Chivas Brothers hosts summer experiences at iconic distilleries

Chivas Brothers is really pulling out all the stops for their summer visitor experience program this year – and honestly, it’s about time we saw some proper innovation in distillery tourism.

What we’ve got here is a beautifully curated collection of experiences across four absolutely stellar sites. Let’s start with Strathisla – being Speyside’s oldest working distillery and the spiritual home of Chivas Regal, they’ve introduced this “Strathisla Maturation Experience” which frankly sounds brilliant. Deep-diving into cask types and warehouse environments? That’s the kind of technical detail that separates the wheat from the chaff in whisky education. Plus they’re keeping the “Chivas Blending Workshop” and “The Vault by Chivas Brothers” – that latter one being their proper exclusive tasting for the serious collectors.

The Glenlivet’s keeping things fresh with “The Visionary” experience – rare still house access is always a winner – alongside their established “The Original” and “The Generations” tours. You know they’re celebrating over 200 years of whisky making there, so the heritage angle is rock solid.

Aberlour’s introducing an “Express Flight” which is smart – sometimes you want that quick but quality introduction to their single malts, complete with new make spirit. And their “Awakened” experience featuring some of their oldest releases? That’s going to be something special.

But here’s where it gets really interesting – Scapa on Orkney. Their “Pairing Experience” is doing something genuinely different, matching four drams with Orcadian cuisine that’s got Japanese influences. In their waterfront tasting room, no less. It’s that kind of innovative approach to whisky and food pairing that shows the industry’s really maturing.

The distillery exclusives are the real cherry on top – we’re talking 11 to 26-year-old expressions you simply can’t get anywhere else. Jacques-Henri Brive from Chivas Brothers is spot on about offering deeper appreciation of the craft.

Running seven days a week from May through September, with 18 different experiences from £20 to £1,200 – there’s genuinely something for everyone from the curious beginner to the serious collector. Available until October 31st, so there’s a decent window to plan your pilgrimage.