Scotland, Speyside

anCnoc (a-nock) is actually produced at the Knockdhu distillery which is situated in the picturesque village of Knock in Aberdeenshire, up in the north east corner of Scotland.

In 1892 John Morrison bought the Knock estate from the Duke of Fife, following the discovery of several springs on the southern slope of Knock Hill. The surrounding land was full of peat and barley and the Great North Railway line ran nearby. John saw a golden opportunity. Knockdhu opened its doors in October 1894 and the methods used to make anCnoc have hardly changed in over 100 years. It remained in continuous operation until 1931, when it was forced to close for a few years due to the economic depression. Wartime restrictions on barley forced a second closure from 1940-1945. Knockdhu was again closed in 1983, but was sold to Inver House in 1988, production resumed in February 1989. Previously named Knockdhu after the distillery, it was renamed anCnoc in 1994 to avoid confusion with Knockando.

anCnoc is a Gaelic word meaning 'the hill'

Ardmore distillery was founded in 1898, on the Eastern edge of Speyside at Kennethmont. Just one year after it was built, the whisky market collapsed due to over supply but Ardmore survived.

The original distillery was built with two stills and two more were built in 1955. By 1974 it had eight stills.

In many ways Ardmore Traditional is a taste journey back in time. To a time when most Highland distilleries dried their barley with the sweet smoke of local Highland peat. To a time before ‘Chill – Filtering’ was invented and when maturation length and style depended on the skill of the Master Blender rather than a preset age or barrel type.

Ardmore was and is the fingerprint Malt Whisky of Teacher’s Highland Cream.

The Auchroisk Distillery is located between Aberlour and Keith on Highway A95 in Scotland. The name is pronounced "orth-rusk," which means "ford across the red stream" in Gaelic and refers to the Mulben Burn from which the distillery draws its cooling water. Although Auchroisk is relatively new, built in 1973, it has amassed numerous awards for both its whisky and building architecture. The distillery has eight stainless steel washbacks and eight high necked pot stills which produces a light, elegant spirit. Only 10% of the production is sold as single malt, the remaining being used in blends, specially in the well-known J&B.

Auchroisk is owned by Diageo.

Aultmore(gaelic for big burn)distillery lies several miles north of the town of Keith on the eastern fringe of Speyside. The distillery was established by Alexander Edwards and building commenced in 1895 with production in May 1897. Hard times were to come as distilleries were closed during World War I to conserve supplies of barley. The distillery was closed again from 1943-45 to conserve barley supplies during World War II but by the early 1950’s Aultmore was distilling again. In the late 1960’s a programme of improvement and expansion began at Aultmore. The two stills were converted to steam heating in 1967, the long disused water-wheel was demolished and the steam engine went into retirement in 1969 on the eve of a complete reconstruction. The distillery was closed from January 1970 to February 1971, when two additional stills were installed and the boiler was converted from coal-burning to oil-firing. In 1998, just a little over a century after it was founded, Aultmore was acquired by current owners Bacardi through their subsidiary John Dewar & Sons.

Balmenach distillery is nestled at the bottom of the Haughs of Cromdale in the Spey valley. In the early 1800 three brothers crossed these hills from Tomintoul and set up a farm. One of these brothers was a James McGregor who also set up an illicit still on the site. Shortly after the licensing act was introduced James McGregor obtained a license for his distillery formally establishing it in 1824.

The distillery was owned and operated by the McGregor family until it was sold in 1922 to a company that would become DCL. In 1993 UDV took the decision to mothball Balmenach, the distillery lay silent until 1998 when Inver House Distillers bought the distillery making it the company's fifth and largest distillery. The first distillate of Balmenach for 5 years was then produced in March that year, and stored in casks in one of the three dunnage warehouses on the site.

