Blair Athol Distillery

This is my second whisky distillery tour this month and I have not been disappointed. The distillery is located near Blair Atholl and Pitlochry and is easily accessible from the town centre.
It is true that about 70% of their produced Blair Atholl Single Malt Whisky is sold on to Johnnie Walker and the like, but the rest is kept by the distillery for their distribution of the 12 yr old single malt. They market their flavor as fruity, sweet and nutty. Some % are used for Arthur Bells own Brand called Bell’s, which is also a blended Scotch Whisky.
Tour members pay £6 per person. The entrance and reception room is very large with lots of seating possibilities. You can also walk around an introduction area that informs you of the early history of the distillery up to now.
The tour guides are very knowledgeable and explained the necessary elements in just half an hour.
We were shown the Mash Tunks, Fermentation and Still rooms and filling station, as well as part of their warehouse. Sadly, the barrels were displayed behind glass and you were not able to smell the evaporating Angel’s share. Behind the glass we could see the barrels stored and some of them dating back to 1969, which will cost you about £700.
Included in the price is a drum of 12yr old Blair Atholl Whisky that you can taste after the tour has finished.
At the end of the tour you are able to buy some bottles of whiskey from their gift shop. They also sell Talisker, Caol Ila, Bells and other whisky’s.
The premises appear very clean and offer the perfect showcase for visitors to the area. Good thing is that it only takes 1.5 hrs from Edinburgh to get there by car.

Best. Tour. Ever. Pay £5, get a £3 voucher off a bottle of whisky and a proper tasting at the end. The tour guide was amazing and the tour was small, allowing for plenty of personal attention. The guide took his time and made sure everyone understood the process. He provided a lot of information and made all of it accessible. He was excellent!
The distillery itself is right outside of town, making for a pleasant walk. There is no restaurant, which was slightly disappointing, but the gift shop is cute and the grounds are nice, too.

This is a wonderful distillery on the main road through Pitlochry. Having visited the famous salmon ladder, where you can (at the right time of year) see salmon jumping up the ladder, you can make your way south of the main town to Blair Atholl.
I don’t know if it’s still true, but when we visited last, Blair Atholl was made purely to put into Bells blended scotch. The tour of the distillery covers all the usual things, then explains that this is one of the very few places one can sample single malt Blair Atholl. When I chatted to the tour guide later, I found that the hospitality room bar had samples of all the malts that go into Bells — can’t remember offhand if it’s 14 or 15. He then proceeded to make me try most of them!
Goodbye braincells, I must leave you! Luckily, we were travelling by train and staying in Perth, not far away.
If you continue along the road, there are signs for Edradour distillery — see another review!
Oh, the tour is excellent, the whisky is, if anything, too nice to go into a blend and the tour guide is a marvellous man!