Transport Options

Train: There is a direct train service from Edinburgh to Pitlochry which takes around 2hrs (dependent on train) or you can travel to Strirling and contine to Pitlochry.

Bus: Megabus offer a direct service to Pitlochry and it runs every hour, the journey time is around the same as the train at around 2hrs.

My Itinerary:

Train: Scotrail: Edinburgh Waverly – Pitlochry (10:33 – 12:27)

Walk: The distillery is only a short walk from the station, you just head out of the station and turn right on the main high street and then it is a straight walk down to the distillery which is on your left hand side after around 15 minutes.

Journey Time: 2:15mins

Tour: Signature Tour (60 mins) Included three drams.

I had booked on the 13:30 tour, so I had around a 40-minute wait until my tour started. When I arrived at the distillery, I took the opportunity to check out the on-site bar called the Mash Tun.  It is opposite the reception area and has a decent selection of whisky available, which was, for the most part, reasonably priced.  Blair Athol is owned by Diageo so the whiskies on offer were all Diageo products, I opted for a Mortlach 15-year-old old which was on special for only £4 a dram. The bar is also where you can pour your own bottle of Blair Athol; they were offering a chance to bottle an 11-year-old single malt for £130.

The tour started on time and was fairly busy; we started out in the courtyard area as the heavy rain had stopped for a brief period of sunshine.  The tour starts with a brief history of the distillery; Blair Athol is one of the older distilleries in Scotland, having “officially” produced whisky since 1798 and was bought by Diageo in 1995.  The distillery was originally called Aldour, but in 1882, when Perter McKenzie bought the distillery, he wanted to change the name to Blair Atholl Distillery but was refused permission from the Duke of Atholl to get around this issue, he dropped the second L in Atholl and so Blair Athol distillery.

The tour took place on a non-production day so it was a little less noisy and warm than it might otherwise have been, Andy took us through how whisky was made and then the standard rooms were included on the tour as you got to see the four large washback’s before heading into the spirt safe room to see the copper stills.  There is a room between the washbacks and stills which had a good illustration of the distillation process, ideal for newbies who are curious about how three simple ingrediants end up in a fantastic creation called whisky! Although they do produce some single malts at Blair Athol the whisky is many used to create blends such as Johnnie Walker, with less than 1% of what is produced being used for single malt. 

The final part of the tour was the tasting, which took place above the gift shop (they know what they are doing!) and on the Signature Tour there are three drams included in the tasting. The first dram was the 12-year-old Blair Athol, which was matured in an oloroso cask; it had a sweetness on the nose with hints of vanilla, and it had a fruity and slightly sweet taste on the palate.  As I love a good sherry cask single malt I found this one to be a very enjoyable dram. The second dram was the Blair Athol Distillery Edition, which was a mix of 2 different single malts, one from an American oak cask and the other from a French wine cask, and it was very sweet on the nose for me. I got Marzipan and an oaky pepper taste on the palate.  The final dram was not made from Blair Athol but came from Isla in a Coal Isla Moch, this offered the chance to taste a contrasting smoky whisky (which is not my jam but utlimatley I will drink any Scotch).  It had a medicinal smell that was very strong on the nose, but it was not quite as sharp on the palate. Personally I thought it was quite sweet with a bit of peat coming through on the aftertaste.

The tour ended with a trip to the shop, you get a 10% voucher if you choose to pick up a bottle so I went from the 12 year old single malt as I just cant resist a sherry cask finish!