Explore four scenic distilleries in the U.K.

Rachel Barrie, master blender for Scotch distilleries BenRiach, The GlenDronach and Glenglassaugh, leads a tasting in what is quite possibly the most perfect setting imaginable for such a thing. She stands just outside of the Glenglassaugh stillhouse on a grassy lawn overlooking the northeastern coastline. It’s late April, and the heather and wildflowers are in full bloom, the sun lighting up the dark blue water just beyond. Of course this is Scotland, so a few minutes later the skies open up with a barrage of hail and rain. But Barrie takes it all in stride as she waxes philosophically about the craft of whisky making.

“New make spirit ebbs and flows like the tides,” she says. “Nature is much bigger than any of us.”

Beverage giant Brown-Forman owns Jack Daniel’s, one of the bestselling whiskey brands in the world. The company has been expanding into the Scotch and Irish whiskey markets in the past few years as well. In 2015, Brown-Forman partnered with Alex and Henry Conyngham and Slane Irish Whiskey, and a year later it acquired the aforementioned three single malt Scotch distilleries.

“Brown-Forman has a history of bringing great whiskey to the world, beginning with our company’s founding in 1870,” says John Hayes, chief marketing officer of Brown-Forman Brands. “We’re looking to plant our stake as a leader in the global whiskey landscape. We’re also looking at these brands and distilleries as new opportunities and long-term investments in our future.”

The three Scotch distilleries are not as well known in the United States as brands like Glenfiddich and The Glenlivet at this point, and Slane is just getting started. This could change with the infusion of money, marketing and attention that Brown-Forman’s backing brings.

The Scotch distilleries are located in the Highlands and Speyside regions, areas known for lighter whiskies that are generally unpeated (with some exceptions). The GlenDronach, which was founded in 1826, exclusively uses sherry casks for its whisky maturation. Global brand ambassador Stewart Buchanan likens the whisky to a double espresso, noting that it concentrates in flavor as it ages in Oloroso and Pedro Ximenez casks sourced from Spain. The distillery’s setting in Aberdeenshire is profoundly bucolic. Sheep graze literally next door to the warehouses, and the sound of roosters crowing fills the air as the distillery wakes up and rumbles into action. There are about 35,000 barrels aging onsite, with the oldest dating back to 1968.

The GlenDronach was shut down from 1996 to 2001, when a company called Allied Distillers brought it back to life. It passed through several other corporations, including Pernod Ricard, before Brown-Forman acquired it. Nowadays, the core lineup features non-chill-filtered, natural-colored whisky aged for 12, 18 and 21 years in a variety of sherry casks. A 15-year-old expression will be added to the range in the next year or two as well. The distillery is open to visitors year round, with tour options ranging from 5 to 35 pounds (about $6-$47) per person.

BenRiach is known for making three types of whisky – unpeated, peated and triple distilled (the latter of which is more common in Ireland than Scotland). The whisky made at the distillery is much lighter than at The GlenDronach and is marked by what Buchanan describes as a signature fruity note, almost like green apple or pear. The distillery was founded in 1898, but was inactive (aside from its malting floor) from the early 1900s until 1965. The malting floor is an old-school operation in which barley is spread out to germinate before being kiln-dried. It’s still in use for a few weeks every year, during which peated new make spirit is produced. This distillery isn’t the prettiest to look at, but the range of products that comes out of it is quite interesting. The flagship expression is a 10-year-old unpeated whisky, aged mostly in bourbon and virgin oak casks with a bit of sherry cask liquid as well. There is also a new 12-year-old sherry wood expression, a 20-year-old aged in four types of casks, and an excellent 25-year-old that will be released in the U.S. this summer at about $550 per bottle. Distillery tours are available by appointment, last about 90 minutes and cost 35 pounds (about $47) per person.

Glenglassaugh is a truly unique distillery. It’s located on the Moray Firth coast at Sandend Bay, where unusually sweet whisky is aged and finished in a variety of casks. The distillery opened in 1875, was rebuilt in the 1960s and shuttered in 1986. It reopened in 2008, making it a fairly new player on the scene. Subsequently, the core range does not have age statements, although a 10-year-old expression is planned. Brown-Forman will expand the whisky to the American market over the coming year, and it will likely be well received; the expressions are light, sweet and easy to drink.

Revival is a mix of bourbon and red wine casks that has been further matured in sherry oak; Evolution was matured in Tennessee whiskey barrels (the Jack Daniels connection at work); and Torfa (Norse for “turf”) is a peated expression that is aged in bourbon barrels. There are several other cask-finished whiskies available, as well as some rare, ultra-aged expressions that were produced prior to the distillery’s closing in 1986. Visitors are welcome year round with tours ranging from five to 35 pounds (about $6-$47) per person.

Across the Irish Sea, the small burg of Slane is about an hour’s drive north of Dublin. This town is best known for the Slane Castle Concerts, a music festival that has taken place on the grounds of the historic Slane Castle for more than 30 years. Henry Conyngham founded the festival in 1981, and since then, artists like U2, Guns N’ Roses and Bruce Springsteen have performed in front of enormous crowds. His son, Alex, co-founded Slane Irish Whiskey with Brown-Forman, and the distillery located adjacent to the castle he once lived in as a child opened this past fall.

The sourced whiskey is further matured in three cask types – sherry butts, Tennessee whiskey barrels and virgin oak casks – before blending and bottling. The distillery is new, a far cry from those in Scotland that have been around for a century or more. Exciting things are happening at Slane, with plans to eventually produce triple-distilled malt whiskey, Irish pot still whiskey and grain whiskey onsite, which will all be blended together before undergoing the same triple cask maturation as the current product. Hour-long tours can be booked online for 18 euros (about $21) per person.

Check out the galleries above for an exclusive look at The GlenDronach, The BenRiach, Glenglassaugh and Slane Irish Whiskey distilleries.