Speyside single malts are single malt Scotch

whiskies Whisky or whiskey is a type of liquor made from Fermentation in food processing, fermented grain mashing, mash. Various grains (which may be Malting, malted) are used for different varieties, including barley, Maize, corn, rye, and wheat. Whisky ...

, distilled in Strathspey, the area around the

River Spey The River Spey () is a river in the northeast of Scotland. At it is the ninth longest river in the United Kingdom and the third longest and fastest-flowing river in Scotland. It is an important location for the traditions of salmon fishing an ...

Moray Moray ( ; or ) is one of the 32 council areas of Scotland. It lies in the north-east of the country, with a coastline on the Moray Firth, and borders the council areas of Aberdeenshire and Highland. Its council is based in Elgin, the area' ...

and Badenoch and Strathspey, in northeastern

Scotland Scotland is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It contains nearly one-third of the United Kingdom's land area, consisting of the northern part of the island of Great Britain and more than 790 adjac ...

. The two best-selling single malt whiskies in the world, The Glenlivet and Glenfiddich, come from Speyside. Strathspey has the greatest number of distilleries of any of the whisky-producing areas of Scotland.

Dufftown Dufftown ( ) is a burgh in Moray, Scotland. While the town is part of the historic Mortlach parish, the town was established and laid out in the early 19th century as part of a planned new town settlement. The town has several listed 19th centur ...

alone has six working distilleries with an annual capacity of 40.4 million litres of spirit.

Legal status

Speyside is a "protected region" for Scotch Whisky distilling under UK Government legislation. According to ''Visit Scotland'', this region includes the area between the Highlands to the west, Aberdeenshire in the east and extending south to the

Cairngorms National Park Cairngorms National Park () is a national park in northeast Scotland, established in 2003. It was the second of National parks of Scotland, two national parks established by the Scottish Parliament, after Loch Lomond and The Trossachs National ...

. Due to the way that the regions are specified, Speyside is wholly within the

Highland region Highland (, ; ) is a council area in the Scottish Highlands and is the largest local government area in both Scotland and the United Kingdom. It was the 7th most populous council area in Scotland at the 2011 census. It has land borders with t ...

and thus whiskies produced in Speyside may legally be described as coming from either region.

Distilleries

Illicit distilleries were common in the 1800s, but eventually, licences became available after the passing of th
1823 Excise Act
George Smith was the first licensee in Speyside, in 1824, and his small operation at Upper Drumin in the Glen Livet valley eventually grew into the massive Glenlivet enterprise. Today, the major distilleries in the region are owned by leading international drinks groups including

Diageo Diageo plc ( ) is a British Multinational corporation, multinational alcoholic beverage company, with its headquarters in London, England. It is a major distributor of Scotch whisky and other spirits and operates from 132 sites around the world ...

LVMH LVMH Moët Hennessy Louis Vuitton SE (), commonly known as LVMH, is a French multinational holding company and conglomerate that specializes in luxury goods and has its headquarters in Paris, France. The company was formed in 1987 through the ...

and

Pernod Ricard Pernod Ricard () is a French company best known for its anise-flavoured pastis apéritifs Pernod Anise and Ricard Pastis (often referred to simply as ''Pernod'' or '' Ricard''). The world's second-largest wine and spirits seller, it also produ ...

, by family-owned companies including J. & G. Grant and William Grant & Sons and by The Edrington Group (majority-owned by a charitable trust). Roughly 50 percent of Scotland's whisky is made here in the approximately 50 distilleries located in this region. According to one source, the top five are The Macallan, Glenfiddich,

Aberlour Aberlour () is a village in Moray, Scotland, south of Elgin, Moray, Elgin on the road to Grantown-on-Spey, Grantown. The Lour Burn (landform), burn is a tributary of the River Spey, and it and the surrounding parish are both named Aberlour, bu ...

