Wow! We toured the cooperage on the middle of several distillery tours and I have to say it was just as good. With as much colour, flavor and fragrance as the barrels contribute to whisky, this tour teaches you just how important cooperage work is. The tour guide was one of my favorites on the whisky trail. She was funny, friendly and extremely knowledgeable. We learned so much about what goes into barrel making and repair, it really is a key part of making whisky. I highly recommend this tour if you are a whisky connoisseur. read more

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We had booked ourselves in for the 1pm tour on a Friday. A lovely 1 hour tour started with an instructive video, followed by a tour of a very busy cooperage and finished by a dram of whisky. Seeing these coopers at work and the traditional methods they use is amazing. Well worth the visit. read more

A stop on my whiskey tour in the Scottish Highlands.  They make and fix cask here.  I thought, well a barrel is a barrel and you put whiskey in it, let it sit around, and several years later bottle it.  Overly simplistic but well worth a stop. Stopped by about an hour before closing so did not get a lot of time to read all the displays.  They have a walkway over looking the work shop that can get crowded with tour groups.  The tour guide explains the process of building, repairing, charring, and quality testing of a barrel.  A lot more is more involved than I thought.  The type of wood and what was previously stored in it matter.  A sherry cask, I understand, can go for several hundred Euro since there is a limited supply of them.  Charring opens up the wood so a distillary can ask for a light, medium, or heavy char which will affect the taste of whiskey.  No glue is used at all so how well the barrel is put together is important.  Reeds are usrd to fill in gaps so technique is very important. It was interesting to learn they offer a four year trade program.  Upon completion they are offered a job. A short video was included in our tour.  It was a more polished look of the importance of the barrel in whiskey production and history of the company. The gift shop has a cafeteria for light snacks, drinks. and coffee.  The gift shop has the usual gift shop items plus small whiskey bottles from different distilleries.  Not being a distillery, they do offer their own whiskey for sale made by a ghost distillery.  It made a nice gift for several friends. Definitely worth a stop. read more

Fascinating tour! We had some time to kill before a scotch tour and tasting elsewhere later in the day, so we decided to squeeze the cooperage visit in. So glad we did, definitely worth the time. read more

What an interesting experience! I was very unfamiliar with the Cooper profession and it was amazing to watch these talented workers go through fixing and rebuilding casks like it's nothing (even though it takes 4 years of training to get the job). Fun fact, the Guinness World Record holder fixed a cask in 3 minutes at this very spot! I would highly recommend stopping here in addition to a distillery tour nearby. A+ gift shop with alcohol from local distilleries, hand made items from old casks, and other items that make great gifts for anybody. Plus they had an excellent cafe. The staff was incredibly friendly and informative. read more

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My 11, 9, and 8 year old visited with me. We learned about how to make casks to store and age whiskey and wine. The video was short and informative, then we got to view the factory and watch the men at work. A retired cooper was there to answer questions. Then we go to try to build a barrel ourselves. It's a lot harder than you might think. There are many distillery tours. This would be a great combo to do with one of those tours. read more

Speyside Cooperage - Press pushes metal bands into place to hold barrel together. - Tours Near Me - Scotland, MRY

What a fascinating and educational tour. We learned so much here where most whiskey barrels are made either from brand new wood or reconditioned port, sherry or wine barrels. Tour guides were very welcoming and informative. Make time to visit this place. read more

We visited the Cooperage on a recent cycle touring holiday - initially we stopped (in true cyclist fashion) for the cafe but we also decided to go around the visitor centre. I am so glad we did as it was really excellent, with friendly staff on hand to answer our questions and chat to us. There is an introductory film about cooperage and making casks (don't call them barrels!) and various displays about the craft and its role in the whisky industry. Then you can go to the viewing gallery and watch the coopers in action - very energetically doing all the things you have seen in the exhibition. Admission was a reasonable £3.30 when we visited, and you also get a sample of something alcoholic when you finish your tour. As they don't actually produce anything there, they showcase various local products. The whole visit took us between 60 and 90 minutes so ideal for slotting into a touring holiday. Don't miss the opportunity to try making your own mini cask - it's a lot more difficult than it looks! The cafe (our original reason to stop) was pleasant with a selection of sandwiches, drinks, cakes and snacks (no hot food) with inside and outside seating. read more