A West Highlands Whiskey Distillers Guide

I was first introduced to this area because my parents bought the Drimnin Estate on the Morvern Peninsula about 20 years ago. I remember going there for the first time – it felt like we were driving in the middle of nowhere, but in a good way. Like much of the West Highlands, which is a large area, Morvern is beautifully isolated. People assume, just because they’ve driven three and a half hours from Glasgow, that life doesn’t exist here, but it does. People do normal things, it just takes them longer to get to the supermarket and the pub.

The only ways to get here are to take the bunk train to Fort William, or take the train to Glasgow and then drive. While both options are long, in each case you travel through these incredibly dramatic mountain landscapes. The sleeper train runs right past Ben Nevis, while the journey from Glasgow takes you through Glencoe.

The first thing I would do would be to hike in the Morvern Hills – it is heavily wooded and in autumn the colors are super beautiful. That, or I would walk to the end of the peninsula where you can often see otters. Either way, he would have Clare Holohan in tow. clare run Herbs of the Western Highlands at Lochaline, specialized in phytotherapy, consultations, walks and retreats, and makes walking the most revealing experience you can imagine. All the things you would normally step on turn out to be amazing things to eat or use as some kind of medicine.

I would then take you to see our distillery, where we do whiskey tastings for our sustainably made Scotch. My relationship with the area changed when I founded the Nc’nean distillery here. I quit my job in London in 2013 to focus more on it, and I’ve been working on it ever since. After that, we would head to alan haymanThe gallery, which is on the property: Alan is a Montrose born artist who paints beautiful pictures of the west coast of Scotland. And for dinner he would go to The White House in Lochaline, a wonderful restaurant serving well-cooked local food.

Mull is worth visiting another day. The main town is Tobermory, with its beautiful multicolored houses along the front. It also has an incredible natural harbor; it’s as if someone had taken a bite out of the island and sank it again. There is an amazing restaurant right on the edge called coffee fish, serving super fresh and simply cooked fish, especially shellfish, for which the area is known. Afterward, stop by for a drink at the hodgepodgea famous seaside pub founded in 1869.

I absolutely adore cheese, and the guys at the Isle of Mull Cheese shop, around 40 years old, operates in a similar sustainable ethos to Nc’nean, using a traditional dairy with 130 grass-fed cows. They produce two cheeses: Isle of Mull and Hebridean Blue. There’s also a bakery that makes cookies, but when the cheese is this exceptional, you hardly need a cookie.

When cheese is this exceptional, you hardly need a cracker.

You should also take a boat trip. On a good day you may spot whales, dolphins or porpoises, and if you look up you may also see huge golden and white tailed eagles soaring around. The princess of the Hebrides, which has 28 cabins, can take you basically anywhere you want to go on the west coast. Head to Staffa Island and see Fingal’s Cave, which is famous for its spectacular rock formations.

The Hebridean Princess sails mainly from Oban, the main town just south of Morvern, which has grand stone houses along its seafront. Oban is also famous for its seafood, but I must point out Oban’s Fine Wine and Whiskey Shop, which is excellent. Also, if you are looking for gifts, ardalan weavers on Mull they weave beautiful textiles from local wool, creating clothing, scarves and blankets.

Some things about Scotland are well known: it rains a lot and there are a lot of mosquitoes. I don’t think anyone ever loves mosquitoes, certainly not me. But it’s still amazing here, especially in the summer because the days are so long. We are noticing more and more people coming in the “shoulder” seasons as well, like March and October. I guess then it’s quieter in the touristy parts, and there are no mosquitoes.