, Glenfarclas and Balvenie. Glenfiddich 2005

This dry, warm, region is a natural for whisky distillers because it is close to barley farms, contains the River Spey and is close to the Atlantic port of Garmouth. The water in the area is said to have "the lowest level of dissolved minerals" of any area in Scotland, and that may affect the taste of its whiskies. Another report explains that "

quartzite Quartzite is a hard, non- foliated metamorphic rock that was originally pure quartz sandstone.Essentials of Geology, 3rd Edition, Stephen Marshak, p 182 Sandstone is converted into quartzite through heating and pressure usually related to tecton ...

at the source keeps high levels of minerals from mixing with the water". The ''Visit Scotland'' website indicates that the region's whiskies have a fruity nature "ranging from ripe pears to sultanas" and some exhibit "sweet, caramel and fruity notes". Another review states that the use of peat is not common here, so many of the whiskies are not "smoky"; the article concluded that "typically, most Speyside whisky is fruity, sweet, and nutty, featuring notes of apple, honey, vanilla, and spice".

Benefits to the region

In addition to providing jobs and income for barley farmers and distillery employees in the region, whisky production has helped improve tourism. Hotels and others with tourism businesses then benefit. All regions of that produce Scotch Whisky benefit, of course; the Scotch Whisky Association estimated in 2019 that whisky tourism in Scotland generates £68.3 million per year. The Association also stated that the industry supported 40,000 jobs and accounted for over £4 billion in exports for Scotland; the specific benefits for Speyside were not provided. The region hosts an annual whisky festival known as "Spirit of Speyside". Scotland's Malt Whisky Trail is a tourism initiative featuring seven working Speyside distilleries, a historic distillery (Dallas Dhu, now a museum) and the Speyside Cooperage. A 2012 BBC article recommends a leisurely tour, taking a day or two at each distillery to appreciate the local "traditions and lore". In 2017, tourism in the Moray Speyside area increased significantly, by 50,000 visitors, primarily because of the appeal of the Malt Whisky Trail in the region. A Trail rep stated (in summer 2019) that 60% of tourists to Speyside visit at least one distillery. In addition to those on the Trail, some other distilleries also have visitor centres.

List of Speyside distilleries

* Allt-A-Bhainne * Auchroisk * Aultmore * Balmenach * Balvenie * BenRiach * Benrinnes * Benromach * Braeval * Cardhu * Cragganmore * Craigellachie * Dailuaine * Dalmunach *

* Glen Elgin * Glen Grant * Glen Keith *

Glen Moray Glen Moray distillery is a Speyside single malt, Speyside distillery producing Single malt Scotch, single malt scotch whisky. Situated on the banks of the River Lossie in Elgin, Moray, Elgin, Moray the distillery started production in September ...

* Glen Spey * Glenallachie * Glenburgie * Glendullan * Glenfarclas * Glenfiddich * Glenlivet * Glenlossie * Glenrothes * Glentauchers * Inchgower * Kininvie * Knockando * Knockdhu * Linkwood * Longmorn * Macallan * Mannochmore * Miltonduff * Mortlach * Roseisle * Speyburn * Speyside * Strathisla * Strathmill * Tamdhu * Tamnavulin *

Tomintoul Tomintoul (; from , meaning "Hillock of the Barn") is a village in the Moray council area of Scotland in the historic county of Banffshire. Within Cairngorms National Park, the village lies close to the banks of the River Avon and is said by s ...

* Tormore

Closed Speyside distilleries

* Caperdonich distillery * Coleburn distillery * Convalmore distillery * Dallas Dhu distillery (open as a museum) * Imperial distillery * Parkmore distillery * Pittyvaich distillery

Other brands

In addition to those single malts sold under the distilleries' names, brands associated with Speyside include Allt-á-Bhainne, Glen Turner, Lismore, McClelland's Single Malt, and Tlàth.

In popular culture

American indie band,

Bon Iver Bon Iver ( ) is an American indie folk band founded in 2006 by singer-songwriter Justin Vernon in Eau Claire, Wisconsin. Vernon had originally formed Bon Iver as a solo project, but it eventually became a band consisting of Vernon (vocals, guit ...

, released a song entitled "Speyside" on September 20, 2024 as the first single to a forthcoming EP. The song's lyrics were inspired by a visit to Speyside quay, and under the influence of the local spirit.

References

External links

GreaterSpeyside.com - all things SpeysideInteractive map
of Speyside distilleries which are open to the public
Speyside Cooperage

Speyside Distillery Online Guide
{{Scottish Distilleries Economy of Highland (council area) Economy of Moray Scottish malt whisky