Speyside Whisky Experience
Speyside Whisky Experience
5
Full view
Revenue impacts the experiences featured on this page, learn more.
Similar Experiences
Speyside Whisky Experience
Booking unavailable on Tripadvisor
Want other options you can book now?
Show optionsTravellers talk about
Contribute
Most Recent: Reviews ordered by most recent publish date in descending order.
Detailed Reviews: Reviews ordered by recency and descriptiveness of user-identified themes such as waiting time, length of visit, general tips, and location information.
Popular mentions
We perform checks on reviews.
Tripadvisor’s approach to reviews
Before posting, each Tripadvisor review goes through an automated tracking system, which collects information, answering the following questions: how, what, where and when. If the system detects something that potentially contradicts our community guidelines, the review is not published.
When the system detects a problem, a review may be automatically rejected, sent to the reviewer for validation, or manually reviewed by our team of content specialists, who work 24/7 to maintain the quality of the reviews on our site.
Our team checks each review posted on the site disputed by our community as not meeting our community guidelines.
Learn more about our review moderation.
5.0
66 reviews
Excellent
66
Very good
0
Average
0
Poor
0
Terrible
0
H AndersonSantin
New York City, NY12 contributions
Oct 2023 • Family
If you are looking for a fun day with an incredibly knowledgeable guide, Derek is your man. This was an 80th birthday celebration for our father who has been a single malt man his entire life. Derek catered the tour just to his interests and took kind care of my parents the entire day. We could have gabbed for hours with him given his knowledge of the region and of whiskey! He put so many special touches on the trip, my father will be talking about it for years. Don't hesitate to book Derek for your next Whiskey tour in Speyside.
Written 7 January 2024
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
jessicasch899
Saint Louis, MO1 contribution
Mar 2024 • Couples
On our trip to Scotland last week, we spent the most wonderful day on a whisky tour with Derek. He organized a day-long visit to three distilleries (two tours with tastings, plus a tasting), as well as the Speyside Cooperage, where they make and repair barrels. Along the way, Derek shared his wealth of knowledge about whisky and the industry and answered every question we had. He was an absolute delight, and I can't recommend his tour enough!
Written 10 March 2024
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Hi Jessica. Thanks for your kind review. Very glad you enjoyed the day, and if I can impart a little whisky knowledge , my job is done ! All the best Derek
Written 13 March 2024
This response is the subjective opinion of the management representative and not of Tripadvisor LLC.
John E
39 contributions
Sept 2022
This is the second time we have used this company and have had Derek as our driver and tour guide.
Each has been a great experience and well worth the money spent for the day.
He made sure our tour was where we wanted to go and what we wanted to see as well as tossing in some locations that he knew about and wanted us to experience/
We wish we could rate this higher as it truly was a great experience.
Each has been a great experience and well worth the money spent for the day.
He made sure our tour was where we wanted to go and what we wanted to see as well as tossing in some locations that he knew about and wanted us to experience/
We wish we could rate this higher as it truly was a great experience.
Written 26 September 2022
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Whitney S
Southern California99 contributions
May 2019 • Friends
If you want to explore this Whisky region, please do yourself a favor and book a private day with Derek. He will tailor plan a day just to what you are looking for. He is a wealth of knowledge, having been in the industry and area for his entire career. We hired a driver for the day because we wanted to be safe and hopefully learn some things along the way. What we got was SO much more. I have never learned so much on a tour before. He had endless information on whisky, the history, the region, the wildlife ... I mean we asked some very random questions and Derek had every answer. Don't miss this opportunity to really get in touch with the place you are visiting. It was worth every penny. It's an experience we will never forget. Thank you Derek!!!
Written 29 May 2019
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Maria C
Hong Kong, China30 contributions
Aug 2019
It took me a while to write this review, mainly because I wanted to make sure I had sufficient time to give Derek the full credit he deserves. Derek is not just a man who has been thoroughly immersed in the water of life (in the best possible way), he is also a very thoughtful and helpful guide who took care of the trip even before it started, from hotel / travel recommendations to suggesting distilleries to visit.
A rather unique aspect are the stories he is able to share about the industry in general from his time working at G&M, starting up a distillery (Benromach) and driving its distribution.
I really enjoyed my 3 day tour with Derek and certainly look forward to the next one!
A rather unique aspect are the stories he is able to share about the industry in general from his time working at G&M, starting up a distillery (Benromach) and driving its distribution.
I really enjoyed my 3 day tour with Derek and certainly look forward to the next one!
Written 9 September 2019
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
M. Ordonez
Miami, FL229 contributions
Aug 2019 • Couples
I found Derek on TripAdvisor a few months back, when we were planning our trip to Scotland, this was definitely the highlight of our holidays. My husband loves Scotch and the Speyside Whiskey Experience was my birthday present to him. Derek made our day incredibly fun, educational and very special!
We connected by email and Derek made the planning super easy, he is extremely responsive. He asked me what my husband liked and then he put together a plan for the day that was just fantastic.
Derek’s experience and knowledge is impressive, we learned so much spending the day with him, not only about whiskey itself but it’s history, Scotland and the Speyside Region.
He organized the VIP Tour at my husband’s favorite distillery, Cardhu, where not only we had an amazing guided tour throughout the distillery, but had a great whisky tasting. He also took us to Macallan’s new distillery which is impressive and told us many interesting stories about their collection and distillery. We had a great lunch at Glenfiddich, another very good tour at Strathisla and a beautiful visit to the ancient Balvenie Castle and the Glenlivet Distillery, where we closed the day with a tasting of some of their fine whiskeys.
We had an amazing day, I highly recommend that you contact Derek, if you really want to make the most of your experience in the Speyside Region.
