The Glenkinchie Distillery is a must-go and a definite highlight of my trip to Scotland. In our 6 people group, we had novice whisky drinkers to whisky enthusiasts, however we all had the best time at the distillery! To start off with, the distillery is situation in a beautiful part of Scotland, only 35-45 minutes away from Edinburgh (via car). As we entered the distillery we were warmly welcomed by our friendly and incredibly knowledgeable tour guide, Nick! Right from the start he made us feel right at home and even remembered all my email inquiries that I had prior to the tour. I cannot recommend him enough! Not to mention the distillery itself is very beautiful, the garden at the entrance is covered with beautiful flowers. We selected the cask experience which was a thorough and well put together tour that explained the process of making whisky from each stage in great detail. Nick explained everything very well and kindly answered all of our questions. After seeing and learning about the process of making whisky, we got to try a myriad of whiskies from Glenkinchie, we learnt the different flavour profiles as well as the special qualities of each whisky, we all learnt so much in the few hours we were there. I highly recommend the cask experience as it was also an incredibly special to see whisky drawn from the cask! Lastly, what was most special about Glenkinchie is the people who work there, we can undoubtedly feel the passion and love for their craft, they are truly the main reason that makes Glenkinchie so special. And of course the whiskey is absolutely fantastic, so definitely grab a bottle if you're there! Thank you so much Nick and the team and also the amazing distillers. we will be back for another visit soon! read more

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We went to a few whisky distilleries during our Scotland trip and we all agreed that the Glenkinchie experience was the best out of them! - All the staff we met were super nice - from receptionist, to the small restaurant staff, to the retail store sales - Our guide for the tour did a very good job introducing the basics of whisky making, and was funny and honest too when we asked his opinions on some of their whisky offerings - The cold meat platter at their restaurant bar was simple yet delicious - So many interesting and unique stuff they sell at their retail section! All of us bought a few bottles of the Game of Thrones series. It's not too far of a drive from Edinburgh. Highly recommend anyone visiting the Lowlands area spare some time at Glenkinchie! read more

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Glenkenchie is a beautiful distillery! Very well maintained with a ton of history. This was our 6th distillery and our favorite. Our guide Jack was wonderful and extremely knowledgeable. He answered all of our questions! They have a bar upstairs that is a wonderful place to sit and have a bite and a bit more whiskey if you have time! read more

An amazing experience! The shuttle was extremely convenient and our tour guide, Willie was absolutely spectacular. He was very personable, tried to remember each of our names, was very knowledgeable, and encouraged an open minded approach to whiskey. We got to try 3 different types of whiskey and a whiskey highball (which was my favorite since I'm still new to whiskey). I thought the shuttle times were a bit inconvenient at first, but it ended up working perfectly, giving us enough time to taste a few additional drinks, peruse through the giftshop and enjoy the view. read more

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The tour was absolutely amazing! The knowledge you learn, the fun stories, and the delicious single malts made it a memorable experience. My tour guide, Willie, made everyone feel welcomed and involved throughout the tour. A must do tour when you are in Edinburgh! read more

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Best tour we have ever done. Very informative and fun. Ask for Willie. Plan to stay awhile!

Kirsty is an exceptional tour guide. Upon arrival she greeted us, successfully guessed my name, and helped lock away our luggage. The tour was extremely well-executed, with many visual effects and other sensory experiences included. Kirsty and John are both very knowledgeable about the business but also about past and present staff. Most importantly, they truly do care about the utmost in quality when it comes to whiskey-but also their place on Earth, the people they work with, and those that visit. The distillery is 45 minutes from Edinburgh and we had some (rare) trouble finding a taxi in time to make our train to London. Kirsty and staff were so very helpful in assisting with this and we did catch our train after all. It was a bit stressful but Kirsty provided a couple more tastes of whiskey which helped. :) Thank you all for a great experience! I highly recommend this tour. Cheers! read more

OMG , this place is magical. The entire grounds are so beautiful. The history of Glenkinchie and the atmosphere here was mind blowing. The tour was very friendly and informative. I'd spend all day here if I could. read more

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Spending some time in Scotland on vacation and one of our group really wanted to do a cask tasting tour at Glenkinchie, while somewhat hesitant i went along. WOW, i am glad i did. I thought i knew a lot about whiskeys, but i learned a great deal about the process, business and history during this tour. Nick the guide was funny and engaging. The tastes right from the cask was amazing. Best of all the bus back to downtown Edinburgh allowed everyone to have a good time. Highly recommend as it was a very enjoyable and entertaining afternoon. read more

