TRAVEL SPECIAL ........... SLÁINTE!

 SLÁINTE!





You aren't in love with your amber unless you do a round-up of Scottish distillaries.
Then, there are those long walks into brooding wilderness. Stormy seas. And haggis.There's always haggis

To be fair, Scotland has a lot more delights to offer than just whisky.

There is brooding wilderness, sparkling lakes, stormy seas, haggis and men in kilts. But invariably, most travellers succumb to the charms of the amber liquid that the world calls whiskey, and the Scots, whisky.

Whisky is probably the best known of Scotland's manufactured products. From the outlaw distillers in the 18th century, it has become a global enterprise today, valued at £4.3 billion in 2013, which was 85 per cent of Scotland's food and drink exports. It supports around 10,000 jobs directly, and 25,000, indirectly.

But it isn't just any whisky ­ derived from the Gaelic word uisgebeatha, meaning `water of life' ­ that thirsty travellers come looking for. The off-the-charts demand for single malts whisky has brought about unprecedented interest and traffic to distilleries in Scotland, which have woken up to the advantages of welcoming whiskyloving tourists. With visitors buying whisky-related merchandise, eating in local restaurants and staying at local inns, the distilleries are not dependant on just selling whisky to generate profits.

Scotland has nearly 100 active malt distilleries -98 to be exact -so it really isn't tough to find one. The island of Islay alone has 11 distilleries. I chose to visit one in Tain, the little Royal Burgh that is Scotland's oldest, going by the 1066 royal char ter. With a population of less than 4,000 folks, Tain is perfect for a city-weary traveller looking for .

tranquillity and a digi tal detox.

Hidden in its country lanes and narrow roads are treasures that unravel on long walks and over a pint in the local pub. With the sea on one side and rolling green fields on the other, Tain, with its friendly folk and friendlier dogs, is the kind of place you will want to call home. And also the fact that it makes one of the most popular single malt whiskies in the world. (Hint: it rhymes with orangie).

Loved by millions around the world, the distillery -overlooking the dramatic Dornoch Firth -is the area's biggest tourist attraction. The distillery runs 24 hours a day, seven days a week, with a little break around Christmas; but with the company targeting a staggering six million litres of Scotch a year, it's always busy and whirring with sounds and smells.

Large groups descend on the visitors' centre for a peek into how barley and mineral spring water -the whisky's water source is Tarlogie Springs -get turned into an extremely flavourful, silky-smooth amber liquid, all for the lowly price of 5 quid.You could also get a heritage tour for £120, which includes a trip to Tarlogie Springs and a gourmet lunch. And the fact that you can sample a dram of any range of single malts at the distillery shop, for extra, just makes the deal intoxicatingly sweeter.The summer season can get busy so prebooking the tour is always a good idea.

The distillery today stands where the Morangie Farm once stood. It is said that the production of alcohol started at Morangie Farm in 1738, when a brewery was built that shared Tarlogie Springs, the farm's wa ter source. But in 1843, a former distillery manager, William Matheson, acquired the farm and converted the brewery into a distillery, equipped with two second-hand stills. Today, 180 years later, the number of shiny copper stills has gone up to 12, six wash and six spirits. Standing at 5.14 metres, they are the tallest in Scotland and also one of the reasons for the whisky's unique fin ish. The tall stills ensure that only the purest, most delicate vapours are con densed into spirit. Sixteen men of Tain brought out the first ever batch of whisky.

Expansion has meant that there are now 24 mashmen, stillmen and warehousemen who work round the clock, and are referred to on bottles, and in promotional leaflets as The Men of Tain.

For whisky aficionados, the tour is obviously right on top of the to-do list, but even for those with little patience or taste for whisky, the tour offers fascinating insights into the traditional process of whisky making. Like how 48,500 litres of wort -a sugary liquid produced from washing barley grist with hot water -and yeast take 52 hours to ferment in the steel washbacks. If you have a blocked nose, just a single whiff from one of those washbacks will set you right. Or that the whisky is matured in casks that were previously used to mature bourbon or wine, port or sherry. The guides are friendly, knowledgeable and passionate about whisky and more importantly, encouraging of those who want to savour and taste as many whiskies as possible. After five tastings or drams of whisky, life was indeed beautiful that glorious July afternoon.

Ruhi Batra

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