PR invite // All thoughts and opinions are, of course, my own.
Glen Ord is located outside of Inverness and is one of the three distilleries that make whisky for the Singleton brand along with Dufftown and Glendullan. I got the opportunity to travel up and see the new Singleton Visitor Centre ahead of their reopening on the 8th July.
Singleton Glen Ord Distillery Tour
The distillery is about a half hour drive away from Inverness and as you drive in to the area you spot the double pagodas which I always think is a great sight to behold. You’re greeted by the shop as you step inside the Visitor Centre and straight ahead in the middle of the space there’s a circular bar & deli where you can get a coffee, dram, cocktail or perhaps a slice of cake or some cheese. I love that they’re offering so many options which allows for the bar & deli to be somewhere you can spend some enjoyable time.
The tour starts next to the bar in an area where the production process is introduced. You then move outside and along to the building with the mash tun, wash backs and still room. Photos were allowed in all areas but restricted to one corner of the still room marked by a Singleton branded rug. Heading outside once again the tour continues to the warehouse, where we got the chance to nose bot a sherry and a bourbon cask before ending up back in the Visitor Centre where we also saw the lovely tasting room. Unfortunately we did not do a tasting this time, but would definitely consider coming back as they pair the whisky with a macaron – and that’s just two of my favourite things coming together!
Dinner by Tony Singh
I’ve heard so much about Tony Singh lately so I was really excited to see that he was invovled with the event and creating the dinner menu. He focuses on Scottish-Indian fusion and brought out an incredibly flavourful 3 course menu for us.
To start off we had a Chaat of Roe Deer Tartare with Apple and Gooseberry and if I had to choose I would have to say this was my favourite dish of the evening. It was just such a lovely mix of good things and I really enjoyed that it was served as a tartare. The main was Curry of Queenies which was spicy, but not hot and I’m all here for a good curry any day of the week. This was also my first time trying queenies, which are like small chickpea sized scallops. To end the dinner there was a Ivoire Mousse with black pepper and highland strawberries which we enjoyed with our dram of the Celebratory Glen Ord bottling that celebrates the reopening of the Singleton Visitor Centre.
Singleton Cocktails
There were some delicious and varied cocktails being served during the evening that had been created by the Malts Ambassador Ervin Trykowski. My favourite was the raspberry one which Ervin described as a mix between a Clover Club and Cranachan. It really had a note of fresh raspberries that went wonderfully with the whisky. We also had a Pandan Highball which was delightfully refreshing and really intriguing with the lovely fragrance from the pandan leaf decoration.
Alongside the dinner we had a cocktail to pair with each course. First out was the Orchard which was fairly light and fresh which was a great way to start off. For the main we had a so called “Glass of Wine”, which even was served in little wine bottles with branding on the front. It was designed to have a similarity to a glass of white wine and I thought it tasted like a mixture between a dry white wine and an old fashioned. To finish the evening we had an actual chocolate old fashioned which had a nice balance which didn’t make the cocktail too sweet or overpowered.
Ness Walk Hotel
For our stay we were booked in at Ness Walk which was a lovely hotel with an elegant design and comfortable beds which I would definitely consider when I return to Inverness. You can read more about my hotel review here.
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