As is predominant of Inver House Distillers the traditional machinery and methods are still used to this day. This includes a cast iron mash tun mashing slightly more than 8 tonnes every 7.5 hours. The wash is fermented in six douglas fir washbacks for a minimum of 50 hours before it is sent to the stillhouse for distillation.

The stillhouse comprises of three wash stills and three spirit stills capable producing over 2 million litres of whisky a year. This sprit travels slowly through 90 metres of copper tube coils in large tubs of cold water, known as "worm tubs", before it enters one of the two spirit safes in the stillhouse. There it is transferred to one of two spirit vats. The smaller of these being used for the filling of casks on site to then be matured in oak casks for many years until the spirit is deemed at its best for bottling.

Balvenie Castle lent its name to the adjacent farm, Balvenie Mains. It also lent some stones to Balvenie New House, a replacement dwelling rather easier to heat and maintain than a medieval fort. After several decades the house itself stood empty, but soon developed a new role as the heart of a brand-new distillery from which the first spirit flowed on May Day 1893.

The basement became a warehouse, the first storey a malt floor and upstairs a loft to store the barley from the fertile thousand acres of Balvenie Mains.

In the 1920s a new maltings was built right next door, using stone blocks from the now levelled New House. Little else has changed over the years.

BenRiach, 'the hill of the deer' was built in 1898 by the Grant family at the foothills of the Grampian mountains. In 1900 it was mothballed after just 2 years of production, and remained closed until 1965. However its floor maltings remained in constant production providing malted barley for the Longmorn distillery next door. In 1965 BenRiach is reopened by Glenlivet Distillers and is nearly totally rebuilt internally. In 1972 production of peated malt whisky also commences. Seagrams takes over ownership in 1978 and 2 more stills are added in 1985. BenRiach is released as a branded single malt in 1994, but annual bottling is limited to a few hundred cases. Pernod Ricard take over in 2001 but, this leads to the distillery being mothballed again in 2002.

In 2004 BenRiach is acquired by an independent consortium and production re commences.

Located in the Speyside region,the early history of the Benrinnes Distillery inidcates that it was run as part of a farm. It was rebuilt as a distillery when the buildings were destroyed during floods in 1829. The distillery has enjoyed almost continual production with only short breaks during the war years. In 1966 a 2nd set of stills was added, doubling production.

Benrinnes uses a form of triple distillation. This produces spirit of around 76% volume, several degrees more than standard double distillation. Benrinnes uses worm-tubs, the traditional pipe-spirals immersed in cold water, to condense the vapours produced by the stills.

Benromach is a Speyside distillery founded by Duncan McCallum and F.W. Brickman in 1898 and currently owned and run by Gordon and Macphail of Elgin. It is situated near Forres in Morayshire and is fed with spring water from the Chapelton Springs in the Romach Hills beside Forres.

Duncan MacCallum had previously been working at the Glen Nevis Distillery in Campbeltown and FW Brickmann was a spirit broker in Leith, Edinburgh. Construction work started at the site of Benromach Distillery in 1898 however due to the depression in the Scotch Whisky industry in 1898 the distillery did not start producing whisky until 1900 but closed the same year due to a lack of money.

In 1911 Benromach was acquired by the London based Harvey McNair & Co who continued distilling until the onset of the First World War. After the war Benromach was acquired by Benromach Distillery Ltd and was run by this new private company until 1925. In 1938 Benromach was acquired by Associated Scottish Distilleries Ltd which later became a part of Scottish Malt Distillers Ltd. Between 1966 and 1974 the distillery was modernised and continued to run until 1983 when the distillery was officially closed.

In 1993 Gordon and MacPhail took over the site and in 1997 they started to restore the distillery to a working order. Finally in 1998 the distillery was officially reopened and bottling of the new malt started in 2004.

Cardhu Distillery,(pronounced 'car-DOO') is one of the best located distilleries in Speyside. High on the hills on the north side of the Spey Valley with extensive views to the south, it is also the home of Johnnie Walker, the number one blended Scotch whisky in the world. Cardhu means 'Black Rock' in Gaelic. The distillery was renamed "Cardhu" in 1981 in order to avoid the confusion between Cardhu the trade name and Cardow, which was the name of the distillery.

