
Benromach 10 Year Old
The multi-award winning 10 year old expression from Benromach distillery, crafted from first fill bourbon and sherry casks. Benromach Distillery is...
View full detailsSpeyside represents the beating heart of Scotland’s whisky industry, playing host to some of its most recognisable whiskies in the form of Glenfiddich, the Glenlivet and the Macallan. The region...
Speyside represents the beating heart of Scotland’s whisky industry, playing host to some of its most recognisable whiskies in the form of Glenfiddich, the Glenlivet and the Macallan. The region is also a concentrated hotbed of distilleries, focused on supplying whisky for the majority of blended Scotches that dominate the international market.
Today there are over 50 distilleries stretching from Speyside near Kingussie to Inchgower in the Northeast. It’s a region that caters for great diversity but the majority of these distilleries produce spirit that is light, sweet, refined and layered with gentle characteristics that are prized by blenders. Whilst Speyside occupies a modest chunk of Scotland, its distilleries are amongst some of the oldest with many having roots in illicit distilling such as the Glenlivet, which occupies a site amidst a romantic windswept Scottish environment far removed from the powers of Westminster.
The area is dissected by the fast flowing River Spey that weaves its way across 107 miles of wilderness before reaching the Moray Firth. Water is a vital resource for whisky production and the River Spey is a fertile breeding ground for salmon. Nowadays it is the tributaries that connect to the Spey that are utilised for whisky including names such as the Rivers Fiddich, Livet and Lossie. Rain is tomorrow’s whisky and this network of lochs, rivers and mountains means that water shortages are rare unlike other distilleries that may only rely on a single isolated water source such as Talisker.
With the arrival of the Excise Act in 1823 and the ability to become a legal distillery for a license fee and tariff on each gallon produced, many illicit distillers or budding entrepreneurs established themselves as distillers. In total 16 took up the challenge and sought out a new opportunity with 9 of these fledgling distilleries still in operation today such as Cardhu. Moving from illicit stills towards farm distilleries or onto the edges of towns where natural resources were still at hand. A major factor was the arrival of the railway in the 1850’s that connected many distilleries to a network that reached south and removed the arduous trek across the Highlands. This explains the concentration of distilleries around the main towns of the region with the majority found within the triangle of Dufftown, Keith and Rothes. Within this area are names such as Glenfiddich, Balvenie, Glen Grant, Mortlach and Strathisla, making it a popular destination and whisky tourism being a major employer.
A journey through Speyside is very much an experience of Scotland’s whisky heritage. Turning off the A9 at Aviemore you’re about to follow the Malt Whisky Trail via the picturesque A95, passing by the epic splendour of Tormore distillery that sits on the edge of the region. As you edge closer to the heart of Speyside, Ballindalloch plays host to a promising new comer and a distillery to watch out for; whilst the historic Cragganmore awaits nearby. The town of Aberlour greets you with its distillery and Glenfarclas nearby. A central hub, it marks the entry point to a cluster of distillery signs pointing you in all directions across Speyside. Literally it feels as if around each corner there is another distillery to discover and visit.
With so many distilleries across the region, many are not open to the public. These tend to the faithful producing types that mainly go into blends and have very little if any single malt presence. Falling into this camp are names such as Allt-a-Bhainne, Dufftown, Knochando, Tamnavulin and many more besides. However annually the Spirit of Speyside Festival encourages such normally closed distilleries to throw open their doors with special tours and events held across the region. The event towards the end of April is a major tourist attraction and offers a combination of whisky, fine food, local crafts and plenty of enthusiasm.
