jbright's Travel Journals

jbright

 
What was your most challenging travel experience?

Having to get to Greece. It was such a pain driving 10 hours from Germany to the port in Italy. Then we had to wait overnight in the car--all the hotels were booked--until the ferry left the next morning.

  • From United States
  • Currently in Germany

British Isles 2010

All the things I've seen, places I've been whilst studying throughout the UK and Ireland in summer '10.

Day 31: The Masterblender Nose Best

Scotland Edinburgh, Scotland  |  Jun 13, 2010
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Highlights

  • Masterblenders use only their nose to decide if a whisky is good or not. They also have to go through years of training for it.

Today we woke up early so that we could explore Edinburgh Castle. It was quite drizzly and everyone had their umbrellas out, but we were given audio guides that allowed us to tour what we wanted at our leisure.

After that, Mimi, Gill, Brian, Ashley, and I made our way to the Scotch Whisky Experience. With our student discount, we only had to pay 8 pounds to get a full-length tour of how whisky is made. It was literally a ride; like something you’d find in a theme park. We piled into two different barrels—yes, barrels, like the kind whisky matures in—and were given an animated tour by the ghost of one of the Masterblenders. This ride took us through all the different stages of how whisky is created, what ingredients are needed… basically the entire process. 

We were then herded into a room where one of the employees explained more in-depth. What she really focused on were the differences between the four regions: Lowlands, Speyside, Highlands, and Isla brews. We were then meant to smell exaggerated fragrances of some of each region’s signature tastes. Isla smelled smokiest and richest. Highlands is most famous for the smell/taste of heather, Speyside for being floral. Where we are, in the Lowlands, is commonly regarded as one of the most neutral and ‘best for beginners;’ what we smelled was more of a shortbread. 

Next, we headed to Hard Rock Café, got lunch, watched a match, and bought HRC Edinburgh shirts. We headed to the cutest candy store afterward. The entire thing was pink, and it really just had a huge selection of homemade candy, throwbacks, some common and others very uncommon.

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Algeria 0-1 Slovenia

Serbia 0-1 Ghana

Germany 4-0 Australia

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