The tour has great guides. Our guide, Willie, shared great information on the process of making whiskey. Well worth the visit. Each person receives a tasting of two types of Glenkinchie whiskey: 1.) single malt 2.) triple matured. I typically take my drink with ice, but Willie shared the complexity of the liquors without adding water. Bravo! read more

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David Davidson was top 2 tour guide (other top two was Brian from Auchentoshan) and Kevin and myself (Corey) have been to around 20 distilleries now. The behind the scenes tour was perfectly customized to our existing knowledge of the making of scotch, so David concentrated more on your specifics and much more access to things we have not been allowed to see prior. The cask sampling/tasting and subsequent tasting of the cask/16/23 was quite delicious. We both bought and filled our own bottle of the cask strength and that was such a nice touch! I tried to tip the bastard but he wouldn't take it :). Great tour, great grounds, exceptional tour guide. Well done! Thanks David! read more

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Willie was a great tour guide. So helpful and friendly. He went above and beyond our expectations. Highly recommend him.

We got a private tour with John and it was simply amazing! The tour is superb! Highly recommend a visit when you're in or near Edinburgh!

I've been visiting Glenkinchie since 2017 because of its location that every time when I come to Edinburgh with friends/clients, I'd love to drive them there to see the model of whole whisky making process. It gives visitors a very straight forward understanding for each step, which is very helpful before start to see the real milling machines, mash tun, washback & stills in difference places/rooms. read more

Could not have been happier with this tour. Showed up with no scheduled appointment and was given the royal treatment. The guide, Gavin, was warm, kind, knowledgeable and generous with the drams! We did the "warehouse" tour which included a tour of the production facilities (both historic and currently in use) as well as the warehouse with some amazing barrels are still resting. We tasted right out of 2 unique barrels (one 31yrs old and one 12 year old) and ended with some additional drams in the shop. Could not recommend this highly enough as a wonderful tour. Gavin is brilliant! Slainte! read more

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Anita A and I made the trek from Edinburgh to the Pencaitland. Past Tranent -as we are Lothian bus card holders we get to travel the first 2 zones and only pay for the last one. Saved us a bit of money. At the village bus stop we phoned the "need a lift" guy and he took us and 5 Koreans to the distillery. As long as we promised to have a drink at his pub on the return trip. We used a Group On voucher for a full tasting an tour. Which normally would have been £12 each. We were greeted by a young fella who took us on the tour. He was very knowledgeable and we got a good laugh. He took also care to speak clear and plain so the Koreans got to understand the trip as well. We learned how the whisky is made, prepared and kept for maturing. Also what " angel's share " means. They are part of the same company that makes Johnny Walker, Lagavullin, Dimple and the likes. They are located around a well. This well is kept behind lock and Key, in a big closed off barn like structure without windows. Very mysterious. After the tour we got to taste some samples. 12, 15 and distillers special. Then it was exit through the gift shop. The pub landlord cum taxi driver picked us up and we took a few drinks in his pub, before long the bus showed and we went back on our jolly way to Edinburgh. The trip in total took the best part of 4 hours. I enjoyed it and will definitely try other distilleries. read more

Glenkinchie - Beer, Wine & Spirits Near Me - Pencaitland, ELN

Attention whisky aficionados....you should not stay overnight in this beautiful and merrily educational distillery... no matter how temped you might be... The Glenkinchie was founded in 1837, and thank goodness is still fully operational. Check out its visitor centre and guided tours...fascinating!!! The tour guide was knowledgeable and super-cool making the whole experience an outstanding one!!! Highly recommended for Single Malt whisky lovers. read more

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Our trip to Glenkinchie using public transport from Edinburgh was definitely an adventure. I expected the UK to be rainy, but unfortunately didn't bring proper shoes. The trek to Glenkinchie involves a 45 minute long bus ride, and then walking for about two miles to the distillery on a dirt road. I knew this would be unpleasant, but I couldn't rationalize not TRYING to go. So we went. We waited at the bus stop for nearly 30 minutes because the bus was late. This didn't seem so surprising, given the weather conditions. We met some nice Germans from Dresden who were also making the trek to Glenkinchie, and chatted them up. At least we had friends to accompany us on our trek! On the bus ride, we saw flooded playgrounds (water up to the tall beam of swingsets), suggesting that this long spell of rain was not to be expected. Lucky us. Almost to the end of the line, and the bus pulls over, and the driver in his thick Scottish accent tells us we must get off and board a van. I kid you not, we boarded a van (the four of us) that took us to the end of the line. We were hoping he would magically drive us to the distillery, but alas, he dropped us off two miles out and we made our trek in the sprinkling rain. The rain could have been much worse, but I'm not sure my shoes would have noticed; they were soaked through after 10 minutes of walking. Parts of the road were covered in water, resulting in attempts to cross at the shallowest part. Hey, my shoes were already wet! Did it really matter, at that point? In the last half mile to the distillery, after clearing the path for several cars who drove right past us, a car pulls up and offers us a ride to the distillery. Wet, cold, and uncomfortable, we warned him that we would dampen his car, but he took us on anyway and drove us the last half mile to our destination. By the time we finally got to the distillery, there were actually tons of other tourists there, who looked at us with a bit of disdain. Ah, the things we do for scotch. The guy who gave us the tour was great, and we paid for the premium tasting at the end. It was here that I discovered my love for Islay malts (Lagavulin is delicious) after previously categorically rejecting them based on the barbecue smoke flavor. Josh K. even picked up a souvenir glass. They are owned by Diageo, and there is definitely a corporate feel to the whole distillery. I learned a lot though, and overall, it was worth the day's excursion. This could be the effect of buying an expensive mattress (you've already spent the money/time anyway, so you might as well extoll the virtues rather than making yourself feel worse), but I would not have been satisfied had we not attempted to make it out here. read more

