JOHN O'GROATS BECKONED LIKE A LODESTONE. Its name alone would make it interesting enough for a visit; add its location on the windblown NE coast and it’s hard to resist. It isn’t the northernmost point on the Scottish mainland — that would be Dunnet Head, which we also stopped at.
Mill at John O'Groats
The scenic route along Scotland’s east coast is known as the “Whiskey Trail.” I have come to two conclusions about whiskey, Scotch if you will. First, what I didn’t know about whiskey would fill a hogshead. Second, I’ll never develop a taste for the stuff. Surprisingly, the best place to learn about whiskey is a defunct distillery. Dallas Dhu went belly-up quite a while ago and is now a distillery museum. Here’s what I learned.
Whiskey is made from three ingredients; barley (tons and tons of it), water (pure spring water is preferred) and yeast. The barley is malted to release its sugar then mixed with the water and yeast to produce alcohol. The alcohol, twice distilled in copper stills, is 80% pure and totally colorless. The color and flavor come from ageing in oak barrels previously used to store bourbon or sherry. East coast distilleries don’t use peat for flavoring like those in the west. Blended whiskey, as opposed to single malts, is diluted with grain alcohol. More accurately it is grain alcohol flavored with single malt. And the Scots will tell you, “Never drink whiskey without water. Never drink water without whiskey.”
