On 9 June 12 members of the bar team from Queen Victoria had the opportunity to visit one of the best single malt whisky distilleries in Scotland – The Highland Park distillery.
Mariusz Bujak, the Bar Manager said “For many of us it was a dream come true. Although the weather was a bit cold we had our remedy when we were welcomed into the amazing tasting room and offered a shot of one of their best malts – Highland Park Dragon Tattoo while watching an inspiring video presentation about Scotland and the house producer.”
After the video presentation the team proceeded to discover the production of malt, starting with the malting floor were the barley is germinating and then processed further through different stages such as drying and roasting the barley in a peat oven then milling it into a grist.
They were then told about how the sweet liquid from the barley is extracted – the so called ‘wort’, which is then fermented and turned, after distillation, into the spirit. This then ages in different casks sourced from America (bourbon casks) and ex-olorosso sherry casks from Spain.
To the team’s surprise and delight they were then offered to return to the tasting room where they were offered a further 3 more of the Highland Park whisky range to try.
Mariusz also said, “For all of us it was a very enriching tour as we had the opportunity to see first hand how the magic behind the production of single malt happens. The tour was especially beneficial for the bar staff in charge of various tastings, one of which is Adam Welna, our single malt tasting presenter.”
This is just another example of how we’re helping to support local communities and trying to create something unique to delight our Guests!