As far as whisky tastings go, besides Ian MacArthur being the most entertaining and legendary. This was my favorite whisky tasting in all of Scotland. To me at least, Bruichladdich is one of the most experimental and curiosity-provoking distilleries in Islay, with some of the weirdest cask maturation, from Bourbon to Mouton Rothschild, to Chateau […]Read Post ›

To be honest, when it came to whisky, as a novice who knew absolutely nothing 10-12 years ago, Ardbeg was like my first crush. The whisky I lost my virginity to in as far as drinking it neat and being able to drink it with enough regularity that I was able to finish an entire […]Read Post ›

This was probably the best Distillery tour of the trip. Mr. Ian MacArthur is a living legend. Make sure you book his tour well ahead of time as it gets booked very quickly as he is only there on Tuesdays I think. If you are lucky you will get baptized in some old Lagavulin by […]Read Post ›

Upon arriving in Islay and driving off the ferry we go no more than 3 blocks before we reach our dinner destination, the Islay Hotel Restaurant, don’t confuse with the Islay House Hotel, totally different. We ate at Islay Hotel and stayed at Islay House. This is basically the only place to eat in town […]Read Post ›

After we drank our way through Edinburgh and Signatory, it was time to head for the Promised Land, Islay. However, we had to drive through some other towns to reach the Cennagcraig Ferry. This oyster house in front of Loch Fyne, which goes by the same name is like the entrance to the Pearly Gates […]Read Post ›

Continuing on in Pitlochry, here is where we stayed. Castle Fonab. It is a beautiful place, with decent enough food, and proximity to the Signatory Distillery. It also is in front of a very nice Loch that is perfect for a morning walk/jog. Here is the view from our Penthouse Suite. I always wanted to […]Read Post ›

So I joined the Scotch Malt Whisky Society at the prompting of my friend, let’s just call him Jerry, after going to the Whisky Extravaganza with him in LA shortly before our Scotland trip. I really like the premise of this whisky society as their focus is on the enjoyment of the whisky rather than […]Read Post ›

This was the most epic way to end our trip. What an antipasto dish. The best beef carpaccio ever with a mozzarella di buffalo, endless wine. Wow. Here is the son of the owner in the plaid shirt to the far right..Super cool guy, Half Italian-American. He was an amazing host. It was like we […]Read Post ›

After leaving La Madia we drove straight to Palermo, where we ended our trip that weekend. We were tired after the massive lunch so I anticipated this and did not book a dinner that night that we would have to rush to, so we left it open to explore the town. No Michelin here. Just […]Read Post ›

From Syracusa we drove to Licata to try the famed La Madia for lunch before driving to Palermo for the tail end of our Sicily trip. But along the way is a beautiful town called Caltagirone. If you want to get pottery and ceramic goods, this is the place to stop. The town is full […]Read Post ›