The Mash Tun, Aberlour

Please Note: This review is over a year old.

Roger Button left this review about The Mash Tun

The Mash Tun was built in 1896 as the Station Bar and despite the line closing in 1963 as part of Lord Beechmg’s attempt to isolate large swathes of the country, has continued to serve customers ever since. The pub itself comes over as a bit more up market than the average pub in the area with whisky being the primary concern (the pub is actually labeled as a whisky bar). The single room interior appears to be the result of a tastefully done, fairly modern refurbishment with polished bare floors and beamed ceilings and whilst it doesn’t seem particularly large, it does feel quite spacious thanks to the well laid out furnishings. One half of the bay fronttage has built in leather seats and there is a Chesterfield suite opposite the bar which does seem to fit in with the quite formal ambience.

The bar has whisky barrels built into the corners and a photo of the pub near the bar shows the pub in its Station Bar days. The name change was apparently only agreed on the proviso that should the track reopen, the name must revert back although there would seem to be little hope of that ever happening. On the far wall is a wonderful display of local Glenfarclas Whisky bottles, one from each year between 1952 and 1994, some unopened, some half finished and each with a price tag ranging from £15.70 to £224.25. Naturally there are numerous bottles of whisky lined up behind the bar and this is also one of the few pubs around the area that serve up Real Ales although only one was available on my visit (Cairngorm Stag) with the other 2 pumps redundant. On the theme of drinks, Mrs B would also add that the coffee carries her highest recommendation!

The menu leans towards the restaurant end of dining and judging by the number of small groups that arrived during our visit and headed straight for the menu, it would appear the food is quite popular, if a bit pricey. There were no TV’s (I wouldn’t even had noticed had I not been hoping to catch a bit of World Cup footy), no fruit or games machines or music, just a selection of newspapers on a small table in the centre of the pub. There are a few seats outside next to a park and the course of the old railway can be seen as leads its way under the old railway bridge that now carries ramblers and anglers down to the banks of the River Spey. There are also some pleasant walks emanating from the village and the Mash Tun can certainly be considered a very good place to start and/or finish. If you really want to you can even stay overnight in one of the 5 whisky themed bedrooms. You could do a lot worse.

On 14^th July 2010 - rating: 6
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