We are off down the short but steep walk to town.
There is a small trashy part of Oban.
The first item on the agenda is a haircut for Tom. The barber is very friendly and from England. Like many barbers, he is very knowledgable. The Scottish referendum does not really matter much because of the global economy. After all, in 1939 the local distillery in Oban closed because of prohibition in the US. I think that he was still bitter about that. He moved to Scotland so he and his wife could afford a mother-in-law apartment for his wife's mother. Turns out that property in Oban costs about the same as it does in England. Oh well.
Found this cute kit playing his bag pipes on the street. Gave him my British coins and took his picture.
Tom was off on a mission to tour the Oban Distillery. His guide, Lizzie, did a great job but would not let us take pictures on the tour. Something about the alcohol in the air igniting with an electrical impulse -- I doubt it. Oh well. It was a great tour starting with barley, malting it, drying it with peat smoke, grinding, adding yeast and water, fermenting, and distilling. It was interesting to learn that most Scotch is aged in a barrel made of American oak and first used in Kentucky to make bourbon. US/ Kentucky law prevents bourbon makers from using a cask more than once. This is good news for Scotch makers because they buy the barrels and use them many times. At Oban Distillery they use a barrel the third time -- one bourbon and one other Scotch maker. They age their spirits for 14 years -- it is good. We tasted the 10 year old from the cask and then the 14 year old. It needs the extra 4 years. Best scotch so far for me.Tom, that is.
Dinner tonight is smoked chicken, Scottish cheese, and red wine that we picked up at the deli -- excellent.
While T went to the distillery tour, I, Kathy, went shopping. Oban is not a mecca for retail therapy, but had fun.....bought T some sorely needed shirts....had a great time people watching and just browsing....we may have already mentioned, but our dollar has taken another nose dive....just since our arrival. Back in our nest....time for a catch up on the blog....in a very relaxed fashion....it is raining outside. We watch all the others from our b n b go out for dinner....very happy that we did another linner/lunner....and are in for the night, listening/hearing the rain.