A bountiful whisky history means that there are several famous closed distilleries across the region. Dallas Dhu is today operated by Historic Scotland for the nation and is preserved as it was from the 1980’s for you to explore, also fallen include Coleburn, Convalmore and the demolished Imperial. Benromach owned by Gordon & MacPhail is a revived distillery with a passion for producing an older style of whisky. The town of Elgin harbours a clutch of distilleries including the rarely seen Miltonduff, the affordable and varied Glen Moray and the overlooked Glenlossie. Other distilleries worth experiencing via the independent bottlers include the prized Aultmore and the forever impressive Glentauchers. These mainly go into blends but single cask releases can be wonderful. It’s a momentous challenge to write an introduction to Speyside as it offers so much variety and a consistent emphasis on quality. It’s a region that offers diversity, distilling heritage, a passion for whisky and the Scottish perfection of its national drink.
The multi-award winning 10 year old expression from Benromach distillery, crafted from first fill bourbon and sherry casks. Benromach Distillery is...
View full details
Going on two years since Billy Walker and his team took over the distillery, they now have a new dram to add to their impressive core range of malt...
View full details
A 12 year old single malt Scotch whisky from GlenAllachie distillery, matured in Pedro Ximénez, Oloroso and virgin oak casks. Specially selected by...
View full details
A delightful 15 year old Speyside expression from Benromach distillery, created from whisky matured in first fill bourbon and sherry casks. A very ...
View full details
A beautiful single malt GlenAllachie, matured for over 8 years in American oak barrels, then finished in vintage, premium Ruby Port wood pipes. Spe...
View full details
An 8 year old single malt GlenAllachie, matured in American oak casks, then finished in Koval Rye Quarter Casks. A limited edition release, special...
View full details
An independent single malt Glentauchers, released by Morrison & MacKay for their excellent Strictly Limited series. Distilled in 2010 and matur...
View full details
Following on from the non peated cask strength series from BenRiach, the distillery have now launched a peated expression. Peated Cask Strength Bat...
View full details
Added to the core range of malts from Benromach distillery, this well aged single malt from Speyside has been carefully crafted from whisky matured...
View full details
A 12 year old single malt Scotch whisky from Speyside, released as part of the Virgin Oak Series from Glenallachie distillery. Initially matured in...
View full details
Released as part of the Virgin Oak series from GlenAllachie distillery, this 12 year old single malt was initially matured in ex-bourbon barrels (Q...
View full details
The fourth editon of this batch strength release from Tamdhu distillery. A multi-award winning dram, recently picking up a gold medal at the San Fr...
View full details
Matured for a minimum of 21 years and expertly crafted from a combination of casks; bourbon barrels, Pedro Ximénez, sherry casks, virgin oak casks ...
View full details
Released as part of The Soleo Collection from Glenrothes distillery, this 12 year old single malt Scotch whisky has been matured in sherry oak cask...
View full details
The oldest expression within the new core range from GlenAllachie distillery, is this 25 year old single malt Scotch whisky, specially selected by ...
View full details
A new release from BenRiach distillery, distilled from peated malted barley and fully matured in quarter casks. Maturing whisky in smaller casks su...
View full details
The Virgin Oak series is an exciting new trio of malts from Glenallachie Distillery. This 12 year old single malt has been initially matured in ex-...
View full details
The Smoky Ten from BenRiach distillery, crafted from a combination of unpeated and peated Speyside spirit matured in 3 types of casks, bourbon barr...
View full details
'Temporis' from BenRiach distillery, expertly created from four different cask types; bourbon barrels, virgin oak, Pedro Ximénez and Oloroso sherry...
View full details
A great place to start your Glenrothes journey would be with this 10 year old single malt Scotch whisky. Matured in sherry seasoned oak casks and r...
View full details
The second edition of BenRiach Dunder, distilled from peated malted barley, matured in American oak casks then finished in dark rum barrels. ‘Dunde...
View full details
Expertly crafted by Master Blender, Rachel Barrie from a combination of peated and unpeated Speyside spirit, 'The Smoky Twelve' has been matured in...
View full details
We're now onto the fourth batch of 2009 vintage cask strength single malt Scotch whisky from Benromach distillery. Matured in first fill bourbon an...
View full details
Released by Independent Scotch whisky bottlers, Elixir Distillers for their Reserve Cask series, this 12 year old Speyside dram was created from 4 ...
View full details