Scotland has more than 120 active whisky distilleries. But many travelers will be disappointed to learn that most distilleries aren’t easily accessible from Edinburgh — at least not without some serious time and dedication. While most distilleries are hours-long train or car rides from Edinburgh, Glenkinchie Distillery is close enough to visit in half a day.

I fell in love with Glenkinchie scotch on my first trip to Scotland when I asked a bartender for the most local whisky in Edinburgh. Sweet and floral, with a subtle licorice finish, I’ve been ordering Glenkinchie ever since. So when I returned to Scotland a month later, it was an easy decision to tour Glenkinchie Distillery.

Touring Glenkinchie Distillery in Edinburgh

Getting to Glenkinchie Distillery from Edinburgh

Glenkinchie Distillery is just 15 miles outside of Edinburgh and accessible by bus, taxi, or shuttle. The distillery runs a shuttle for 10£ directly from Old Town, which is much cheaper than the 35 minute taxi (that costs about 40£ each way).

The drive, like most I’ve experienced throughout the UK, is beautiful. The distillery calls the tiny village of Pencaitland home, along with less than 2,000 residents. (How cute is that?!) While Glenkinchie opened in 1825, the village has been around since 1169! The surrounding area was built specifically so the workers could easily stumble home after a long day on the job — and a lot of post-work whisky. (Today, they aren’t as lucky!)

Touring Glenkinchie Distillery

Glenkinchie offers several types of tours, ranging from “a quick teaser” of a mini distillery model for 5£ to a 2-hour tasting tour for 150£ and several options in between. We did the Flavour of Scotland Tour (14£), a guided tour through the distillery with four tastes of scotch.

The guided tour goes through the entire process of creating scotch. You can see and smell every step of the way, even the fermentation tanks and pot stills. Having only toured American whiskey distilleries before my visit, I was surprised at the differences in production.

The biggest surprise was how short the stacks of barrels aging in the warehouse were. I’ve seen warehouses of American whiskey towering five and six barrels high, and the guides always emphasize the importance of where the barrels are located. But according to the Glenkinchie guide, height doesn’t make a difference in Scotland because the temperature doesn’t fluctuate like it does in the US. It maintains a relatively stable temperature so all the barrels age at about the same rate.

Sipping Glenkinchie Single Malt Scotch

After seeing how grain is turned into whisky, we tasted the final product. Glenkinchie is one of only four Lowland distilleries currently producing whisky, along with Ailsa Bay, Auchentoshan, and Bladnoch. Most Lowland whisky is combined with Highland whisky into blends like Dewar’s and Johnny Walker, so you might have tasted Glenkinchie even if you haven’t heard of it.

Glenkinchie Distillery only sells two bottles alone: Glenkinchie 12 and the Distillers Edition. I prefer Glenkinchie 12, with its typical Lowland flavor profile: creamy, nutty with hints of grassy and honeysuckle.

The tour guide joked that they call Glenkinchie 12 a “breakfast whisky” because it’s so light. While I agree, I think I’ll stick to the distillery’s suggestion to enjoy it as an pre-dinner aperitif! :)

Details of Touring Glenkinchie Distillery

Glenkinchie Distillery is open 7 days a week (with some holiday exceptions) with times varying depending on the season. Tours can be pre-booked online or by phone, but we called a few hours before going to make sure there was availability and showed up without an appointment.

The tour was informative and fun, plus it ended with whisky! The whole tour (including transportation) only took a few hours done by ourselves. Or, if you prefer to join a pre-arranged tour, this tour combines Glenkinchie Distillery with Rosslyn Chapel for a complete day trip.

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Related :: Guide to Scotch Regions of Scotland, Touring Tullibardine Distillery from Edinburgh, Where to eat in Edinburgh

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