Our next stop was at Invergordon, not far from Inverness. The harbor is only deep water harbor in NE Scotland.The harbor was used during WWI to house the Royal Navy and replenish their supplies and fuel. During WWI there was a cruise ship in the harbor which exploded and 400 died as a result. There is no known cause for the explosion. Now it is a fishing harbor and occasionally cruise ships dock there. The photo on the right is the view from our cabin. The Scottish countryside is green and beautiful. Of course, with all the rain they get, it is no wonder it is green. We had a gray, but thankfully not rainy day (except later). (Carolyn) As we rode through the countryside, the very green hills were dotted with shorn sheep. It was so picturesque. Even the light colored cows looked pretty as they grazed in the pastures.
We took a tour of the Glenmorangie whiskey distillery. It was very interesting to know how the whiskey is made. This particular distillery has been operating since 1843 (as the sign says). Recently it has been purchased by Louis Vuitton—yes, the maker of sinfully expensive purses. They also own Moet, the famous champagne maker. Glenmorangie is the largest producer in Scotland and the 4th largest whiskey producer in the world. They produce 10 million bottles per year.
They own a white oak forest in the Ozark Mountains in Missouri. The wood from the oak trees is used to make barrels which are used by American whiskey makers (Jack Daniels for example) for two years. Then they are shipped empty to Glenmorangie for use there.
There are only three ingredients in Scotch whiskey—barley, yeast, and water. The barley is soaked in water and spread out on a surface for about 5 days so it starts to germinate. Then it is roasted. Glenmorangie uses almost no peat in the first that roasts the barley since it is not a peaty (or smokey) Scotch at all. The barley is ground into a grist and then water and yeast are added and it is fermented in a giant heated vat. It reaches 8%+ alcohol (the minimum needed to distill). It is distilled twice until the desired alcohol content is reached. The picture on the right shows some of the distilling units. (BTW, we were not allowed to take pictures inside. This was outside looking to the distilling area.) At this point, the liquid is clear and the taste is sweet if anything. It goes into the oak casks for 10 years (actually 2 different casks for 5 years each). 40 of the flavor and all of the color comes from the aging in the casks. Each year, 2% of the contents evaporates (they called it the angel’s portion). So, after 10 years there is slightly more than 80% of the original volume. Probably more than you needed to know about how whiskey is made.
If you see a 40 year old scotch, it will be very expensive since nearly all of the original content has evaporated. I’ll leave it as an exercise to the student to calculate how much is left after 40 years of losing 2% each year. BTW, flavor changes with age, but does not necessarily improve.
On the right is our guide who was knowledgable and personable. One of the things he said was that the employees are generally there for for life. The staff is not that large which makes sense since much of the product is in barrels for 10 years or more.
The tour ended with a wee dram of the product.
The other stop on our tour was a beautiful village called Dornoch. It has a beautiful cathedral with stained glass on all four sides. Recently it was the site of the baptism of Madonna’s son. It is the site of the last witch burning in Scotland in about 1735.
In the hotel across from the Cathedral, I noticed a sign for a bar voted best whiskey bar in Scotland 2 of the last 4 years. I wandered into to take a look and was amazed at the number of rare whiskies. I started talking to the proprietor and he told me about the North Coast 500. It is a 500 mile route around northern Scotland that would be a great vacation. It is on our bucket list to come back and do it.
The evening was another one of a GK show, dinner, and music including a bit of dancing.
The next day we were at sea. It was a leisurely day, at least after a spinning class for Chuck and a workout for Caroline.
Norway is next.