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Step 1 will be for Covid restrictions to be lifted so that the Tattoo can go ahead this year, we must all hope for the best.
While I have over 30 years' experience of Scottish hotels, I have never done a distillery tour (or visited the Tattoo come to that) so while I know where some distilleries are I can't say which tours are better than others etc.
If you have favourite whiskies you might like to google a whisky map of Scotland (e.g. on the visitscotland website) and see if the ones you like are in convenient places. While there are famous distilleries on some of the islands (notably Islay, but also Orkney and Jura) the logistics of getting ferries at peak tourist time might make it more realistic to stick to the mainland in the time you have.
The greatest concentration will probably be in and around Speyside, famous names like Macallan, Glenlivet and Glenfiddich, plus many others, and there are also reasonable numbers along the north - east coast above inverness, e.g. Glenmorangie.
The most whisky-focussed hotel on Speyside in my experience is the Craigellachie. It is a large traditional building but not a castle. It is close to Macallan, and several others. The Dowans hotel at Aberlour is smaller but also an older building, recently refurbished but in a less traditional style.
If you want more "castle" accommodation, we have enjoyed many stays at the Glengarry Castle Hotel, at Invergarry. A more expensive and more formal alternative castle is Inverlochy Castle Hotel at Munlochy near Fort William. Both are in attractive grounds with the sort of Scottish baronial atmosphere you may have in mind. While there is a distillery at Fort William and the Dalwhinnie distillery just off the A9 is on the way from Edinburgh to these hotels, they are not in an area with a high concentration of distilleries. In fine weather and if the traffic is not too bad they would be a starting point for a trip to the Talisker distillery at Carbost on Skye, but NB it is closed for refurbishment at present and might not be open again by August. While this would be a scenic and pleasant day out in good conditions, it might be a bit of a chore in low cloud, rain and heavy traffic. Skye can be very busy at peak times. You'd need to check that you'd have enough time to do it all.
Near Inverness is Culloden House Hotel, Georgian architecture rather than Scots baronial, but a potential base for trips to Morayshire and Speyside, plus Glenmorangie distillery (at Tain) and maybe some further north along that coast. The Links House Hotel at Dornoch is also a good standard, but not a castle, if you want something in that more northerly area.
I have stayed at all of these hotels and you can PM me if you have questions, also if there are particular distilleries in places I have not mentioned that you are keen to visit, just in case I know the area. Only Range Rovers since 1988
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8th Jan 2022 9:25am
