Speyside Whisky Festival
Here’s one for the diary. On May 2nd I’ll be leading a walk to help celebrate the Speyside Whisky Festival. What better cause? Along with keen Munro-bagger Alan Winchester, Distilling Manager for Malt and Grain Whisky at Chivas Brothers, I’ll be following in the footsteps of Robbie MacPherson, one of the most notorious whisky smugglers.
From The Glenlivet Distillery we’ll pass the 16th century Blairfindy Castle, climb to the summit of Cairn Daimh [570m] and continue to the site of George Smith’s original distillery in Upper Drumin. Something of a pilgrimage really!
We’ll return close to Josie’s Well, the natural spring which bubbles hourly 3,500 gallons of pure, ice cold water for making the whisky. Smugglers like the legendary Robbie MacPherson hid their stills from the prying eyes of those excise men courageous enough to venture into the lonely glen. The smugglers moved their illegal cargo out of Glenlivet along secret paths that were often impassable because of snow or floods.
More info on the walk is available from the festival organisers