By the time John Cumming bought a license for his Cardhu distillery in 1824, he and his wife Helen had already been smuggling and producing illicit whisky for 13 years. Whenever the Excise officers passed by, Helen would disguise the mashing and fermenting as bread-making. Then, while the officers drank the tea she made for them, she would fly a red flag from the barn to warn their neighbours that revenue men were around.

Once the distillery was officially licensed, John and Helen Cumming continued to value quality over quantity. In 1885 the distillery was rebuilt on a new piece of land but continued to stay in the hands of the Cummings, being run by Elizabeth Cumming, the daughter-in-law of Helen Cumming. The qualities of the malt they produced became essential to John Walker and Sons (of Johnnie Walker fame). So much so, in fact, that in 1893, Cardhu was the first distillery that they bought – although it was still run for a time by the Cumming family. It is now part of the Diageo Group.

Cardhu continues to be successful and with annual sales of more that 3 million bottles, it is the 6th best selling single malt in the world.

Cragganmore’s name was taken from the nearby hill, whose green stone built the distillery, 'Craggan Mor'. The distillery was founded in 1869 by John Smith, who is said to have been the most experienced distiller of his day. He had been manager of Macallan, Glenlivet and Wishaw distilleries, and was lease-holder of Glenfarclas Distillery when he persuaded his landlord, Sir George Macpherson-Grant, to lease him the land to build a new distillery at Ballindalloch beside the Strathspey railway line.

Cragganmore was the first distillery to be deliberately sited to take advantage of the railway line and a private siding was built to accommodate distillery traffic. John Smith was a great railway enthusiast, but since he weighed 22 stones (140kg) and was too wide to enter a railway carriage, he was obliged to travel in the Guard’s van.

He died in 1886 leaving the business to his son Gordon, who largely rebuilt the distillery in 1901. So it exists in the form we know today, though in keeping with tradition, the two pairs of flat-top stills (designed by John Smith himself), have been preserved throughout. Despite further changes of ownership and two world wars, Cragganmore has continued to produce a complex, highly prized single malt whisky.

The Craigellachie distillery was founded in 1891 by Craigellachie-Glenlivet Distillery, a group of blenders and merchants led by Alexander Edward and Sir Peter Mackie. The name Craigellachie (pronounced "Craig-ella-ki") means 'rocky hill'. Its location is both close to the Fiddich and Spey rivers, and to the railway. The waters from the Fiddich provided cooling water and power. In 1965, the distillery was updated and a new still house was built along with two additional stills. It now has eight wooden washbacks. Craigellachie distillery, often referred to as the White Horse distillery, was sold to John Dewar & Sons, who in turn are owned by Bacardi.

Pronounced 'Dal-yoo-en', Daluaine sits close to Ben Rinnes in Speyside and was founded in 1852 by William Mackenzie. When he died in 1865 his widow leased the distillery to James Fleming, a banker from Aberlour. Together with William Mackenzie's son he founded Mackenzie and Company. In 1891 Dailuaine-Glenlivet was founded and in 1898 Dailuaine and Talisker were fused to create

Daluaine-Talisker Distilleries Co Ltd. In 1917 a big fire destroyed the pagoda-roof, which was the supposedly the first pagoda to be built in Scotland. The distillery had to close, but reopened three years later and was bought by Distillers Company Limited (DCL) in 1925. 1960 the Distillery was completely renovated and is enlarged from four to six stills. In 1987 Dailuaine was taken over by United Distillers.(now owned by Diageo)

Glen Elgin is an unusually distinctive Speyside single malt, from a little known traditional distillery, that finds its home 10 miles south of where the river Lossie exits to the sea and about 40 miles east of Inverness.

