William C.
Yelp
ATTN: If you are staying in Edinburgh and your time budget affords only a day trip (or even half a day), you can get the full Scotch Distillery experience.
The Edradour tour is intimate and informative. After tasting a dram of the signature 10 year offering, you'll tour the grounds and see all facets of the whisky production process up close.
The distillery is truly independent, and that is amply reflected in the tour. No smarmy (yeah, dig that vocab. choice) marketing materials, no rush, sincere answers to any questions you have, and a chance to gawk at the up-to-55-year-old casks hanging out in the cellaring warehouse.
That's right, the owner of Edradour also owns Signatory Vintage, a company that collects and ages casks from distilleries around the country before releasing the best in vintage bottlings. I saw Caol Ila 1984 just hanging out..."When will this be bottled?" "Eh, maybe for a 30 year release, if it tastes right." Dig.
I won't say Edradour produces the best whisky, but the tour offers a fairly complete exploration of Scotch, minus actual peat smoking (which not many distilleries do on-site anymore, it seems, due to fire hazard). Very satisfying and accessible.
Also, do check the map, leave yourself a bit of extra time and take the path through the woods. It's a lovely little nature walk. Unless on the way back you're trying to catch the train to Dalwhinnie, in which case it's somewhat more of a run.