Beam Me Up, Scotland: Aberfeldy

I never thought I'd get up at 6:30 AM to go and get whisky, but that's exactly what I did yesterday.

We were instructed to meet outside the ISC office promptly at 8:00, and I thought I'd be smart and leave early, so I could grab coffee and something to eat on the way there. Unfortunately, I got about halfway to the ISC office when I realized that I'd forgotten my camera, so I had to race back to my flat and forgo coffee and food. Consequently, single-malt Scotch was my breakfast (don't worry, it was followed, not long after, by a sandwich).

We visited the Dewar's distillery in Aberfeldy/"Dewar's World of Whisky", which houses both a functional distillery, where they make the Aberfeldy single malt (which, according to their ad copy, is the "heart of the Dewar's blends", and is also delicious), and the tourist attraction dedicated to the history of Dewar's whisky.

We first watched a film about the company's history, then got to visit the museum, which contained interactive exhibits explaining the company's history and the whisky-making process, and had a guided audio tour component.

After the museum, we each got to try a dram of whisky! We got to choose between the White Label (a blended whisky, which is their most popular and least expensive), the 12 (another blend, but somewhat more "deluxe", as I think they put it; the 12 refers to the age of the whiskies blended), and the Aberfeldy (the single malt that they make there). I opted for the Aberfeldy, seeing as how we were at the Aberfeldy distillery, and wow, that was some tasty stuff! I'm not enough of a connoisseur to say what it was I liked about it, but it tasted good, and was much less harsh than any whisky I've consumed.

After that, we had our tour of the distillery itself. Unfortunately, we weren't allowed to take pictures inside the distillery, due to "health and safety" reasons. It was neat seeing how the whisky was made, though, and I learned a few interesting facts.

Peat is what gives whisky a smoky flavor
Because new casks contain a much higher level of tannin, which is undesirable in Scotch, Scotch whisky makers buy used casks from American bourbon makers (bourbon is always made in a new cask, which is used once and then sold). These casks are used three time before they're discarded.
The casks are charred on the inside before each use. The extend to which it is charred can vary. The more deeply charred the cask is, the more the whisky will taste like vanilla.

I learned some other things that I can't remember at the moment, but it was interesting learning about how different variables in production are reflected in the taste of the whisky itself.

Afterwards, we had a few hours to explore the town of Aberfeldy. I wandered around the town for a bit, then took a walk in the Birks of Aberfeldy ("birk" means "birch" in Scots). Here's a ton of pictures (the order got a little screwed with when I uploaded them).