Both Rob Allanson and I are motorcycle buffs. But that lucky bastard gets to take a trip around Scotland visiting distilleries on a Triumph Bonneville SE.
From tomorrow, Thursday 4th June through Wednesday 10th June, they’ll be traveling to the farthest reaches of Scotland collecting whisky for a one of a kind bottling.
Distilleries to be visited:
Highland Park – Orkney (north)
Kilchoman – Islay (West)
Bladnoch – Lowlands (South)
Glen Garioch – Highlands (East)
Glenturret – Highland (central point)
Two men and two Triumph motorbikes will set off today (Thursday June 4th) from the most northerly distillery in the British Isles on an epic whisky road trip.
Using the compass points, Whisky Magazine Editor Rob Allanson and BBC Scotland’s Tom Morton aim to visit the most extreme distilleries collecting whisky to create the ultimate bottling. A third rider, using another classic British bike name, Royal Enfield, will be providing photographic coverage.
Journey’s Blend will take the intrepid pair nearly 1,000 miles through some of Scotland’s finest landscapes and towns as they select the ingredients for this one-off special blend.
The journey will see the duo leave Orkney to head to one of Scotland’s newest producing distilleries on Islay, Kilchoman, then travel to Bladnoch in the south before heading north east to Glen Garioch; these distilleries represent the furthest points on Scotland’s distilling map. The trip ends at Glenturret Distillery, home of the Famous Grouse and Scotland’s oldest and most central distilleries, forming the hub of the compass.
Whisky guru and master blender for the Edrington Group John Ramsay will meet the pair there and has agreed to create the final bottling, one of the last projects he will work on before retiring later this year. A proportion of the proceeds will be going to the Parkinson’s Society and the bottling will be launched at Scotland’s greatest whisky tasting event, Whisky Live Glasgow, on Saturday 12th September at The Thistle Hotel, Glasgow.
For more information and interviews with the team please contact Whisky Magazine Editor Rob Allanson on +44 7595 936 766 or email rob@whiskymag.com
Great – hope the weathers stays good for you!