My mushroom portfolio is growing. There are dozens of different spectacular fungi in Scotland’s woodlands.

Cow poo + constant moisture =

We only walked 5 miles or so today and will do the same tomorrow. Our Dufftown digs are at the Dunvegan B&B.

The whiskies on our Aberlour Distillery tour (which is by appointment only) included spirit direct from the still (which was better than expected and fruity); 100% bourbon barrel (unbottled), 100% sherry barrel (unbottled), the 16 y.o. 50/50 sherry/bourbon, the 10 y.o. 10% sherry finish, and the A’bunad. My favorite was the 16. The 100% barrel studies were also good. I was not fond of the 10 at all but did appreciate the cask strength A’bunad.

The whiskies we sampled today at the well-stocked Royal Oak pub in Dufftown included the lovely smooth dried figs, port-like Macallan 12 faced off with Mortlach 16, which is also very sherried but drier than the Macallan. I liked both of these even though they are not my personal pocket of whisky. Both are quality.

Next was Glenfarclas 12 facing off with Pittyvaich 1993 16yo. This is a defunct distillery but still the bottle was priced nicely. These two malts were very different from one another, with the Pittyvaich being crisp and citrusy, light bodied, and the Glenfarclas smoother and more complex but not as full-bodied as the older Glenfarclas expressions we had at the brewpub on Skye. Glenfarclas impresses.

But the star of the show was one that we tried for the first time last night, Dailuaine. Love this spirit. Might be emerging my favorite Speyside single malt. It’s got everything in the right place–firm, full, and finely structured. Big dark sugar and dark dried fruit up front, meaty middle, and a spectacular tannic woody finish. I hate to share this dram with Josh. I’ve made that mistake twice now!