Founded at the end of the whisky boom in 1898, Glen Elgin, was built and designed by the notable distillery architect Charles Doig of Elgin. Situated approximately 3 miles south of Elgin on the road to Rothes, little has changed in a hundred years. In the 1930s, it became part of Scottish Malt Distillers, for whom it was an important component of the well-known White Horse blend. Innovations were rare during Glen Elgin’s first half century though one was crucial – the site had partly been chosen for its ability to make use of abundant water supplies from the Glen Burn to drive a turbine that provided most of the power needed to run the machinery. As a result, electricity from the national supply was not needed until 1950.

The early 1960s brought much needed investment and four new stills were finally added to the original two. The spirit and wash stills are similar in size and shape, although the spirit stills have a flatter pot. There is a gentle incline on the lyne arms which lead outside to the worm tubs. Using worm tubs to cool the distilled vapours, as opposed to condensers, adds a depth and richness to the spirit.

Originally a meal mill, Glen Keith Distillery is in Keith, on the banks of the river Isla, opposite the Strathisla Distillery. Although much of the mill has been demolished, Chivas Brothers converted it to a distillery in 1958 and it was one of the first new malt distilleries built in Scotland since the distillery-building boom of the 1890's. In 1970, Glen Keith became the first distillery in Scotland to have a gas-fired still and the first microprocessor for controlling aspects of production was installed 10 years later. The system was subsequently extended to provide improved quality and production controls in the mill and eventually even the still room. Glen Keith tested and introduced many other innovative processes designed to complement and refine the traditional arts and skills involved in the making of malt whisky. The distillery is now owned by Pernod Ricard, who purchased Chivas Brothers Limited in 2001. However, it has been silent since March 1999, but site is still used as a filling store and technical centre.

Glen Moray distillery is located on the banks of the river Lossie in the Western quarter of the ancient city, and royal burgh of Elgin, Speyside, Scotland. In the year 1831, Glen Moray was originally built as a brewery. It was converted to a distillery in 1897, but closed in 1910. It was briefly reopened in 1912 but closed again the same year, after which the distillery remained silent for almost a decade. After Glenmorangie took over it managed to resume production in 1923. With the exception of the year 1932 when no whisky was produced at all, the distillery remained in production until 1958 when it was reconstructed. The distillery received 2 additional stills at this time. The Glenmorangie Company who had owned the distillery since 1920, sold in 2008 to La Martiniquaise.

Glen Spey distillery was built in 1878 by James Stuart & Co. under the name 'Mill of Rothes'. The distillery actually started its life as an oatmeal mill. The exterior of the distillery is still pleasingly Victorian with solid, weathered stone buildings. Much of the interior, too, is in period. There are two pairs of stills, the second pair being added in 1970 during rebuilding of the distillery. Water is taken from the Doonie Burn. The two spirit stills both have so-called 'purifiers'. Purifiers act as small condensers, returning a proportion of the alcohol vapours back to the pot to be re-distilled. These purifiers are said to produce a lighter, more delicate malt whisky.

Glenburgie Distillery's history can be traced back to 1810 when it was just a small stone building called Kilnflat. The distillery operated under this name until 1878, although it was closed around 1870. It was revived again in 1878 when it was then renamed Glenburgie. (also known as Glenburgie-Glenlivet) For a time, the distillery was actually producing two different whiskies, Glenburgie, and another malt, known as Glencraig, in 1981, the Lomond Stills were replaced by a pair of conventional pot stills. Bottlings are still quite rare as most of it is used for blends like Ballantine's. Glenburgie is now owned by Pernod Ricard.

