The Best Whisky Tasting And Distillery Tours In And Around Edinburgh

Attention whisky lovers and travellers to Edinburgh alike, discover five of the best distillery tours near Edinburgh not be missed.
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Eden Mill Brewery & Distillery. Location: Eden Mill, Main Street Guardbridge, St Andrews KY16 0US.
Discover the different whisky distilling steps, and as a bonus get to see the process behind gin creation and beer brewing, and then finish with one of our favourite whisky tastings in Edinburgh. Open seven days from 10 am to 6 pm, you’ll receive a barrel aged beer on arrival, before touring the stills, production area and cask warehouse. Taste the delights of their three new spirits during the tasting session and go home with your very own Eden Mill Glencairn whisky glass as a keepsake. The Eden Mill Brewery and Distillery is ideally located in the heart of St Andrews so after your tour you can explore the impressive ruins of St Andrew’s Cathedral, or check out that patch of grass the Scots have been putting about on for some 600 years. 

Lindores Abbey Distillery. Location: Abbey Rd, Newburgh, Fife, KY14 6HH.
Lindores Abbey was founded in 1191 by David Earl of Huntingdon and while Lindores Abbey Distillery is a new facility constructed on an old site, the original Abbey is considered the birthplace of Scotch Whisky. According to the earliest written reference to distilled spirits in Scotland Friar John Cor, a Lindores monk, received ‘eight bolls of malt’ with which he would make Aqua Vitae for King James IV. Today, the old Abbey farm stead has been lovingly converted and enlarged using original Abbey stone. The distillery uses barley grown on the Lindores Abbey farm, and the yeast used in fermentation includes a strain found at the site. Taste whisky history at Lindores Abbey Distillery.

Glenkinchie Distillery. Location: Pencaitland, Tranent EH34 5ET. 
Open seven days a week, Glenkinchie Distillery has the tallest stills in Scotland, with a capacity of 32,000 litres (7,000 gallons) on the wash still - more than many distillery’s annual productions. At the entrance take a look at the intricate scale-model distillery exhibition, built in 1925 for the British Empire Exhibition. During the tour savour the taste of the Glenkinchie 12-year-old. For added convenience Glenkinchie Distillery runs a shuttle bus service to transport people from Edinburgh city centre directly to the distillery.

Glenturret Distillery. Location: The Hosh, Crieff PH7 4HA.
Enjoy the Famous Grouse Experience, open seven days a week with tours running hourly from 10:30am. The on-site restaurant/cafe, Wilde thyme is also a real treat and is open daily from 10am – 6pm. See for yourself one of the oldest distilleries in Scotland, including Tullibardine’s old open-topped hand-stirred mash tun. The Famous Grouse Experience is a bit of a Disneyland for Whisky Lovers, receiving around 100,000 visitors a year, so it’s definitely worth booking ahead. The tour includes two tastings and take away bottles for at-home enjoyment for the designated driver.

Tullibardine Distillery. Location: Blackford, Perthshire PH4 1QG.
The Tullibardine site has been a brewery since the 1400s and acquired a Royal Charter in 1503 to provision King James IV with beer. As for the distillery, this was established much more recently, in 1949 by famous distillery designer William Delme-Evans - the first distillery built in Scotland since 1900. The Tullibardine we see today is a modern distillery owned by the Picard family (Picard Vins & Spiritueux). Book ahead as due to its convenient location, tours sell-out fast.

Post-Dram Dreaming. After a long day exploring and tasting some of the best whisky Edinburgh has to offer, you’re sure to be ready for bed. To make sure you get the best nights sleep in a great location, stay at Holyrood ApartHotel Edinburgh. Situated in the heart of the city, Holyrood ApartHotel, offers an ideal base and is designed for you to feel just like at home. Perfect for short and long stays, all apartments are well equipped with all the comforts a modern traveller requires, including a fitted kitchen, a washer/dryer, free Wi-Fi and a flat-screen television with DVD player.