Tripatini contributor Fyllis Hockman writes:

"Scottish single malts – celebrated locally as whisky (no e) – are known all over the world for their richness and smoothness – and cost. With a history dating back as far as the 11th century, Scottish whisky is an important part of the country's identify, with most of the 140-plus distilleries in the Highlands. Being more of a pedestrian imbiber of alcohol, I was not the ideal candidate for a whisky distillery tour and tasting. But I soldiered on.

At the Glen Ord/Singleton Distillery (in the town of Muir of Ord, less than a half hour out of Inverness), which has been crafting its single malts for almost two centuries, I sampled a flight of their three brands of whisky – a dram each which I learned was 25 milliliters (just under an ounce). At 12 years of age, they were just kids (the oldest can reach 70 to 80 years of age). Three very different flavors - or so I was told - but I was useless as a connoisseur; they all tasted the same to me. I’m not proud. Then, as instructed, I added three drops of water to each dram to “separate the flavors.” And yes, I noticed they were more potent – but still tasted the same. I slunk out of the distillery."

Read more in her post An ´Untour´ Idyll in Inverness, Scotland, Where Age Old Traditions Are Alive and Well Today.

Victor Block