The history of distilling at the Recherlich farm in Ballindalloch dates back well before 1836, when the distillery became legally established. At that time the tenant for the farm was Robert Hay. He moved in 1865, and John Grant a local cattle farmer took an interest as he was on the outlook for a staging post between the family farm in Glenlivet and the important nearby market in Elgin. So in 1865 John Grant acquired the tenancy for the Recherlich farm and as part of the transaction purchased the Glenfarclas (Glen of the Green Grassland) Distillery. The cattle drovers would have been amongst the first to enjoy drams from the distillery and would have helped spread the reputation. The story of Glenfarclas is as rich and colourful as the whisky which bears its name. It is the story of one family, the Grants, who since 1865 have been united in creating a range of outstanding Speyside Single Malts. The company remains to this day in family hands with 5th generation John Grant the current Chairman. Glenfarclas is matured in two types of cask : Plain oak casks, which have been used to mature Bourbon and Scotch whisky and Spanish sherry casks, which have matured Oloroso or Fino sherry. Glenfarclas does not use any caramel to colour its whiskies and so the lustrous colours of the finished products are all the result of the cask maturation. Glenfarclas was voted Distiller of the Year at the 2006 Icons of Whisky.

The Glenfiddich Distillery was founded in 1886 by William Grant in Dufftown, Scotland, in the valley of the River Fiddich. Following difficult times in the 1960s and 70s, many small, independent distillers were bought up or went out of business. In order to survive, W. Grant & Sons expanded their production of the drink, and introduced advertising campaigns, a visitors' centre and from 1957 packaged the Scotch in distinctive triangular bottles. Later, W. Grant & Sons was one of the first distilleries to package its bottles in tubes and gift tins. This marketing strategy was successful, and Glenfiddich has now become the world's best-selling single malt. It is sold in 180 countries, and accounts for about 35% of single malt sales.

In 2009, Glenfiddich collected the ISC Distiller of the Year title, which follows on from the same accolade in 2008, 2006 and 2005 and IWSC Worldwide Distiller of the Year title in 2007. It is still independent, owned and run by the fifth generation of the Grant family. Not much has changed at the Glenfiddich Distillery since the first spirit ran from the stills on Christmas Day, 1887, even the copper stills are the same, every original bump and dent faithfully reproduced lest the flavour should be affected.

The Glenlivet Distillery is near Ballindalloch in Moray, Scotland. In 1824, the distillery was established at Upper Drumin by George and his youngest son John Gordon Smith. George Smith died in 1871 and his son John inherited the distillery. It has operated almost continuously since, even remaining open throughout the Great Depression and its only closure came during World War II. They draw water from Josie's Well and other springs a short distance from the distillery. The stills are lantern shaped with long, narrow necks, all of which helps to produce a light tasting spirit. It has 4 wash stills and 4 spirit stills.

Glenlivet Distillery (George & J.G. Smith, Ltd.) merged with the Glen Grant Distillery in 1953. The company would go on to merge with Hill Thomson & Co, and Longmorn-Glenlivet Distilleries, in 1970, before changing their name to Glenlivet Distillers Ltd in 1972. The company was then purchased by Seagram in 1977, with ownership of Glenlivet then passing to Pernod Ricard.

Hidden in a tree lined gorge, The Glenrothes Distillery is situated in the heart of Speyside beside the burn of Rothes which flows from the Mannoch Hils into the river Spey. On 28th December 1879 the first pure spirit flowed from the stills at the distillery. In 1896 the still house was expanded to add a second pair of stills and John Smith, an experienced Speyside distiller, becomes distillery manager until 1928, and is followed by his son and grandson. During the first world war Glenrothes closed briefly (1917-18) and then after the US Prohibition, and Wall street crash, production at Glenrothes dwindled to 64,000 gallons, its lowest for 44 years. In 1933 Glenrothes closes, along with almost every distillery in Scotland. It reopens in the autumn following the repeal of prohibition in America. Glenrothes gets a third pair of stills in 1963 and the method of heating is changed from direct fire to internal steam coils. External worm tubs are replaced with modern condensers. In 1979 work begins on converting the old malt barn into the new still house and a fourth pair of stills are added. The launch of The Glenrothes 12 year-old Single Malt happened in 1987 and in 1989 a fifth pair of stills are added bringing total capacity to 5.6 million litres a year. In 1994 they launched their "Vintage Malt" with The Glenrothes Vintage 1979. Oversupply in the industry in the year 2000 led to Glenrothes working 6 months on and 6 months off but in 2004 it was back to full production again.

