Scotland’s Whisky Regions
Geography has never been more fun!
Scotland has five whisky producing regions. Although there are variations within each region, for the most part there is an underlying “signature” taste and style to the whiskies produced in each one. It is enough of a similarity that you’d have a rough idea of what you’d be subjecting your taste buds to if you had to try a whisky from a particular region.
This page gives a brief overview of each region. As information about the distilleries in each one is added, those links will appear on this page as well. There are lots of distilleries in Scotland. This is a good thing. But it does mean that we’ll be building up our database over a period of time. Rome wasn’t built in a day, and neither will our database be!
But build it we shall, so please keep checking back for the latest information.
Speyside
I have a sweet tooth. As a result, I’m a sucker for sweet whiskies, so my own personal favourite region is Speyside. This region lies to the north-east of the country, between the towns of Inverness and Aberdeen, with most distilleries clustered along the River Spey or its tributaries.
Over half of Scotland’s whisky distilleries are located in this smallish region. We’re impressed. It also makes Speyside a great place to visit as you can get to see quite a few distilleries in a short space of time.
Highlands
Surrounding Speyside, the rest of the north of the country (including the islands off the west coast) is known as the Highlands. As you may have guessed by the phrase “the rest of the north” this is a large area. Because of its vastness, this is the whisky region with the most variation in taste between the whiskies produced here.
Islay
If you know your geography, you’ll know that Islay (pronounced eye-luh) is an island off the west coast of Scotland. It was given the honour of having a region all to itself, however, rather than being included with the other islands into the Highlands region, as the whiskies produced here are very distinctive. If you’re looking to go big, with a very powerful peaty whisky, then Islay malts are the way to go. Just be warned, the waves crash over the peat used in the making of whiskies here – as a result, Islay whiskies can also have a “seaweedy” taste! That’s not as bad as it sounds, by the way!
Lowlands
The south of the country is known as the Lowlands region. The whiskies produced here are quite light and dry in style.
Campbeltown
Situated on the Mull of Kintyre peninsula, Campbeltown once had over 30 operational distilleries. Now, as a result of economic depression, only three remain. Campbeltown whiskies are full-flavoured and full-bodied, with a slight salty tang.
For details of more countries and their distilleries, click here to return from Scotland’s Whisky Regions to the Whisky Producing Countries list.
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