Did you know that Nova Scotia is home to the first single malt whisky distillery in North America?
I’m a whisk(e)y girl, so when I saw that Nova Scotia was home to a whisky distillery, I knew I had to go! And I am so glad that I did!
A little history –
As I mentioned in my last post (read here), the 1800s brought an influx of Scottish immigrants to Cape Breton Island in Nova Scotia. It’s easy to see why, Cape Breton resembles the beauty of the Highlands (I’ve been to both and I would say if you don’t have the money to go to Scotland, visit Cape Breton). Those immigrants brought some whisky makin’ magic with them across the pond!
According to the Glenora website, the distillery was the dream of Bruce Jardine who was both the founder and original owner. Jardine’s dream was to build a single malt distillery in a very Scottish part of Cape Breton. It’s not hard to see why he was so successful; he sought the expertise of the Bowmore Distillers in Scotland. As I mentioned above, I’ve been to Scotland and Bowmore was some of my absolute favorite
Bowmore lent the burgeoning whisky maker a helping hand by providing production training, as well as, sourcing authentic Scottish copper pot stills and mash tun. Glenora says, “Bruce Jardine wanted to make sure that the first whisky, now known as Glen Breton Rare, was produced in the traditional method using only three ingredients: barley, yeast, and water.”
And he did just that! You see, water is arguably the most important of those 3 magic ingredients. The distilleries water comes from MacLellan’s Brook, which tumbles out of the Mabou Highlands, right through the grounds of Glenora. AND it is used in every single whisky produced there. How cool?
But whisky takes time to mature and while construction of Glenora was finished around 1990, the first batch of Glen Breton Rare wasn’t ready until Nov of 2000.
Glenora has so many offerings! Here is what I did and how I suggest starting and finishing your visit.
Start with the tour! Take the distillery tour to learn more about Glenora’s history and the entire whisky making process.
Time: Tours run every hour from 9 am to 5 pm. Tours run from Mid-May – Mid-Oct. You do not need to book ahead of time. Just show up and take the next available tour!
Length: About 20 mins
Cost: $7.00 per adult, children free
Bonus: You get a free sample at the end of your tour! For my tour, it was the 10 year, which was really good!
Next find your way to the onsite pub, Washback Pub.
You have to try the Flight of Whisky! The flight allows you to sample almost all of the offerings from Glenora. Including, New Make (70%), 15YO Battle of the Glen, 12YO ICE, 23YO Cask 99, and 13YO Ghleann Dubn. I highly recommend it. It was about $35.
Also, try the Opilio crab dip! I stopped for a light lunch and the flight, while they are both amazing, it was the live music that made me hang around for a while.
If you can swing it – stay at the inn. This was one of my absolute favorite places that I stayed during my entire 9 days on this East Coast Canada Roadtrip.
I booked this room ahead of time, but it was well worth it. After the tour, a light lunch in the pub it was so nice to check-in and be able to relax in this gorgeous place. I only booked the room a few weeks before my trip.
I stayed in the Brookside, which overlooks MacLellan’s Brook. The room was spacious, clean, well decorated, had a great shower, and incredibly comfortable beds. There was also a nice seating area outside by the brook.
The chalets look amazing, but they were all booked by the time I found Glenora.
Last and even if you aren’t staying grab dinner at the pub before heading back to the Cabot Trail or Cape Breton Highlands NP.
I headed back to the Washback Pub for dinner that night. The fish and chips were delicious and there was live music again. I’ll say it again, if you can’t get to Scotland or Ireland, go to Cape Breton Island AND definitely visit Glenora Inn and Distillery.
Tip: Only those 19+ are allowed in the pub after 9 pm.
If you do stay here then make sure to grab breakfast in the morning before you leave! It was so yummy!
My favorite whisky from Glenora (not an easy decision): Ghleann Dubh (The Dark Glen) a 13-year-old peated whisky. It’s next to impossible to find a good peated whisk(e)y in the US. I was so excited to find this one on my roadtrip. The MR and I are both huge whisk(e)y fans and we both love this one! This is the bottle I bought and brought home. Sadly, it’s January and it’s almost gone! I guess I will just have to make another visit!
Bonus: Did you know that there is a difference between whiskey and whisky?
I’m sure you’ve noticed me using “whisk(e)y” throughout this post. That’s because there IS a difference between whiskey and whisky.
Whiskey (with an e) – refers to grain spirits distilled in Ireland and the United States.
Whisky (hold the e) – refers to Scottish, Canadian, or Japanese grain spirits.
Are there other differences, well yeah, there are! Whiskey from Ireland is generally distilled 3 times (triple distillation, if you will). While the distillation of whiskey began in Ireland, the Scots are generally credited with refining the distillation process. The Scots refined the triple distillation process, making it necessary for their
If you are ever in Nova Scotia driving along the Cabot Trail – take a little detour to Glenville and spend a day at Glenora Inn and Distillery! You can thank me later!
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*Please note, this is not a sponsored post. I was not compensated in any way for this content. I have no affiliation with Glenora Inn and Distillery. I simply enjoyed my time there and wanted to share my great experience.