Tag: The Scotch Whisky Experience

Scotch Whisky – Make it a Treble!

THE SCOTCH WHISKY EXPERIENCE SECURES THREE MAJOR AWARD WINS

The Scotch Whisky Experience, an internationally renowned whisky tourism destination by Edinburgh Castle, has achieved an exceptional series of wins at three major award ceremonies: The Scottish Thistle Awards, The Scottish Whisky Awards and The World Drinks Awards.

The national Scottish Thistle Awards named The Scotch Whisky Experience Scotland’s Best Visitor Attraction. The organisers, VisitScotland, describe the award as recognising “attractions which provide world class service with an authentic, memorable Scottish experience” and commended The Scotch Whisky Experience for “helping the world fall in love with Scotland and Scotch Whisky.” 

This distinction places The Scotch Whisky Experience among past honourees such as the Burrell Collection, underscoring its contribution to Scotland’s global cultural appeal.

The Scottish Whisky Awards also recognised The Scotch Whisky Experience as Tourism Destination of the Year. Completing the hat trick, on 5 December The Scotch Whisky Experience won the major category of Visitor Attraction of the year at the World Drinks Awards’ Icons of Whisky 2025.

Chief Executive Susan Morrison, said, “Each award reinforces our mission to provide an unforgettable experience for every visitor, connecting them with Scotland’s rich whisky heritage.

“I am especially grateful to the visitors, partners and our dedicated and passionate team for making all these achievements possible”.

In addition to the organisation’s recognition, Marketing Director Julie Trevisan-Hunter was named one of the Top 100 Women in Tourism, an accolade recognising leadership and influence in Scotland’s tourism and hospitality sectors.

Adding to the trophy cabinet, Annika Schneider, PA to the CEO, was named Rising Star at the regional Scottish Thistle Awards.

Chief Executive Susan Morrison also received The Scottish Whisky Awards’ Jim Swan Award, which honours lifetime contributions to the whisky industry.

James Robertson, Chair of the Scottish Whisky Awards, explained: “Susan represents a vital part of the success of Scotch whisky and that is our tourism economy. She leads a team which inspires newcomers to whisky and teaches ways to appreciate and learn about Scotch.”

Susan Morrison reflected on the evolution of whisky tourism over her career: “During my career I have seen the Scotch whisky and Scottish tourism industries come ever closer together, celebrating the best aspects of Scotland and, in my view, the best people.

“To have been part of this journey has been a true honour.  The absolute icing on the cake is seeing so many people – both visitors and team members – who established their love of Scotch with us at The Scotch Whisky Experience. 

“We look forward to helping visitors from around the world fall in love with Scotch whisky in 2025.”

Make it a double: Scotch Whisky Experience wins two Dual Green Tourism awards

The Scotch Whisky Experience on Edinburgh’s Royal Mile proudly raise a glass as they achieve two Green Tourism Awards in recognition of the steps they have taken as a business to put sustainability at the forefront of strategy.

The result of this approach; The Scotch Whisky Experience are the first whisky attraction in Scotland to receive both the Green Tourism and Green Meeting Gold Awards. This accreditation highlights The Scotch Whisky Experience’s ongoing efforts to reduce its carbon footprint and to provide visitors with an immersive experience while striving to be as sustainable as possible.

Demonstrating the importance of sustainability for business growth, The Scotch Whisky Experience has also been awarded the Edinburgh Chamber of Commerce High Growth Business of the Year Award 2024.

This accolade celebrates businesses demonstrating profitability, innovation, and growth. The Scotch Whisky Experience’s performance over the past twelve months, coupled with its £3.5 million investment in the visitor experience, demonstrates their unwavering commitment to sustainable business practices while telling the story of Scotland’s national drink.

According to a report by the Scotch Whisky Association, ‘the contribution of the Scotch whisky industry reached £7.1 bn in 2022 and is the second most productive sector in Scotland, just behind energy including renewables.’*

Susan Morrison, Chief Executive at The Scotch Whisky Experience, said: “We work hard to take positive actions across the whole business with a real focus on people, their experience and our environmental impact.

“We are very proud to have achieved GOLD status with Green Tourism while being recognised for substantial growth by Edinburgh Chamber of Commerce.”

The Scotch Whisky Experience brings whisky to life, showcasing the heritage and craftsmanship behind the iconic spirit whilst actively continuing to put sustainability at the forefront of the business.

Three Cheers for 30 Years of The Scotch Whisky Experience

The Scotch Whisky Experience is toasting 30 years as Edinburgh’s finest whisky visitor attraction with the creation of a new and exclusive bottled blend and some special events. Since opening in 1988, the five-star Royal Mile attraction has welcomed 6.8 million whisky fans through its doors, who have sampled a whopping 8 million drams!

Now, it has released the unique 30 year old Scotch to commemorate three decades of whisky tourism in the capital. The blend is limited to only 550 bottles, each individually numbered and visitors undertaking the Platinum Whisky Tour over the coming months will have the exclusive opportunity to sample it.

In addition to the celebratory bottling, a series of events will also be running throughout the month of May. These kick off this Saturday 5th – the official anniversary of the attraction’s opening – when visitors who were also born on May 5th will be treated to a free Silver whisky tour.

During May, the bar within the Amber restaurant will be offering a unique flight of four whiskies, including one from each decade over the last 30 years.  This will include Cu Bocan 1988, Balblair 1991, Glenrothes 2001 and Benromach Organic 2010.

At the end of May, two special members of the team will be hiding a time capsule in the attics of the building which was originally built as Edinburgh’s Castlehill Primary School. This will include a photo of the 90-strong team and a commemorative message in an empty bottle of the new blend. The team members are general manager, Susan Morrison and head of technical, Dave Wilson who have worked at the attraction since it opened 30 years ago.

Local MSP Ruth Davidson will also be visiting later this month.

Susan Morrison, director and general manager at The Scotch Whisky Experience, said: “This is a huge milestone for us at SWE and we wanted to do something truly special to commemorate – so what better way than doing what we do best and creating an exclusive new Scotch Whisky?

“We pride ourselves on providing a unique experience for all our guests, whether it’s a whisky tasting or blending session, or an intimate private dining experience and we have had a huge amount of success over the past three decades.

“It’s incredible to think that we have shared some of world’s best whiskies with 6.8 million visitors from all around the globe in the past thirty years and we are very excited to see what the next thirty will bring.”

Since 2009, the Scotch Whisky Experience has undergone £8m worth of upgrades across all departments, which has included incorporating the priceless Diageo Claive Vidiz Scotch Whisky Collection –  3,384 historic bottles of whisky glowing within a marble and glass vault.

At the beginning of this year, the attraction launched tours in British and American Sign Languages – the first attraction in Edinburgh to do so. The addition means SWE now offers whisky tours in a total of 20 languages.

For more information, log-on to www.scotchwhiskyexperience.co.uk or call 0131 220 0441.