The Glentauchers (pronounced glen-tock-us) Distillery started as a joint venture in 1897, between James Buchanan, the creator of the “Black & White” and “Buchanan” blends and WP Lowrie. The distillery was designed by local architect John Alcock. It is located in the village of Glentauchers, which is close to the Speyside town of Keith.

In 1925 James Buchanan & Company became part of the DCL empire. Glentauchers worked continuously, with exception of the war-time years, until 1985 when it was mothballed. In 1989 it was sold to Allied Distillers who restarted production. The current owners are Chivas Brothers, who are part of the larger Pernod Ricard group.

Built in 1897, by Thomas MacKenzie, the Imperial Distillery coincided with Queen Victoria's Diamond Jubilee, which was no doubt an influencing factor when naming the distillery. The water supply originates from the Mannoch hills to form the Ballintom Burn from where the water is drawn. With a shaky start and history, Imperial distillery started production in the summer of 1898 only to close a year later for 20 years. Production did recommence in 1919 but, again, for only six years. In 1955 it was renovated and reopened and in 1965, the stills increased from 2 to 4, but in 1985 it closed again. Reopened in 1989 by Allied Distillers, it was mothballed in 1998.

Foremost among the distilleries along the banks of the chill, clear waters of the Spey stands Knockando. Built by John Thompson in 1898, the Knockando distillery lies in the village of the same name, derived from the Gaelic ‘Cnoc-an-dhu’ meaning ‘little black hill’. Knockando was the first distillery in Scotland to be built with electric lighting. In 1905 it was linked directly to the Great North of Scotland Railway, which connected Grantown-on-Spey with the main towns of north-east Scotland. The distillery lies near the disused Tamdhu Station.

The quantity of peat used in malting the barley is carefully controlled so as not to overbalance the taste of the final product, and the proportion of sherry casks used is restricted so as to not dominate the taste of the whisky.

Time is another key element, as gentle maturation in oak casks slowly reveal the subtle aromas: delicate with a distinctive fresh almond note in its younger versions, it gains weight and depth of flavour over the years.

Although distillation continues throughout the year, each year of production is still referred to as a Season at Knockando distillery. In each bottle you will only ever find the produce of one single Season - a practice which continues to distinguish Knockando from almost all other single malts. Thus, when the young spirit is brought to the warehouse, the Season of distillation is marked on the end of the cask. And when it is ready to be bottled, it is duly inscribed on the bottle and the gift box together with the year of bottling. No colouring is ever added – it is for this reason that the depth of the colour in successive bottlings sometimes varies.

The original distillery was built in 1821 on the southern outskirts of Elgin by Peter Brown. However, his distillery was completely demoplished and rebuilt by his son William in the 1870s. A new stillhouse with four new stills was added in the 1970s and is now the focus of malt production, the old washbacks are the only part of the old distillery still in use today, but the Victorian buildings still stand, despite much updating and expansion during the 1960s and 1970s. Linkwood has long been prized by blenders, and the vast majority of production goes into Diageo's Johnnie Walker and White Horse blends.

Built on the Rothes road south of Elgin, on the site of an old chapel, the Longmorn distillery was founded by John Duff (John founded 'Glenlossie' 19 years earlier) and two associates, Charles Shirres and George Thomson in 1893. Its neighbour is 'Benriach' Distillery. In the early 1970's, Longmorn merged with "The Glenlivet" distillery to create "The Glenlivet Distillers Ltd". The distillery doubled its production capacity in 1972 and again in 1974, the number of stills went from 4 to 8. Seagram purchased the distillery in 1977 and in 2001 was bought by the French group, Pernod-Ricard. Longmorn is one of the few distilleries who has never stopped production.

