The day started out with a few photos of the distillery and a chance to take in some rare Speyside sun before our tour began at 10am. We're booked into the Glenfiddich Milestone tour and we've got a full day ahead of us!

We were introduced to Andy Fairgrieve who is the archivist for William Grant & Sons and followed him to a special VIP room in the old kiln of the distillery. Our room looks directly into the mash room and almost feels like we're at a chef's table in a fancy restaurant. From here we can see production staff and tours going about their day! Andy takes us through the history of the Grant family and the construction of Glenfiddich. We learn how William Grant came to work at Mortlach distillery and his ambitions to create his own distillery. The detail Andy has is remarkable; we learn of the 9 children William and Elizabeth Grant had and how they were involved in the development of the distillery. There's a lot of information here and following the family's generations is really interesting, especially as the company is still familiar with owned and run.

Now it's time to stretch our legs! We head downstairs to the heart of the distillery, to learn a little of the process of whisky production as well as a dram to keep us going. Andy has pulled from the archives here and we're treated to a Glenfiddich pure malt 8 year old, we're told this bottle is from the 1970s and offers us a chance to try some of the older style whisky from the distillery. 

Next stop is the new still house; Still House number 3. This was opened in 2020 but matches the feel of the distillery. Here there are 16 stills lined up, gleaming and humming away at work. We take a moment to learn about the expansion of the distillery, with this new still house they now have the capacity to distil 21 million litres of alcohol a year. We also take a moment to discuss a disastrous winter in Speyside in 2008 when the roofs of some of the warehouses collapsed under the weight of the snow. The distillery released a whisky called the Snow Phoenix to commemorate the unusual event. It's another treat from the archive and we're all in agreement that it's got the delicate fruity style of a Glenfiddich but it's also got great depth. The whiskies are a variety of ages, up to 30 years old so it's a treat for us!

We climb into a mini van and head off in the direction of the cooperage at the back of the site. As we drive through the mountains of casks, we're spotting some unusual casks along ones we're more familiar with. There are come Maderia casks, lots of sherry casks in all sorts of sizes, bourbon barrels and we even spot some Colombian oak! From a viewing gallery in the cooperage, we get to watch the coopers building the casks. It's very loud, as you could imagine, but it's mesmerising. Watching the coopers size up the casks, repair broken parts and pressure test the completed casks. They make it look so easy!

From the cooperage we travel to Warehouse 8, which is home to the Solera Vats. Andy explains that they were installed in 1998 and have only ever been filled with liquid that is 15 years old. Crucially the solar is also never completely emptied, allowing the infinite mixture of whisky to evolve. The smell in here is incredible as today they are tipping casks to top the vats up. There are a dozen or so casks being emptied over a large trough and we get to watch the amber liquid whoosh past us and into the collecting tank at the end.

Leaving warehouse 8 behind, we stroll in the sunshine to warehouse 12. Here is a special treat; the opportunity to sample Glenfiddich directly from the cask and to bottle our own to take home. There are 3 casks on offer: a bourbon barrel, a red wine barrique and a virgin oak hogshead. The last cask offers us a chance to discuss virgin oak but also marvel at the colour of the whisky. You could be forgiven for thinking it is sherry as it's so dark. I choose the red wine as it's something I wouldn't normally opt for but it's absolutely delicious. 

|t's time to head back and have some lunch. A special menu has been prepared for us and Andy has one final dram for us. A cask sample of a Glenfiddich distilled in 1978. This is wonderful and we're also sipping it slowly as it's one we want to savour! A rich and complex dram which has been fully matured in Oloroso sherry casks. It's a rare look into an older single cask Glenfiddich and a fantastic way to round off the tour.

As we leave the kiln, we take a few minutes to look at the archive of items on display. There's William Grant's top hat, some very early bottles of Grant's whiskies and letters from the family. As it's the Spirit of Speyside, we decided to spend some time in the bar sampling the two single casks for the festival. Well it would be rude not to....

It was a full day at the distillery and if you want to get behind the scenes of Glenfiddich then I can't recommend the Milestones tour highly enough. Thanks to Andy and Brian for showing us around and providing such a positive experience. These two really knew their stuff and shared a wealth of experience. Brilliant ambassadors for Glenfiddich and Speyside!

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