Speyside

Located in north eastern Scotland, between Inverness to the west and Aberdeen to the east, Speyside is home to over half of Scotland’s distilleries, crammed in to a relatively small area. Although “Speyside” is often used to denote a general style, this region is far from uniform. It is geographically diverse, with the rugged hills of Ben Rinnes and the rough lands of the Braes and Glen Livet, nestled alongside the rolling fertile flatlands of Laich O’Moray.

Strathspey was historically home to many farm distillers, who, following the home distilling ban of 1781 and restrictions on the number of stills allowed in each parish, found legal distilling almost impossible. However, given there was strong demand for whisky south of the highland line, they saw clear reason to continue distilling despite the illegality of it. This lead to a huge endemic of moonshining in illicit stills in the late eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, before changes in law in 1816 and 1823 removed legal impediments, allowing commercial distillation to flourish. As innovation took hold, the styles of whisky produced in Speyside changed dramatically. With new still design, the weighty, slightly crude spirits of old were replaced with much more elegant, lighter and complex spirits. Yet, some distilleries were fearful of change, leading to a bifurcation in the classic style of the region.

The traditional Speyside style is for lighter whiskies, with pronounced honey and sweet fruit flavours, which tend towards floral at times. Glenfiddich and The Glenlivet are the main proponents of this style and, perhaps not all the surprisingly, produce two of the bestselling single malt whiskies in the world. The other style, which has increased in popularity and prominence over the last 50 years of so, is the heavily-sherried style. These whiskies are typically full bodied and intense, with a lot of character drawn from the use of Sherry casks, which impart flavours of walnut, almond and dried fruits to the whiskies. Glenfarclas and The Macallan are the stars of this style, who likewise produce some of the most famed and sought after whiskies from Scotland. You get now why Speyside is such an important region!

Distilleries within Speyside are not uniformly spread out across the region, but rather huddle together around towns and geographic features. From north to south, the most important settlements are from Elgin to the western edge, around the town of Rothes, clustered in the throes of Ben Rinnes, the cluster in Dufftown, from Keith to the eastern boundary, and southern Speyside. Although it would be neat if each cluster had a specific style or flavour profile, Speyside is way too varied for that to be the case! That is why you will find something to drink regardless of your preference.