In the summer of 2022, we hired a driver in Scotland for three days of exploring with our family. When our kids graduated high school we let each of them choose a big trip for the whole family to go on together. This time, it was our middle son’s turn and he chose a trip to the UK and Ireland. In truth he may have chosen Japan if Covid had not interfered, but then we would never have met Marcin.
Marcin, our driver, is actually Polish, not Scottish or British, but his english was excellent and his knowledge of the country was outstanding. During semi-post Covid time, rental cars were super expensive in the UK and thus made hiring a driver a good choice which worked out great for us. Not only does a driver allow you to relax, but they often know the country and its people so well that you end up with a bonus insider’s tour.
Marcin took us wherever we wanted and stopped whenever we wanted, including our first encounter with those famous Highland cows. There were a few on the side of the road grazing and we told Marcin to pull over for a look. The pictures from that day have become iconic and well-loved in our family. Don’t forget to keep your eyes open and go ahead and stop for anything you want when you are traveling. Who knows if you will ever see it again? Marcin took us through the incredibly beautiful Isle of Skye which I’ll cover in more detail in another Dispatch. And on our final day he took us to what became our first Michelin experience: The Glenturret Distillery and Lalique Restaurant.
We had requested a visit to a distillery while in Scotland but there are so many we left the choice up to Marcin as long as it fit within the general direction of our itinerary. He took us to Glenturret, Scotland’s oldest working distillery, where he had arranged a distillery and tasting tour just for us with a man who looked like he came straight out of the pages of a book about Scottish whisky – salt and pepper substantial beard, tweed vest and a friendliness and dedication to whisky that you’d expect from a man who spent his life loving the place and the spirits.
At the time of our tour, Glenturret was distilling the way it has always been done, with no modern equipment, which I’m told is unusual and gave the place an authentic feel. The tour ended with a fantastic whisky tasting and some samples to go.
Fun Fact:
Whisky – spirits distilled in Scotland, Wales, Canada, and Japan
Whiskey – spirits distilled in Ireland and the United States
At that point it was time for lunch and we were in for an unexpected treat and our first Michelin experience. Enter the Lalique Bar lunch located within the distillery property in the Lalique Restaurant. In case you have never heard of Lalique as we had not, it is a storied French luxury glassmaker with a long history, and we were told that the distillery had entered into a partnership with Lalique, elevating the distillery and certainly elevating it’s restaurant, which had already received its first MIchelin star when we were there in 2022. There is a beautiful little shop onsite where you can purchase Lalique items. As of this writing, the Lalique Restaurant is now a 2-star Michelin restaurant.
The Lalique Bar Lunch is curated by Executive Chef Mark Donald and consists of three courses which change seasonally. As you would expect at a Michelin-starred restaurant, the food was exquisite, the service was excellent, and we also had fun choosing some whisky tastings that we can’t get at home to accompany the meal.
Our table was set out alone in the middle of the bar area and looking back on it, I think we were fortunate to stumble upon this and be able to get a seating. We definitely felt the specialness of this experience and were so glad to be able to share this one with our kids who were old enough to appreciate it. The first time you eat a place like this, it’s hard not to feel like a kid at Christmas. I hope to never forget that feeling. Thank you Glenturret and Lalique!