The Central Highlands - The Rough Guide to Scottish Highlands and Islands - page 174

by Thomas Telford in 1815. The local distillery isn't open to the public, though Glen
Grant (see box below) with its attractive gardens is only a few miles up the road at Rothes.

Speyside Cooperage
Dufftown Rd • Mon-Fri 9am-4pm (last tour 3.30pm) • £3.50 • W speysidecooperage.co.uk
For an unusual alternative to a distillery tour, the Speyside Cooperage is well worth
a visit. After a short exhibition explaining the ancient and skilled art of cooperage,

2

TOURING MALT WHISKY COUNTRY
Speyside is the heart of Scotland's whisky industry, and the presence of more than fifty distilleries
is testimony to a unique combination of clear, clean water, benign climate and gentle upland
terrain. Yet for all the advertising-influenced visions of timeless traditions, whisky is a multimillion-
pound business dominated by huge corporations, and to many working distilleries visitors are an
afterthought, if not a downright nuisance. That said, plenty are located in attractive historic
buildings that now go to some lengths to provide an engaging experience for visitors. Mostly this
involves a tour around the essential stages in the whisky-making process, though a number of
distilleries now offer pricier connoisseur tours with a tutored tasting (or nosing , as it's properly
called) and in-depth studies of the distiller's art. Some tours have restrictions on children.
There are eight distilleries on the o cial Malt Whisky Trail ( W maltwhiskytrail.com), a clearly
signposted seventy-mile meander around the region. These are Benromach, Cardhu, Dallas
Dhu Historic Distillery, Glenfiddich, Glen Grant, Glenlivet, Glen Moray and Strathisla. Unless
you're seriously interested in whisky, it's best to just pick out a couple that appeal. All offer a
guided tour, and at most places - but not all - it's okay to turn up without booking. You could
cycle or walk parts of the route, using the Speyside Way (see box opposite). The following is a
list of selected highlights from the area; not all are on the of cial trail.
Cardhu On the B9102 at Knockando T 01479 874635,
W discovering-distilleries.com/cardhu. Established
over a century ago, when the founder's wife would raise a
red flag to warn crofters if the authorities were on the
lookout for their illegal stills. With attractive, pagoda-
topped buildings, it sells rich, full-bodied whisky with
distinctive peaty flavours that comes in an attractive
bulbous bottle; £5 including voucher. April & May Mon-
Fri 10am-5pm; June-Aug Mon-Thurs & Sat 10am-
5pm, Fri 10am-7pm, Sun 11am-4pm; Sept Mon-Sat
10am-5pm, Sun 11am-4pm; Oct-March Mon-Fri
11am-3pm; tours at 11am, noon, 1pm & 2pm.
Glen Grant Rothes T 01340 832118, W glengrant
.com. Makes a well-known, floral whisky aggressively
marketed to the younger customer. The highlight here
is the attractive Victorian gardens, a mix of well-tended
lawns and mixed, mature trees which include a tumb-
ling waterfall and a hidden whisky safe; £3.50 including
voucher. Mid-Jan to mid-Dec Mon-Sat 9.30am-5pm,
Sun noon-5pm.
Glenfiddich On the A941 just north of Dufftown
T 01340 820373, W glenfiddich.com. The biggest
and slickest of all the Speyside distilleries, despite the
fact that it's still owned by the same Grant family who
founded it in 1887. It's a light, sweet whisky packaged
in triangular bottles - unusually, the bottling is still
done on the premises and is part of the tours (offered in
various languages); free. Daily 9.30am-4.30pm.

Glendronach 8 miles northeast of Huntly T 01466
730202, W glendronachdistillery.com. Off the o cial
trail, this isolated distillery makes much of the fact that,
uniquely, its stills are heated in the traditional method
by coal fires; £5. Booking essential. May-Sept daily
10am-4.30pm; Oct-April Mon-Fri 10am-4.30pm.
Glenlivet On the B9008 to Tomintoul T 01340
821720, W theglenlivet.com. A famous name in a lonely
hillside setting. This was the first licensed distillery in the
Highlands, following the 1823 act that aimed to reduce
illicit distilling and smuggling. The Glenlivet 12-year-old
malt is a floral, fragrant, medium-bodied whisky; free.
April-Oct Mon-Sat 9.30am-5pm, Sun noon-5pm.
Speyside Cooperage See above.
Strathisla Keith T 01542 783044. A small, old-
fashioned distillery claiming to be Scotland's oldest
(1786); it's certainly one of the most attractive, with the
River Isla rushing by. Inside there's an old-fashioned
mashtun and brass-bound spirit safes. You can arrive
here on one of the restored trains of the Keith &
Dufftown Railway (see opposite) ; £6. Booking advised.
April-Oct Mon-Sat 9.30am-5pm, Sun noon-5pm.
Macallan Near Craigellachie T 01340 872 280,
W themacallan.com. Small tours, and a classy whisky
aged in sherry casks to give it a rich colour and flavour.
£10. Booking essential. April-Aug Mon-Sat 9.30am-
4.30pm; Sept & Oct Mon-Fri 9.30am-4.30pm;
Nov-March Mon-Fri 11am-3pm.