A distillery trip is one of the best excuses going to actually use the kit we make rather than just sell it. Here's what we'd genuinely pack for a day or a weekend visiting distilleries, and why.
A proper glass, not the one they hand you
Most distilleries hand you a glass for the tasting at the end of a tour, and it's usually fine, but it's rarely built to concentrate aroma the way a proper nosing glass does. Bringing your own Mini Ember Nosing Glass means you're tasting each dram at its best.
Something to carry a favourite home
If a distillery tour ends with something you genuinely want to keep tasting, a Flight Flask lets you buy a bottle at the shop and decant a measure to keep tasting on the way home, without needing to lug the full bottle around all day.
Comparing more than one distillery
If the trip covers more than one distillery, our Flight Flask Traveller II is genuinely the right tool. Four flasks, each labelled with the marker pen, means you can carry a sample from each stop and taste them side by side at the end of the day.
Protecting whatever you buy
Distillery shops are dangerous for exactly the reason they're meant to be. The Beverage Bag holds up to four bottles safely, which matters more on the drive home than it does on the way there.
What we'd leave behind
Full sets of barware, most cocktail kit, and anything that needs mixers are all better left at home. A distillery trip is about tasting spirits as they're meant to be tasted, not building cocktails in a car park.
If a distillery trip is on the cards, our guide to types of rum explained and world whisky explained are worth a read beforehand.
The whole point of a distillery trip is the tasting, and the kit should support that rather than get in the way of it.
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