My Aberdeen Monday...

As far as Ren Man is concerned,

one of the best perks of living in Aberdeen, 

is its proximity to the ubiquitous whisky distilleries.

Unfortunately, we have not actually toured many.

We keep saying we will get around to them one day.

Of course, there is also the problem of responsible transportation 

after giving the products a good taste.

AWA came to the rescue 
and one of the members organized a bus to whisk us north to the Spey Valley, 
on the Malt Whisky Trail through beautiful Speyside in the Highlands of Scotland.

Our final destination…

Cardhu, 
is the only malt distillery pioneered by a woman 
and eventually concocted one of the main ingredients of the Johnny Walker Blend.
Because of this,
it is referred to as the 'spiritual home' of Johnny Walker.

I found this quote fascinating, 
coming from a company who, 
in an effort to change the direction of the company, 

felt it was necessary to change the direction of the 'striding man'.

The marketing gurus will tell you it made all the difference.

However, who knew that heading to the left was considered walking away 

and heading to the right is walking toward 'something'.

News to me.

After a tour of the stills…

and getting a peek of the pure spirit kept guarded in a safe,
we were invited inside the stone walled tasting room...

where we narrowed down our favorite...

beneath the glow of one massive chandelier.

The library offered a cozy final taste,  

and made our tour feel much more personal than the average public tour.

Good questions to ponder as we headed to the gift shop 
for our own bottle of the fifteen year Cardhu.

Quite a tasty tour.
'Keep Walking'