Highland Whisky – Glen Ord, Balblair and the Far North
Three days by car, from Inverness to Thurso.
The route
The road north from Inverness to Thurso passes a run of distilleries, and this trip takes them one tour at a time.
Glen Ord at Muir of Ord and Balblair above the Dornoch Firth fill the first day. Old Pulteney in Wick is the second, and Wolfburn in Thurso the third. One of the party is named as the driver for the whole trip, tastes nothing on the tours, and takes home the drivers' drams where a distillery gives them. The nights are near Dornoch and near Thurso.
Before you go
Book a night near Dornoch and a night near Thurso
Book both nights before the tours. The first is near Dornoch, where Links House at Royal Dornoch is one of the places we list.
Book the Singleton of Glen Ord Distillery, Muir of Ord
Book the first morning tour at Glen Ord on its own site, one that has you back on the road by noon.
Book Balblair's afternoon Discovery Experience, which has started at 2.30pm, and confirm the time when booking.
Book the 10am Classic Tour on Wolfburn's website, Monday to Friday: an hour and a half with the tasting, a miniature for the driver, no children under 6.
Ring Greens on 01862 893874 for a lunch table at about 1pm: lunch is served noon to 2.30pm, Tuesday to Saturday.
Book the Spirit of Wick tour on Old Pulteney's website for a late-morning start on a weekday: up to an hour, with drivers' drams for the driver.
Book a lunch table at No 1 Bistro in Mackays Hotel for a quarter past twelve on 01955 602323; the hotel takes card details when you book.
Day one
Muir of Ord to the Dornoch Firth
The first day crosses the Kessock Bridge and turns west to Muir of Ord for the morning, then goes north over the Cromarty Bridge to Tain for lunch. Balblair fills the afternoon at Edderton, under Struie Hill, and the night is across the Dornoch Firth.
1 hr 54 min at the wheelAbout 60 miles
The Singleton of Glen Ord Distillery, Muir of Ord
An attraction
The Singleton of Glen Ord is on the edge of Muir of Ord, 27 minutes' drive from Inverness, with a car park at the distillery. Glen Ord is where the Singleton is made. A long row of stone warehouse gables lines the road in, and the way into the visitor centre is a copper-coloured entrance cut into the old stone range. Book the first tour of the morning on the distillery's own site, one that has you back on the road by noon, and check its length, its age limit and its opening days as you book. The named driver tastes nothing on any tour of the trip, so ask when booking what Glen Ord gives a driver to take away. Scotland's drink-drive limit is 50 milligrammes of alcohol in 100 millilitres of blood, and the Scottish Government's own guidance is that one drink can put a driver over it.
More about The Singleton of Glen Ord Distillery, Muir of Ord
53 min by car
Greens Restaurant
Lunch
Lunch is at Greens, at London House on Tain's High Street, 53 minutes' drive north by the A9 and the Cromarty Bridge. Its dining room looks out on the street through tall windows. Lunch is served from noon to 2.30pm, Tuesday to Saturday, and Greens is shut on Sundays and Mondays; ring 01862 893874 for a table. If it is full, Platform 1864 in the town's old railway station opens every day from 10am: ring 01862 894181 and ask when its kitchen serves. Leave Tain half an hour before the tour at Balblair. The distillery is 13 minutes away and asks visitors to arrive a quarter of an hour before the start.
About 13 min by car
Balblair Distillery
An attraction
Balblair is at Edderton, at the foot of Struie Hill above the Dornoch Firth. A red-brick chimney banded in black stands over its slate roofs and a slated pagoda vent. It dates itself to 1790 and works with one mash tun, one wash still and one spirit still. Book the Discovery Experience for the afternoon. Its afternoon start has been 2.30pm, so confirm the time as you book, and ask on 01862 821273 what there is for a driver. Tours take no one under 12, and under-18s come with an adult. From October to March the distillery opens Monday to Friday, 10am to 4.30pm, and it is shut on Sundays all year. The night is near Dornoch, 21 minutes on, across the Dornoch Firth. Links House at Royal Dornoch, a hotel of fifteen rooms beside the golf course, is one of the places we list.
If it rains
Both tours and lunch are under a roof, so rain changes little but the views of the firths from the bridges.
Day two
Wick
The road north follows the coast by Golspie, Brora and Helmsdale into Caithness. Old Pulteney's tour is in Pulteneytown, the harbour side of Wick, lunch is in the middle of the town, and the afternoon's drive crosses the county to Thurso.
2 hr 18 min at the wheelAbout 84 miles
1 hr 35 min by car
Old Pulteney Distillery
An attraction
From Dornoch it's 95 minutes' drive up the coast to Old Pulteney, on Huddart Street in Pulteneytown, the harbour side of Wick. It has no car park, so leave the car on the street nearby. Book the Spirit of Wick tour ahead for a late-morning start. It takes up to an hour and follows the spirit from the mill to the warehouse, ending with a tasting; the driver is given drivers' drams in small bottles to take home. Wear closed shoes, as the floors are mesh and grating in places, and ring ahead if stairs are a difficulty. Children of 12 to 17 may join this tour with an adult. From October to March the distillery opens Monday to Friday, 10am to 4.30pm, and the shop and bar keep the same hours. Old Pulteney has made whisky here since 1826.
4 min by car
No 1 Bistro
Lunch
Lunch is at No 1 Bistro in Mackays Hotel, in the middle of Wick, 4 minutes' drive from the distillery. The hotel's front door is on Ebenezer Place, which is in the Guinness record books as the world's shortest street. Lunch is served until 1.45pm: sandwiches on locally baked bread, a full lunch menu, and vegetarian and vegan dishes. Book a table for a quarter past twelve on 01955 602323. Thurso is 39 minutes' drive across Caithness, and the night is near the town. House of the Northern Gate, near Dunnet, is let whole to one group of up to 18; for a smaller party, book accommodation nearby.
If it rains
The tour and the lunch are indoors. The coast road north is open to the wind at Berriedale and beyond, so allow longer in a gale.
Day three
Thurso
The last morning is a short drive to the western edge of Thurso, where Wolfburn's tour goes in among the stills and out to the warehouses. The trip ends there.
11 min at the wheelAbout 3 miles
Wolfburn Distillery
Six minutes' drive from the middle of Thurso, Wolfburn stands on Henderson Park at the western edge of the town. It has no visitor centre: the Classic Tour goes straight in among the stills and on to the warehouses. The tour runs Monday to Friday at 10am, noon and 2pm all year, and every place must be booked ahead on the distillery's website. The hour and a half includes the tasting, and the driver is given a miniature to take home instead. A small shop sits under the stills, where you can fill your own bottle. Children under 6 can't come on the tour. The distillery is wheelchair friendly, toilets included, apart from a raised steel walkway. The distillery carries the name of an earlier Wolfburn, founded in 1821.
If it rains
The tour is indoors.