Malt Mansions: Edzell’s Glenesk Hotel

The last couple of weeks I’ve written about northern Angus around Glen Esk, the easternmost of the Angus Glens and one of my favorites. The tiny town of Edzell is the unofficial jumping-off point for exploring Glen Esk. It’s a one-street highland town home to a wonderful castle and the Glenesk Hotel, a hotel with more than 1,300 whiskies for sale and a Guinness Book of World Records record to boot. Well, as I’m sure you can imagine, when I learned I’d be in this malt mansion’s neck of the woods I had to see (and taste) it for myself. Read on thirsty traveler!

Edzell is a small village in Angus north of Brechin, not far from the River North Esk, that began life as a Georgian-era planned settlement (like Grantown-on-Spey and many other Scottish towns). The town, which used to be called Slateford, is a grid of streets with a single high street running the length of town. The most visually striking element of town is the Dalhousie Arch, which frames the road coming from the south like a castle’s gate. The arch was built in 1887 to comemmorate the deaths of the 13th Earl of Dalhousie and his wife, who died on the same day.

The Glenesk Hotel is a handsome two-storey brownstone building with maroon trim not far beyond the Dalhousie Arch. The Glenesk Hotel has 24 bedrooms, a restaurant, organized activities like golfing, fishing, and shooting, and all the amenities you’d expect from a nice Scottish hotel. I can’t speak to the experience of these services, but I can talk about the Glenesk Hotel’s whisky bar. My goodness!

Smaug the Golden’s treasure hoard has nothing on the gold at the Glenesk Hotel. More than a thousand bottles of whisky – most of them single malts – grace the shelves and cabinets in the hotel’s bar. I met Nick, the hotel’s super friendly bartender during my stop, and we chatted about the hotel’s ever-expanding whisky selection. They’ve got a tome for a menu and a color-coded system for pricing the whiskies (maybe you can see the small colored circles on the bottle necks). I asked for a local dram and Nick suggested the Glencadam 10 from nearby Brechin. The man knows his whisky and proved more than capable of directing a thirsty visitor to the most appropriate drams.

One of the nicest things about the Glenesk Hotel’s whisky bar is the opportunity to try a tasting tray of various whiskies. No one has the time, money, or tread on the liver to taste all the whiskies here – a tasting tray is the perfect alternative. Put your trust in Nick or one of the other bartenders and you’ll enjoy a delicious array.

As my pal Nick helped other patrons on their whisky journeys I reflected on the nature of bars in Scotland. The truth is drinking whisky in Scotland isn’t any cheaper than back home (in fact it’s often more expensive!). Many bars in Scotland have 300+, 500+, 700+ whiskies on their menu. Then you have the true malt mansions like the Glenesk Hotel.

What a treasure trove here in Edzell at the head of Glen Esk. It’s worth the journey!