Jura is found on Scotland’s west coast, next to its' busy neighbour, Islay. Although not as busy and as many inhabitants, it has whisky – well just one distillery, more later. It does however also have deer and history in abundance! Jura has been inhabited since 8000 BC and had homes since 5600 BC [...]
Anyone who has ever read my blogs, rantings and ravings online, will know for sure I am half Irish, my ma’s family of Daly (Daley) came from Co Kilkenny, Rep of Ireland. I do happen to mention this both in our whisky blogs and the mcleanscotland blogs. So with that in mind, here we [...]
Sweden may not be a name you readily think of for whisky, to be honest, me neither. Until I met Roger Melander on Islay, I was sitting at the bar of my friends' place in Port Charlotte; Lochindaal Hotel. A brief interlude here - The Lochindaal Hotel in Port Charlotte is one of Islay’s [...]
Glengoyne wetlands project have invested more than £245,000 to date working with the Wildfowl and Wetlands Trust (WWT), which conserves, restores and creates wetlands. Why are they so important? It’s because, as well as providing a home for plants, invertebrates, birds and other wildlife, wetlands are extremely energy efficient. They cover less than five [...]
Independent Scotch Whisky Merchants and Producers of the Finest Scottish Liqueurs, based in the heart of Perthshire near where I live in Perth, family owned and managed. Three generations of experience in Scotch Whisky and it shows. Whisky; that’s what we are here for, the wonderful girls Keron and Denise at Exel Wines, Perth, invited [...]
Seeing in 2022 MCLEANSCOTLAND will be welcoming 25 years in the tourism business, the last decade and a bit in the whisky tourism. Looking back, I didnee aim to be a whisky tour operator, I envisaged bringing people to Scotland, to see what a fantastic country it is, all its’ castles, lochs and glens, [...]
The escapee Irish, the divels in the pack, how did they escape? With family over there in the Emerald Isle, I do visit as often as possible, all parts of Hibernia get a calling, from the Republic in the south to the six counties in the north – so many new places to visit [...]
Whisky expert Dave Broom, from Glasgow, says Scotland’s national drink has its' origins in Ireland. He said there is “strong evidence” whisky may have been first developed in Ireland and brought to Islay, to be drunk at the seat of the High Kings (is he talking about the Macdonald’s?). Broom said: “If you look [...]
This is an interview with a friend, a Swede (in Scotland this is a neep). I first met Ingvar when we shared a table at awhisky event in Helsinki many moons ago. We seemed to hit it off right away and have met every year since. He started coming on tour with some pals [...]
As in many avenues in life, there is always an alternative – here is mine. Paul McLean is the world’s most renowned independent whisky expert (in his own mind). His Alternative Bible is the world’s newest whisky guide, with Paul having visited more distilleries in his own lunchtime than any other person who has [...]
