our lodgings for the night at An Cala Guest House. En-route we stopped for images of the Spey valley which was flooded, no doubt as a function of the snow melt arising from one of the worst winters on record. Sent from my BlackBerry® wireless device

Today, the weather in east of Scotland was bright, clear but still relatively cold after taking into account the windchill. Collected guest at the Grassmarket in Edinburgh Old Town and then, after a quick shopping trip in Princes Street, we drove a few miles south to the village of Roslin. Here is the famous (especially post Da Vinci Code book and film) Rosslyn Chapel which dates from the 15th century. This incredible, intensively carved structure, took some 40 years to complete under sponsorship of the St. Clair family under whose control the building remains to this day. We were able to climb up the walkway to the roof to observe the repairs in process and admire the snow covered scenery reflecting in the sunshine. After a spot of lunch in Rosslyn we drove on, to Glenkinchie Whisky Distillery (see image below). At Glenkinchie we joined the standard tour explaining the malting, mashing,fermentation, distillation and maturation process of the product which is Scotland's national drink and leading export product. At Glenkinchie there was still evidence of the recent heavy snow falls in the area some of which had started to melt resulting in localised flooding. Next we drove on, first to the historic town of Haddington, then to the pretty village of Dirleton with its famous castle. After some photo opps we headed back to Edinburgh tracking the coast of the Firth of Forth and observing the snow capped hills in Fife across the Firth. Perhaps the key memory from today will be the unusual (and unseasonal) combination of sunshine and snow covered scenery. Weather forecast bodes well for our tour of Edinburgh tomorrow. Sent from my BlackBerry® wireless device

Today, was the third and final day of our Speyside whisky themed tour. First stop, by way of variety, was the ruins of Drumin Castle via a tour taking in Speyside scenery and the River Avon. Around the castle ruins was a good display of seasonal snowdrops. We also took pics of Highland Cattle in a nearby field. Unfortunately, this visit took longer than planned but, fortunately, our first distillery, Glenfarclas, were able to accommodate our late arrival and we went on to avail of the standard distillery tour with some other visitors. Glenfarclas is family owned and very independent. A surprisingly large production capacity for a private distillery. Next we went to Aberlour for some lunch and shopping. This is a nice enough town on the banks of the Spey. Our final call of the day was Macallan, part of the Edrington Group. To accommodate extra demand Macallan has brought back into production a formerly mothballed section of the distillery with updated technology. New warehouses have also been built. Macallan is positioned at the top end of the market and sees itself as one of the finest malts on Speyside. The visitor experience (as manifested in the various aids to understanding the whisky making process) is one of the best I have encountered. Macallan malts are shown below. After the Macallan tour we said farewell to glorious Speyside and started the long trek south back to Glasgow thereby concluding a whisky tour comprising 7 distilleries in 3 days. Sent from my BlackBerry® wireless device

This evening, I am collating today's whiskey tour activities. After a leisurely breakfast at our Grantown on Spey Guest House we drove about 30 mins north to Aberlour Distillery where we availed of an excellent two hour plus tasting tour with genial host, Julian.Image below shows guests filling own bottle of Aberlour single malt for purchase. A notable feature of this distillery is the blackened trees and vegetation close to the distillery which is attributable to a non-lethal fungus growing on the branches which in turn feeds on the alcohol fumes. After leaving Aberlour we drove to nearby Glenfiddich Distillery. Firstly, we availed of a spot of lunch at the distillery restaurant and then joined the 2.15 Connoisseurs Tour which lasted about two hours and culminated in a tasting of Glenfiddich's principal single malts. This was a quality experience. Next we drove to nearby Craigellachie Hotel to visit the famous Whiskey Bar which boasts about 700 single malts daring from as far back as 1919! After a few samples at Craigellachie we drove back to Grantown for an evening meal and our lodgings for the night. Sent from my BlackBerry® wireless device

This evening, I am summarising today's whiskey themed tour. Starting from Glasgow we first drove to Auchentoshan, a Lowland ( triple distillation) category distillery where we availed of a tour exclusive to our group.The guide (see image below) talked us through the entire process from malting and mashing through to fermentation and distillation. The distillery was in full production which added an extra dimension-including noise! A good tour rounded off with samples of the Auchentoshan single malt. Next we drove north to Blackford in Perthshire where we had a spot of lunch and then joined the 1.00pm tour of Tullibardine Distillery. This is a Highland category distillery (double distillation) which dates from 1949, albeit on a site used for brewing for about 800 years. Again distillery was in full production with associated noise, steam and odours. Another competent tour guide with tour rounded off with usual sample. After Tullibardine we were off again, this time to Edradour at Pitlochry in central Scotland.This is Scotland's smallest distillery under ownership of a businessman who specialises in rare and unusual whiskies. Again, we had benefit of a private tour which proved of good quality. After some purchases in the shop we headed north up the A9 to Grantown on Spey to our lodgings for the night at An Cala Guest House. Guests availed of evening meal at Craggan Mill restaurant which is renowned for its whiskey themed meals. Overall, a successful day, notwithstanding the mixed weather. Snow still on the mountain tops in the Highlands. Sent from my BlackBerry® wireless device

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This evening, I am posting a record of today's tour (which benefited significantly from fine, dry weather with sunshine). Collected guests from Inverness lodgings and then drove down to Loch Ness for numerous photo opps including the Loch Ness Monster representation at the Clansman Hotel. Next we moved on to Castle Urquhart on the banks of Loch Ness. Great views of the loch and Highlands scenery. We spent about one hour here. Next we drove south, tracking Loch Ness to Aonach Mor, close to Fort William, where we ascended up the mountain in the chairlift to watch the many people skiing, and observe the views of the mountains of the Nevis Range covered in snow. An excellent experience. See image below. Our next objective was rugged Glencoe. We arrived at the Visitor Centre just as it was closing but managed to purchase some refreshments in the nick of time! We then drove through Glencoe stopping on a number of occasions for picture opportunties. The visibility, evening sunlight and extensive snow covering proved a compelling combination for photographs and videos. Finally, we embarked on the long journey back to Edinburgh, firstly journeying across desolate Rannoch Moor and then on down to Stirling District (driving past Stirling Castle and the Wallace Monument, both of which stood out with benefit of floodlighting). We eventually arrived at central Edinburgh about 8.45pm and then fond farewells after a very satisfying day in the Scottish Highlands. Sent from my BlackBerry® wireless device