Scottish Whisky Regions

The Scottish Whisky Regions

Scottish Whisky can be divided into five key geographical regions: Highland, Lowland, Speyside, Cambeltown and Islands.

It would be helpful if each region was prescriptive of flavour but, sadly, that’s not the case. That would be too easy. Geography provides general guidelines to what occurs on the palate but history, politics, economics and science tend to confuse matters with all manner of caveats and exceptions – rendering any attempt to entirely relate territory to taste rather futile. But we thought we’d show you a map anyway. Everyone likes maps.

You’ve got your style of barley, you’ve got your maturation, you’ve got your oak influence and you’ve got your distinctive distillery character And between all these lines on a graph there’s an area where, to put it bluntly, shit happens that no-one can really define. That’s what makes whisky unique.

Lowland

The column still is king here. Lowland whiskies are light, softly spoken styles with plenty to say to those willing to listen. The spread of distilleries is small and sparse with Glenkinchie in the east, Auchentoshan in the West and, to the South, Bladnoch and Ailsa Bay almost in England.

Highlands: United only in their dissimilarity, Highland whiskies are vast and varied, encapsulating whisky’s enigmatic, contradictory character. To the south, explore the underrated richness of Glengoyne; discover the dulcet tones of Dalwhinnie at the Highland’s heart and adventure to Oban’s western outpost for some fruit and spice. Glen Garioch is a bit of a beast in the east, ploughing a fairly lonesome furrow with some firm, full-bodied whiskies while to the region’s nosebleed north, Old Pulteney, in the rather weird town of Wick, is more straight-jacket than smoking jacket; its idiosyncratic expressions offering nutty notes and touches of fruitcake.

Speyside

Wedged between Aberdeen in the east and Inverness to the west, Speyside is to whisky what Bordeaux is to red wine; Cognac is to brandy and Champagne is to bubbly.

Unrivalled in the sheer density of distilleries, Speyside boasts nearly half of all the stills in Scotland and, at one point, there were as many as 200 residing in the Livet valley. It’s a stylistic smorgasbord not synonymous with one particular flavour profile but, if it helps, you can draw a feint, fluctuating dividing line between distilleries that lean towards lighter styles (Glenlivet, Glenfiddich) and those who pay homage to the past with richer, more robust expressions (Balvenie, The Macallan, Glenfarclas).

Islands

An arching, remote archipelago stretching from Arran right round to the Islay via the Hebrides, the ‘Islands’ offer whiskies that, like the islands themselves, can be inaccessible and uncompromising yet hugely rewarding to those who willing to embark on a journey to discover them.

The whiskies on the Isle of Arran are laced with a lovely lightness and plenty of lemon and lime; Jura’s eponymous distillery does laidback whiskies which, like the locals, don’t seem in a rush to get anywhere soon; while Tobermory on the Isle of Mull is similarly, suitably leftfield. On the Isle of Skye, Talisker used to be the only whisky of distinction, but it is now being given a solid run for its money by Torabhaig, providing a light and sweet smoke that has seen us replacing our Lagavullin. Meanwhile up in the Orkneys, Highland Park oscillates between smoke and sweetness.

But what of Islay (pronounced eye-la)? Peaty and smoky. The trio of distilleries to the south: Ardbeg, Lagavulin and Laphroaig, epitomise the Islay character: Imagine Lapsang Souchong-sipping, pipe-puffing, smoked kippers wrapped in bacon doing laps in a Loch of iodine on Bonfire night. Think elbow-pads of a geography teacher, the hot knees of campfire trousers; a first kiss with a crusty old Colonel; and the whiff of Winston Churchill’s leather-clad mahogany desk after a long night chomping on cigars and pushing little soldiers about a map with a windscreen wiper.

On the east side of the island, the understated Caol Ila slides the smoke dial down a notch or two before Bowmore, on Islay’s inner west coast, slides it back up again with a touch of tropical fruit too. Further west is Bruichladdich, reborn in 2001 and making up for lost time with a prolific output of eclectic, innovative expressions.

Campbeltown

Once a thriving hub of whisky production, Campbeltown is less prolific these days but its three regional distilleries produce salty, dry and smoky whiskies of which the entrepreneurial Springbank is the most renowned.