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    Whip & Wander » Recipes » adventures

    Published: Dec 6, 2017 · Modified: Mar 22, 2019 by Jenni · This post may contain affiliate links.

    Revisiting Our Trip to Scotland

    This page may contain affiliate links. Please see my full disclosure policy for details.

    "Wherever I wander, wherever I rove, the hills of the Highlands forever I love." - Robert Burns

    Scotland is one of the most magical places on earth. Rolling hills of lush green and heather, endless stills full of whisky, some of the most genuinely warm people you'll ever meet, and a unicorn for a national animal. I mean, what's more magical than a unicorn?!

    4 days in Speyside

    Last spring, the fella and I spent 4 spectacular days in Scotland while on an epic European adventure and I still haven't gotten sick of talking about it because it was genuinely just that great. When we first started planning our trip to Europe, Scotland was at the top of our list. I've always wanted to see the beautiful Highlands I've read about in some of my favorite books - you know, a little series called Outlander or the setting of a magical school called Hogwarts - and we both happen to be whisky enthusiasts, so we decided on the Speyside region in the Highlands for our first trip.

    Gorgeous heather throughout the hills

    Female whisky pioneers

    We rented a great cottage on Airbnb on a farm in Aberlour, which allowed us easy access to many of the distilleries in the area and was a reasonable walk into town. We ended up visiting several of them during our 4 days, and though each was spectacular in their own right, Cardhu Distillery was easily my favorite; I loved the strong female history behind this distillery. It was predominantly created and run by Helen Cumming and then handed off to her daughter-in-law Elizabeth to continue the legacy. I also loved that the distillery tour included a blind nosing and taste test to identify which whiskies we were tasting and how flavor notes were influenced by the addition of just a few drops of water.

    Scotland

    Our sweet cottage in Aberlour

    The view from our cottage in Aberlour

    Scotland

    A blind whisky tasting at Cardhu Distillery - Aberlour

    Castles, and Harry Potter, and Whisky - oh my!

    Another highlight of our trip was a chauffeured day traveling throughout the region to visit Glenlivet and Glenfiddich distilleries, as well as Ballindaloch Castle, and the town of Dufftown where we spent ample time selecting bottles to ship home from the Dufftown Whisky Shop. Dufftown also happens to be the rumored location of Hogwarts in the Harry Potter books (yes, I know I am a tremendous nerd). We ended with dinner and an extensive whisky tasting at the Mashtun in Aberlour.

    Scotland

    The Glenfiddich Distillery - Dufftown

    Scotland

    A washback at the Glenfiddich Distillery - Dufftown

    Scotland

    Underback at the Glenfiddich Distillery - Dufftown

    Scotland

    The stills at Glenfiddich Distillery - Dufftown

    Scotland

    Ballindalloch Castle - Banffshire

    Scotland

    Ballindalloch Castle - Banffshire

    Revisiting our trip to Scotland

    The Mash Tun - Aberlour

    Revisiting our trip to Scotland

    Whisky tasting at the Mash Tun - Aberlour

    Whisky tasting at the Mash Tun - Aberlour

    Making new friends

    I also really loved waking up to lots of cute baby farm animals. There were lambs right outside our front patio where we drank a morning cuppa each day and there was a group of gorgeous horses down the street from our cottage. Nearly every day, we'd walk into town and make new friends with the farm animals on our way. I also finally got to meet a group of shaggy highland coos - so cute!

    Adorable lambs outside our cottage

    Some Scottish coos we met along the walk into town

    One of the horses down the street from our cottage

    A shaggy Highland coo we met outside of the Cardhu Distillery

    Revisiting our trip to Scotland

    Shaggy highland coos are the cutest!

    Scottish food highlights

    Aside from the beautiful landscape, infinite drinking opportunities, adorable farm animals, and awesome people, we also loved indulging in Scottish cuisine. Some of our favorite things we ate during our trip were:

    Fried haddock & chips that we ate right out of the paper wrappings with greasy fingers while we sat on a bench near the River Spey on our first night in Aberlour.

    Fried haddock and chips

    Scotland

    The River Spey

    Haggis, a savory pudding containing the heart, liver, and lungs of a sheep mixed with onion, oatmeal, and spices. Haggis seems to be an intimidating food to some because of the organ content, but we both enjoy sweetbreads and absolutely loved haggis. In fact, we ate it at every opportunity - we even ate Haggis nachos and potato chips.

    Haggis with neeps and tatties

    Revisiting our trip to Scotland

    Haggis chips and Joe on the plane leaving

    Cullen skink, a rich soup comprised of smoked haddock, tatties (potatoes), and onions that we ate at Glenfiddich after a wonderful distillery tour and ample whisky tasting. This was so comforting, it nearly put me to sleep - maybe the whisky had a hand also. I couldn't wait to get home and recreate a pot of Cullen skink, myself.

    Cullen Skink soup

    Cranachan, a traditional Scottish dessert comprised of whipped cream, whisky, honey, toasted oats, and raspberries that we enjoyed at the Mash Tun after an awesome day of chauffeured whisky tastings.

    Cranachan

    We also toasted our birthday (both in May) with a Glenfarclas from the year we were born.

    We toasted the year we were born with a bit of Glenfarclas 1987

    Revisiting the magic in my kitchen

    Traveling always inspires my cooking. Usually, it's a result of eating something wholly spectacular that I decide I must have again at home, but just as often inspiration can come from a single ingredient. In this case it's whisky. If you're craving more, make sure to check out my post for Salmon with Whisky Cream Sauce and Cheddar Mashed Cauliflower for some Scottish culinary inspiration.

    Salmon with Whisky Cream Sauce and Cheddar Mashed Cauliflower

    Related

    « Salmon with Whisky Cream Sauce and Cheddar Mashed Cauliflower
    Pressure Cooker Collard Greens with Smoked Ham Hock »

    Reader Interactions

    Comments

    1. Karyl | Karyl's Kulinary Krusade says

      December 29, 2017 at 2:16 pm

      I'm loving all the food you ate! Haddock is one of my favorite types of fish, but I don't eat it very often cause it tends to be quite expensive at the store. I've never been to Scotland, but it's definitely on my bucket list

      Reply
    2. Rachel says

      December 28, 2017 at 6:53 pm

      Sounds like a magical and delicious trip!

      Reply
    3. Mariah says

      December 28, 2017 at 6:22 pm

      Oh I have always wanted to visit Scotland! The scenery looks absolutely breathtaking!

      Mariah
      http://www.likehoneyblog.com

      Reply
    4. Cristina - Memories of the Pacific says

      December 28, 2017 at 3:46 pm

      What an amazing adventure! I've only been to Scotland once but I fell in love with it 🙂

      Reply
    5. Samantha Sali says

      December 28, 2017 at 3:23 pm

      My sister in law went to Ireland two years ago and I’m hoping next year we can take a trip to Scotland! It looks so beautiful.

      Reply
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