The Macallan Distillery was established by Alexander Reid in 1824 when he obtained a license to operate a distillery on a small hill, overlooking the River Spey, in the village of Craigellachie. Roderick Kemp became the new owner of the Macallan distillery in 1892. Kemp then set to work rebuilding the distillery, improving the stills, adding new warehouse facilities, and other buildings. Kemp continued to make improvements through to the end of the century and expand Macallan's production. He also developed most of the company's quality standards, which included ageing its whiskies only in unbroken Spanish oak sherry casks. Although Kemp died in 1909, the management of the distillery was taken over by The Roderick Kemp Trust and the Kemp family remained in control until it was acquired by Highland Distillers Ltd in 1996. During the early 1960s there was a rise in interest for single malt whisky which encouraged Macallan to increase its whisky production however, they maintained their commitment to traditional distilling methods that included the use of small, handcrafted stills. So instead of converting to larger, industrial-sized stills, the company began adding new matching small stills, doubling the number of stills to 12, in 1965. In 1970, the company began construction of a new generation of stills, adding another six in 1974 and three more the following year to reach a total of 21 stills. During the 1990s, following a series of cross sharing ownership agreements the distillery was acquired by the Edrington Group. In 2004 the Fine Oak range was introduced, this new single malt is matured in carefully selected European and American oak casks, which have previously held Sherry or Bourbon.

Mannochmore Distillery was built in 1971 by John Haig & Co. on the site of another distillery, Glenlossie (which was founded in 1876). Between 1985 and 1989 the production at Mannochmore was suspended. The distillery was closed until 1989 and then again briefly in 1995. For nearly a decade the distilling crew from Glenlossie would switch to Mannochmore for a few months, but around 2007 both distilleries operated full time again. Mannochmore is now a Diageo workhorse distillery, principally making malt whisky for the Haig and Dimple blends.

Situated six miles southwest of Elgin is Pluscarden Abbey. Initially a Priory, it was founded by King Alexander II in 1230. Miltonduff Distillery is said to be situated on the site of the Abbey’s meal mill, two miles from the Abbey. A stone from the original Abbey is retained at the distillery. The distillery's water source is the Black Burn, which flows from springs near the Abbey. Miltonduff was established in 1824 by Robert Bain and Andrew Peary - shortly after the legalisation of whisky production. In 1866 William Stuart bought the distillery and remained the sole owner for three decades, until Thomas Yool & Co. acquired part of the distillery in 1895. In 1936 Miltonduff was acquired by Hiram Walker, but in 1986 the majority of the Hiram Walker stocks were acquired by Allied and one year later they obtained the rest. They introduced a 12yr old official bottling with the green label, but it has since been replaced with a 10yr old bottling from Gordon & MacPhail. Allied Domecq was acquired by Pernod Ricard in 2005. From 1967 to 1981, Miltonduff aslo produced a Single Malt called Mosstowie, using a 'Lomond Still' but in 1981 the Lomond stills of Mosstowie were replaced with regular pot stills to increase production of the Miltonduff malt whisky. Miltonduff is a key component of the Ballantines blend.

The distillery takes its name from the original Speyside Distillery in Kingussie which started in 1895 and only produced until 1905. It was demolished in 1911.

Speyside Distillery was built following one man's dream to have his own malt whisky distillery. George Christie, a well known merchant, chose the tranquil spot at Tromie Mills, below the small village of Drumguish and three miles from Kingussie to build his dream. George Christie commissioned Alex Fairlie, a dry stane dyker, to build the distillery. Alex single-handedly laid all the stonework over a period of nearly 20 years and the distillery started production on the 3rd of December in 1990. The old mill and water wheel were retained from the original distillery and are still in working order.