Glenkinchie - it's a local distillery. The whisky itself is as mild as you get - and a great introduction to those who want to step a trembling toe into the golden-hued waters of this particular aqua-vitae. For those who like a peaty smokey flavour, it won't put up much a of a fight to convince you. We went on the basic tour. I was the designated driver (no encouragement of drink driving thank you very much... although I was chastised by a slightly humourless cashier for making a joke about excessive drinking) so my samplings went to my partner in crime, though not too many (as per chastisement). Although I was a little peeved that my joke fell so flat, have to give the lady credit for being responsible about an establishment that positively encourages drinking... although clearly more of the appreciative type rather than binge (have you ever tried to slam a shot of whisky down? I don't recommend it). The tour itself was great - Daniel, our guide was friendly and coped with our never ending barrel of questions. We struck out - a tour of just ourselves and missing the tour buses that were filtering in and out of the distillery. He clearly enjoys his trade and took us through the distillery, seemingly ad libbing along the way. At the end, my friend got to try numerous samples whilst figuring out a suitable gifts to take home to his family and got more than we paid for. Nice service and no rush about standing supping away on his drams. When you buy the tour you also get a fiver off (per ticket) a bottle of whisky. The G-man bought 2 bottles and got a tenner off using both our tickets - so not sure if it's a fiver per bottle or multiple tickets can be used against one bottle. It's a nice little incentive. Glenkinchie is owned by Diageo, a pretty large drinks corporation. It's changed since my last visit, and the marketing side is very clear. Not sure how I feel about big corporations (I have an inclination to compare Diageo to MacDonalds versus a small holding selling their wares) but at the end of the day, Glenkinchie is a pleasant afternoon trip out for (mainly) adults, as well as a pleasant whisky. read more

A great Sunday trip... Fun and informative tour... An Edina trip must! read more

What a cool way to spending a morning...yes a morning whisky tasting! Yup its a gid Scottish Breakfast! Firstly getting to the Distillery can be a bit of a trek.. about an hour on the bus, from town ..no sweat then its about a 45 min walk, great if its a fine day, but if you are planning to go, their is a chap that will pick you and your friends up for £6 and give you a lift to the distillery ( you'll find a board at the bus stop with the mobile on) after the distllery tour he will pick you up and talk you back to his pub ( a couple of metres away from the bus stop) and ask you to buy a drink. Thats is all for being so friendly and driving us there and back! The distillery was really enjoyable, and although i am not a fan of whisky i still like to learn and taste! We tried 4 malt whiskys inlcuding a Glenkinchie 12 and 15 year old, a Tallisker and Dimple, We were toured by a lovely women, who had a great knowledge of it all! it cost £12 per person for the 4 malts at the end and £7 for two , including the tour ofcourse. This is a fabulous wee day trip out of the weather is semi decent. Please go! read more

I'm surprised to not see more 5 star reviews. We visited 15 distilleries during our 10 days in Scotland. Glenkinchie has one of the most informative and unique visitor centers of the bunch. Including having a working spirit safe in the visitor center that you can manipulate the controls on and a huge cut away model of a distillery. The staff were some of the nicest people we encountered on our trip and they were very accommodating with our disabled son. The tasting room is very nice albeit quite crowded during our visit, read more

The visit was very informative and enjoyable due in large part to our guide Fraser. Glenkinchie is about 30 minutes away from city center Edinburgh and situated just slightly outside a pleasant little village. This is a modest part of the Diageo empire but while it's unassuming it is also an important part of Lowland whisky history and a nice introduction to the distilling process. By all means worth a visit, whether it's your only chance to visit a true Scottish distillery or as a pregame before heading up north. read more