Thank you very much Derek, we hope to see you again in the near future!
We connected by email and Derek made the planning super easy, he is extremely responsive. He asked me what my husband liked and then he put together a plan for the day that was just fantastic.
Derek’s experience and knowledge is impressive, we learned so much spending the day with him, not only about whiskey itself but it’s history, Scotland and the Speyside Region.
He organized the VIP Tour at my husband’s favorite distillery, Cardhu, where not only we had an amazing guided tour throughout the distillery, but had a great whisky tasting. He also took us to Macallan’s new distillery which is impressive and told us many interesting stories about their collection and distillery. We had a great lunch at Glenfiddich, another very good tour at Strathisla and a beautiful visit to the ancient Balvenie Castle and the Glenlivet Distillery, where we closed the day with a tasting of some of their fine whiskeys.
We had an amazing day, I highly recommend that you contact Derek, if you really want to make the most of your experience in the Speyside Region.
Thank you very much Derek, we hope to see you again in the near future!
Written 29 August 2019
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Hi Maria. Thank you so much for such a nice review. It was certainly my pleasure to host you both for the day, and I am very pleased that you found it entertaining and educational. Keep enjoying your Scotch Whisky, and now with a bit of background knowledge it tastes even better! Derek
Written 31 August 2019
This response is the subjective opinion of the management representative and not of Tripadvisor LLC.
charlenamoy
Princeton, NJ1 contribution
Oct 2017 • Friends
My first trip to Scotland met all my expectations and more, I wanted to take a personalized single malt tour in the Speyside region. I chose "Speyside Whisky Experience" based on Derek's extensive background and accolades in the business coupled with his network. With zero hesitation Derek was extremely knowledgeable and I can honestly say I learned more than I bargained for ...
Derek is a professional, responsive, and communicative. For example,a well developed itinerary was tailored to my request and to the level of my experience and knowledge of whisky (I work within in the industry). Derek also went above and beyond by referring several dining options and historical sights.
Derek was one of the most memorable moments of our trip and I highly recommend him.
Derek is a professional, responsive, and communicative. For example,a well developed itinerary was tailored to my request and to the level of my experience and knowledge of whisky (I work within in the industry). Derek also went above and beyond by referring several dining options and historical sights.
Derek was one of the most memorable moments of our trip and I highly recommend him.
Written 9 November 2017
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
GDSK
Honolulu, HI2 contributions
Oct 2017 • Couples
During our recent trip to Scotland, my husband and I wanted to take a personalized whisky tour in the Speyside region. We chose Speyside Whisky Experience based on Derek's extensive background in the business coupled with all the positive experiences others have had with him as their tour guide. I will say, without hesitation, that it was the best decision!
As other reviewers have mentioned, Derek is the utmost professional. He is responsive and communicative. He developed a very well organized tour itinerary that was tailored to our requests and to our level of experience and knowledge of whisky. He also went above and beyond by helping us schedule a distillery tour to do on our own on a separate date (that we couldn't fit into our day with him.)
He was prompt and provided very comfortable transportation during our tour day. His depth of whisky knowledge is truly quite impressive - I honestly don’t think there was one question we asked that he didn’t know the answer to. However, what made it an even more memorable day for us, were all the bonus facts we learned about Scotland's history and culture. Derek exhibited a genuine desire to showcase Scotland and its whisky, which we really appreciated.
We cannot recommend Derek enough! We are already planning our next visit to Scotland and a tour with Derek will definitely be on the schedule.
As other reviewers have mentioned, Derek is the utmost professional. He is responsive and communicative. He developed a very well organized tour itinerary that was tailored to our requests and to our level of experience and knowledge of whisky. He also went above and beyond by helping us schedule a distillery tour to do on our own on a separate date (that we couldn't fit into our day with him.)
He was prompt and provided very comfortable transportation during our tour day. His depth of whisky knowledge is truly quite impressive - I honestly don’t think there was one question we asked that he didn’t know the answer to. However, what made it an even more memorable day for us, were all the bonus facts we learned about Scotland's history and culture. Derek exhibited a genuine desire to showcase Scotland and its whisky, which we really appreciated.
We cannot recommend Derek enough! We are already planning our next visit to Scotland and a tour with Derek will definitely be on the schedule.
Written 5 November 2017
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Andy B
3 contributions
Jun 2024 • Friends
Derek was an excellent, experienced and knowlegable host who was much more than a just an excellent driver. The distilleries were well selected and the visits well organised. He also selected a lovely cafe for lunch
Written 11 June 2024
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
stumckay
Burlington, Canada2 contributions
May 2024 • Friends
We visited 7 distilleries with Derek over 2 days and it was fantastic. His knowledge is excellent and we came away with a much better understanding of the whisky process. I highly recommend this experience, you won't be disappointed!
Written 21 May 2024
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Tom
Jakarta, Indonesia
Hi,
My wife and I will be traveling to the UK from 21-Jan-17 to 4-Feb-17,
We wil be spending time in London to visit friends and heading to Edinburgh on Sunday, 29-Jan-17.
While we're in Scotland, we would like visit the highlands and tour whisky distilleries in the Speyside region and also the historic sites.
We would be interested in a small group or private 2/3-day tours.
Tom
Written 14 November 2016
Hello Tom. Firstly many apologies for the late reply. I have not been using Trip Advisor as my main method of communication, and have just noticed your enquiry. Do you still want to discuss this tour as I am available. Some distilleriy visitor centres are closed for the winter period, however several are still open and we could arrange a nice tour. See my web site speyside whisky experience. I look forward to hearing from you. Derek
Written 17 December 2016
Showing results 1-1 of 1