What the Czech capital Prague conjures in your mind's eye probably depends on what stage of life you're at.

For some it will be the gothic architecture, Franz Kafka and King Wenceslas; for others stag dos, cheap beer and rowdy bars.

What probably doesn't leap immediately to mind is whisky, yet inside the Jindřišská věž (Henry's Tower) near the Jewish Quarter is a little slice of Scotland.

Walk through the doors of the Whiskeria and you'll be greeted by Skerryvore, tartan-clad bar staff and, of course, more single malt than you can shake a stick at.

Owners Fous Spirits were founded by a Czech, a German and a Scot in 2004 in Brandýs nad Labem just outside of Prague.

A few years later they established the Whiskeria, which boasts more than 400 bottles, laid out in a weighty menu bound in wood and leather. The most expensive dram, a 40-year-old Old Pulteney, will set you back around £545.

Veronika, who works behind the bar, tells The Herald: "Scottish whisky is a relatively recent thing for us, because during communism it was difficult to get anything imported.

Veronika at the Whiskeria in PragueVeronika at the Whiskeria in Prague (Image: Newsquest)

“The company started when the owners fell in love with whisky and with Scotland, they did some internships there and slowly grew their passion for it and decided that importing whisky to the Czech Republic was a great opportunity.

"Around 15 years ago the owners decided to open a bar in this beautiful tower, where I think it really belongs.

“The setting is amazing with the stone walls and the wood beams, everything is perfect. We do guided tastings with the brands we import and it’s a very nice place located in the centre of Prague.”

One of the driving forces behind the Whiskeria is co-owner Mirka Kverková, known simply as the 'Whisky Lady'.

Having spent 18 months living and working in Campbeltown she returned to her homeland and began working with Fous.

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As she began to become more involved with whisky and learn more about the spirit she fell in love, later travelling to Islay to graduate from the Bruichladdich 'whisky academy'.

Veronika says: "The people most behind it are Mr Fous and Ms Kverková.

"She did multiple jobs in Scotland when she was younger and slowly worked her way into whisky, she came back and decided to join the company and now she’s The Whisky Lady in the Czech Republic, she’s very well known, she does a lot of interviews.

The Whiskeria in PragueThe Whiskeria in Prague (Image: Newsquest)

“She founded Whisky Ladies Club, which is a great initiative. It’s only for women and they have four to six meetings per year, they usually meet here and just talk about whisky without the presence of men so it’s a safe space.

“Ms Kverková also organises a lot of events, last November we organised an event called Whisky Life Prague which is usually held in another big tower.

“It’s a three day festival, there are a lot of distilleries and other bars and this year we organised it all.”

It's fair to say a whisky bar isn't necessarily the most obvious choice for the centre of Prague.

Czechs are beer drinkers - per capita they consume the most in the world at 128 litres per person per year - and when it comes to the harder stuff it's more likely to be slivovice, a potent plum brandy.

Veronika says: "Whisky generally is not much of a thing here, but there is a very strong community of whisky lovers who frequently visit our bar, either for our tastings or for private events.

“Generally people in the Czech Republic drink beer, but people who are interested like to come here.

"There are two kinds of people, there are people who know whisky and know what they would like to try.

“They usually start with something they like and as bartenders we ask if we can recommend something, and based on their suggestions we are able to recommend something similar or something completely new for them to explore.

“We have roughly 400 bottles, we have Scotch and Irish and then we also have Japanese and Czech, so if people know a little bit about it they can say ‘OK I like whisky that is smoky and salty can you get me something like that?’.

“If people stumble on the bar from the street they’ll say, ‘OK I know Jameson but I would like to try something, can you do a little bit of an introduction?’.

“So we explain a bit of the process, the different kinds of whisky, how the aging is done and stuff like that so they can learn a bit and maybe find their passion as well.”