If you want to have a good time with a fun guide, this is the place to be. Karen made the tour and tasting an experience to remember. After about 10 whiskey tours around Speyside, I can say this was my favourite. The small group, homey feel, and great sense of humor were worth a trip out. The scotch was just a bonus.

Karen was the highlight! She made this tour outstanding, enjoyable, and felt very homey. The tasting was great and the different type of whiskey we tried were very good

I visited The GlenAllachie Distillery as part of a short road-trip through Speyside. I was looking forward to this visit as GlenAllachie’s whisky is great, and the distillery was still closed when I was last in Speyside (last November).

From when I arrived to the end of my visit, the staff were very welcoming and friendly. The shop was stocked with a good selection of products (although the miniatures were fairly steep at £25 for a set of three).

Our guides were great throughout the visit (massive apologies for not catching their names) and clearly had a great knowledge of the subject. A special shout-out too for the guide in training who although new to the job did very well at explaining complicated processes! There was a real feeling of camaraderie throughout the distillery team which was great to see.

The tour starts with a short video explaining the whisky process, during which one of the guides neatly explained each step with handy props. During the video, we were also given two drams to try (although as I was driving I was given a handy driver’s pack). Following the video, we went around the distillery, before heading back to the tasting room for two more whiskies and a video about the maturation process.

The whiskies were lovely and given the recent takeover by Billy Walker, this is just the beginning for GlenAllachie and we can likely expect some very special stuff in the future!

The reason for this review being only three stars and not five is the pricing. I’ve done at least 20 distillery tours in the past few years, and this is far and away the most expensive entry-level tour I’ve been on. The cheapest tour option is £25, and I’m still at a bit of a loss as to why the price is so high. The tour doesn’t visit the warehouses, the whiskies offered for tasting are general releases with no limited editions or distillery exclusives, and you don’t get any goodies like a free glass. These aren’t things I necessarily expect on every tour, but for £25 I did expect a bit more than what was provided.

I want to be clear that this was the only issue I had with my experience - had I paid somewhere between £15 and £20, this would have likely been a five-star review. It’s just that £25 will go much further on other distillery tours (including other independents) and I think the steep price tag kind of wrote a cheque that the experience didn’t cash. However, don’t let that take away from the fact that the staff are excellent will make sure you are well looked after!

P.S. When I visited, the distillery was in silent season meaning no spirit was being made - despite my visit being outwith the dates for silent season shown on the website. This didn’t bother me (and it hasn’t had any bearing on my rating), but if you’re really keen to see production taking place, it’s probably a good idea to contact in advance and check.