An expert’s guide to Scotland’s whisky distilleries and why now is the time to make the pilgrimage cntraveller.com

An expert’s guide to Scotland’s whisky distilleries and why now is the time to make the pilgrimage
Elemental, enduring, yet evolutionary — the world’s greatest whisky country is transforming and imaginative new ideas and concepts are flourishing.

The lonely views of distillery stacks – undercut by peatlands, circled by barley fields burning gold – are ever-present. These chimneys, once raw with fire, are often visible from afar on a trip through Scotland, and, like sentinels, have watched over craftsmanship for centuries. Below, in the grainy light of still houses and steadings, maltsters, coopers and coppersmiths sustain tradition, keeping the stories and glories of single malt whisky alive. It’s hard to imagine a time when it might have been otherwise.

Modern Scotland — swaggering, in style, in-your-face — can feel very far away from this picture. And yet what could possibly be more Scottish than single malt whisky? It is, so it goes, a love story between landscape and the communities that make it, and as every year passes, the spirit broadens its reach. New-build distilleries, the return of mothballed favourites, destination restaurants, cutting-edge architecture and want-for-nothing accommodations are encouraging more visitors than ever. Faces such as Harrison Ford (for Glenmorangie) and Priyanka Chopra Jonas (for Johnnie Walker) are generating interest. Not so long ago, whisky tourism was in its infancy. Now, the rationale is one of opportunism.