The distillery is not a large production plant, being equipped with a four tonne GlenSpey mash tonne, four 20,000 litre wash backs, a 13,000 litre wash still and a 7,000 litre spirit still, both stills being made by Forsyth's of Rothes, mass production never being one of Mr Christie's objectives.

The distillery draws its water from the old mill lade which originally ran the waterwheel that powered the old mill that gives the site its name.

Strathisla Distillery was founded in 1786 by Alexander Milne and George Taylor, which makes it the oldest distillery in Speyside. Although the illicit distillery was built in the valley (strath) by the river Isla, it was not initially named Strathisla but instead went under the name of Milltown because of its proximity to Miltown Castle. The whisky produced was however called Strahisla-Glenlivet. The distillery was sold to William Longmorne in 1828. Longmorne successfully ran the distillery for many years and greatly expanded the capacity by replacing the original 500 litre stills with two stills holding 10.000 and 20.000 litres each. In the mid-1880s much of the distillery was lost to a fire and was replaced with the beautiful buildings we see today. The distillery changed names between Strathisla and Milton or Milltown a few times in the late 19th century, but ended up being called Milton (or Milltown) until 1950 when it was sold to Chivas Brothers who renamed it Strathisla. In 1965 the number if stills were expanded from two to four. Chivas Brothers (Pernod Ricard) are the current owners.

Strathmill was converted into a distillery in 1891, from the Strathisla corn and flour mill, in the village of Keith.

It is now part of the Diageo stable of distilleries.

Tamdhu Distillery located in the town of Knockando in Banffshire, Scotland, was founded in 1897 by a group of local people and one year later was purchased by Highland Distillers.

The word Tamdhu is derived from the Gaelic meaning 'Little Dark Hill' and the name sets it apart from the numerous "Glens" distilled in Speyside. The history of the distillery was fairly quiet, without changing owners, but still marked by a long dormant time between 1927 and 1947. Its production capacity was tripled between 1972 and 1975 and now has 3 wash stills and 3 spirit stills. The distillery was mothballed in March 2010 but Ian Macleod Distillers has recently announced the purchase of the Tamdhu distillery, from the Edrington Group. The major part of the production from the Tamdhu is used in the blends : Famous Grouse, J&B and Cutty Sark.

In 1966, Tamnavulin-Glenlivet Distillery Co. Ltd. built the Tamnavulin ("mill on the hill") distillery in order to satisfy the growing demand from whisky blenders such as Whyte & Mackay. In 1993, Whyte & Mackay became the owners of Tamnavulin. The Tamnavulin distillery was mothballed in May 1995, with only occasional distillations between 1995 and 2007. Although it is up and running again, stocks are limited.

Located near the village of Tomintoul, in the Glenlivet Estate, at Ballantruan on the east side of the River Avon and in the valley between the Glenlivet Forest and the hills of Cromdale lies the Tomintoul Distillery. Tomintoul (pronounced tom-in-towel was built in the mid 1960s. At a height of around 350m, it is the highest village in the Highlands. The distillery is capable of producing over three million litres of alcohol per annum and distilling equipment includes a semi-Lauter mash tun, six stainless steel washbacks and four stills (with boil balls in their necks). The spirit is matured in a combination of American oak bourbon casks and refill hogshead with some Oloroso sherry butts. Tomintoul has been owned by Angus Dundee Distillers since 2000 and currently operates at full capacity.

The Tormore is one of the younger Scottish distilleries, the distillery construction began in 1958 and was completed in 1960. It was the first new distillery to be built in the country in the 20th century. Designed by Sir Albert Richardson for Long John International, it is a listed building, and one of the most architecturally striking distilleries. The building is made of granite, has copper rotors and a clock which plays 4 different Scottish songs each quarter of an hour. In 1972, the distillery was expanded from four to eight stills. These were converted to be heated by wood chips in 1984, a by-product of the area's forestry. Tormore is owned by Pernod-Ricard.