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Distillery Section |
Malt Whisky
Where Malt Whisky is Made
There are discernable differences
between whiskies made in one region
and those made in another.
Traditionally there were four
distilling regions: Lowland,
Highland, Islay and Campbeltown.
Sometimes the latter two were lumped
together, and some early writers
refer simply to 'Eastern' and
'Western' malts!
|
Speyside |
The whiskies from Speyside
are typically the sweetest of
the malts. |
Speyside
has always been at the centre
of whisky distilling in
Scotland. Lying between
Inverness and Aberdeen in the
Grampian mountains, there are
no less than 84 distilleries
producing whisky (and 12
currently not producing). The
whiskies from Speyside are
typically the sweetest of the
malts, with a variety of
strength from light, floral
flavours to heavy, rich,
sherried flavours.
|
Highlands |
The largest of the regions
and the one that has the
greatest of diversity of style. |
Highland
malts are tricky ones to
characterize, covering such a
wide area from Wick in the
North East of Scotland, the
home of Old Pulteney down to
Glengoyne, outside Glasgow.
Some would even include
Campbeltown as a Highland malt
now while others will claim
the town's independence. These
malts range from medium to
light bodied with heather and
some peatiness in Northern
Highland whiskies and a
sweeter floral flavour in the
whiskies further South.
|
Islay |
Islay malts are often
described as being smoky and
medicinal |
Islay,
like Speyside, is a mecca for
whisky lovers. There are 8
distilleries squeezed onto the
island from the recently
re-opened Bruichladdich and
Ardbeg to Bowmore, Lagavulin,
Bunnahabhain and Laphroaig.
Caol Ila's malts were
re-launched by owners Diageo
in summer 2002, giving a
welcome boost to the
distillery. Taking their smoky
flavour from the peat fuel
used for malting the barley
used in producing their
whiskies, Islay malts are
often described as being smoky
and medicinal, salty and 'seaweedy'.
Port Ellen distillery sadly
ceased production in 1983,
although some bottles of its
wonderful malt are still
available through independent
bottlers such as Signatory and
Douglas Laing & Co.
|
Islands |
The whiskies vary although
all seem to have been influenced
by their seaside locations. |
Covering
a wide and diverse area,
Island malts are produced on
Arran, Mull, Jura, Skye and
Orkney (the island of Islay is
a region in its own right). As
you might expect from such a
broad area, the whiskies vary
although all seem to have been
influenced by their seaside
locations - often salty, with
a peaty, smoky character.
|
Campbeltown |
Towards the end of the
Kintyre peninsula on the West
Coast of Scotland lies
Campbeltown. |
Towards
the end of the Kintyre
peninsula on the West Coast of
Scotland lies Campbeltown. The
town was once home to 32
whisky distilleries at its
peak. While this number has
sadly shrunk to just 2,
Campbeltown can at least boast
the awesome Springbank as one
of its malts.
Campbeltown whiskies are
medium to full bodied, with
some of the peat found in the
neighbouring Islay whiskies
together with some saltiness.
|
|
Lowlands |
The whiskies tend to be
light, fruity and dry whiskies
that are elegant and subtle
rather than robust and peaty. |
The
Lowland region lies South of
an imaginary line that runs
from Dundee to Greenock. The
whiskies tend to be light, dry
whiskies that can taste quite
spirity. Some distilleries
such as Glenkinchie are still
producing reasonable volumes,
while others such as
St.Magdalene in Linlithgow has
sadly been mothballed. On a
positive note, Bladnoch,
Scotland's most Southerly
distillery is now producing
again after several years of
rest. In the meantime,
Bladnoch is still available
from independent bottlers.
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