Loch Ness, Scotland, Single Malt and the Culloden House Hotel

We were in London on business, and decided to take a little trip up to Scotland. Rode the train (much superior to U.S. Trains) up to Inverness, rented a car, and stayed at the Culloden House for 3 nights. It's a wonderful old mansion (not quite a castle), just outside Culloden Battlefield, where Bonnie Prince Charlie met his match in 1746. The two collies bound out to greet every arriving guest, and Culloden House is just packed with charm and history.

Our room was smallish, but we didn't care. It was warm, comfortable, elegantly decorated with real antiques, and wonderful in every way. Breakfast was served in the great room—my wife favored the kippers, but I stayed with the mixed grill (bacon, blood sausage, tomoto, bread, and eggs if you want). And, even for breakfast, a wee dram of the water of life!

We used The Culloden House as a jumping off point to explore Loch Ness, the neighboring castles, including Urquhart, overlooking the Loch (AMAZING!) and, of course, the Malt Whisky Trail—a tour of distillaries in the highland area. Naturally, you can't visit an historic single malt distillary without sampling their product—makes for a very enjoyable afternoon!

At dinner, once again well-lubricated (!!!), I tried the wonderful venison, but stayed away from the haggis. But everything on the menu was delicious, and elegantly served.

And please don't hesitate to drop me a line with your own observations about this journal/review. I like to see if my advice has value. email me at rickhowe@aol.com

South of the Culloden House, on BP 970, you'll find the Cairngorm Whisky Centre & Museum. It's open daily, except Christmas and New Years. And with Single Malt Scotch Whisky bottling from something like 90 distilleries, you can spend a VERY lovely afternoon in the Tasting Room.

Many of the single malts are available in various ages and strengths—and if you haven't tasted "Cask Strength" Single Malt, you have not lived. Whisky means, "Water of Life" (or something like that... I'd had a few wee drams when I was told the story) in Gaelic, and the cask strength stuff comes directly from the hogshead (barrel) without any dilution.

Of course, most brand-name scotch (Cutty, Johnny Walker, etc) is blended from the products of a number of distilleries, and often cut with grain alcohol. Single Malt Whisky comes from a single distillery, from a single malting, and has a character all it's own.

You'll find Highland Malts (which are local to the area), Lowlans Malts, and my favorite, Islay (pronounced "I-lay") malts. Those have a much stronger flavor (not alcohol content), provided by the seaweed infused peat (!!!!) they burn to smoke the malt barley. Much more of a winter whisky, an Islay malt almost has an "iodine" flavor.

But stay awhile in the Cairngorm Whisky Museum and you'll become an expert. Just make sure you have somebody to drive you home.

Speaking of driving, if you want more adventure, drive south from Elgin on the 941 and follow the signs for the world's only Malt Whisky Trail. A number of distilleries (owned or managed, I think, by the same company that owns Glenlivet). You'll find Dallas Dhu, Benromach, Cardhu, Glenfiddich, Glen Grant, The Glenlivet, Glen Moray, Speyside, and Strathisla. A lovely drive through the Scottish Highlands to be sure, with tasty rewards at every stop.  You can learn about this wonderful excursion at the Malt Whisky Trail website (the name is the URL).

And please don't hesitate to drop me a line with your own observations about this journal/review. I like to see if my advice has value. Email me at rickhowe@aol.com.