Rabbi Yonah’s phenomenal Spiritual Whisky Tour returns to Scotland from May 27th through June 2nd 2024. It offers an exclusive journey for Jewish men passionate about whisky, adventure, and farbrengen. Following up from last year’s inaugural trip, this year’s trip focusses on three regions: Campbeltown, the Highlands, and Speyside.
The Spiritual Whisky Tour (SWT) is led by two ex-Detroiters, Rabbi Yonah Bookstein and Harry Nelson, who attended Jewish day school together. Decades later, they reconnected and discovered they loved single-malt scotch whiskey. Rabbi Yonah of LA’s Pico Shul and Shabbat Tent developed a passion for single malt as an Oxford University graduate student in the 1990s. Harry Nelson, a well-known LA whisky enthusiast and collector, is the Founder and Managing Partner of Nelson Hardiman. For the second straight year, the SWT will partner with Adam Henderson’s Kosher Scotland, a boutique travel agency specializing in luxury trips to Scotland.
“It’s impossible to appreciate the complex and lengthy process required to transform barley into fine spirits,” Rabbi Yonah, a single-malt maven who has led multiple tours of Scotland observes. “However, if you venture deep into Scotland and visit the distillers, warehouses, and tasting rooms of Scotland’s storied distilleries, learn from whisky mavens, and taste the world’s most fantastic Scotch, even a casual admirer of Scotch will become a connoisseur.”
While the tour will visit a big-name distillery or two, its focus is the distilleries that produce the world’s best spirits. In addition to tastings, tours, and nature, the trip includes Glatt kosher food prepared by a private chef.
“We call it the Spiritual Whiskey Tour because it’s more than L’chaims,” remarks tour co-leader, Harry Nelson. “The tour also nourishes the spirit with the camaraderie of an exclusive group of Jewish men, nature, and fine kosher dining.”
The tour is “highly recommended,” said David Sacks, an Emmy-award-winning TV writer who went on the 2023 tour. “It includes Scotland’s most legendary distilleries, gourmet kosher food, fantastic camaraderie, real castles, and all the atmosphere you can drink!”
With all of these amenities, the second SWT is priced at £5500. A few more spots are available, as the trip size is kept small and intimate; in addition to an interest form, registration is available here.
