Speyside Cooperage Visitor Centre — Attraction in Scotland

If you’ve already been on a distillery tour, you’re ready for a peak into the craftsmanship that goes into making the barrels that brings whisky, wine, rum, bourbon to their final glorious state. The tour starts with an interesting video segment in an intimate theater. Our group was then guided into the overview area of the workshop floor where we were educated on the apprenticeship programs, the different areas, tools, and stages of the coopering process. It is a very hands-on process, from the selecting and fitting of staves, to fitting the hoops, and sealing the heads onto the barrels; simply mesmerizing the way each craftsman moves through the shop building and repairing barrels. Already thoroughly intrigued by the process, the one thing I could have wished for not part of the tour was the opportunity to get a closer look on the floor level and the opportunity to speak with the coopers - maybe this could be part of a future tour upgrade. Additionally, somewhere to view the stockpile of barrels they have on site, which is apparently a tremendous number, would have been awesome to see - would also like this to be part of the tour. At the end of the tour, we were given the opportunity to “build” a mini barrel, like a puzzle, which was pretty fun to try. Before leaving for the day, the cooperage sends guests off with a taste of Speyside Whisky, which was a nice end to the experience. The park-like property would be an ideal location for a picnic lunch, if you plan appropriately, the afternoon could be...

The second time, I've been here in five years, but the first time was much better. Watching the coopers is brilliant. But the 2nd visit to the shop is incomparable to the first. The shop when we first visited was absolutely full of authentic whisky related goods and wasn't in the main reception. The shop was the building on the left just as you approached the reception and was fantastic, and i still have a few things, such as a whisky cask lid that I bought the first time round. Now the shop is too commercial with goods you can buy anywhere,other than their 40% speyside cooperage whisky from an undisclosed distillery. And what's not authentic is the lack of Scottish accents greeting you. It's the same with quite a few distilleries,especially the multi national owned ones. When I want to visit a Scottish whisky distillery or cooperage, then I expect it to be authentic, with Scottish people working there. It's just not authentic as they've not grown up in the area or around the Distilleries they're working in. Would it be authentic someone Scottish in one of these countries greeting people there to see something that's their own? I don't think so. And I couldn'tcares if it's to do with people speaking other languages. We speak Scottish/English in Scotland, so that's what...

I was not planning to leave a review but I have received about three email reminders from the cooperage inviting me to do so and here it comes. My husband and I visited the cooperage in April 2024 following a friend’s recommendation. I am not sure if our friend had a different tour guide but we surely did not have the same experience. As whisky lovers, we hope to learn a lot about the importance of the cask on the whisky’s taste and colour. Well, 90% of the tour focused on the working conditions of the coopers … and they are not marvellous… The tour guide was delighted to explain that they were paid by the cask, and no effort was made whatsoever for improving work ergonomics and reduction of physical pain. She also proudly shared that a visitor had described the place as « Victorian »… Surely, the visitor was not referring to the architecture of the place, but to its Oliver Twist vibe. Our feeling of embarrassment raised what she joked about the employee in charge of quality check being mobbed with no one talking to him or joining him for lunch… I don’t know if that is true but that is surely not fun. The visit ended with a whisky that tasted like the rest of the visit… horrifying. My husband and I left more concerned...