A guide to Speyside | Scotch whisky regions

Reading time: 8 minutes

The Scotch Whisky Regulations of 2009 define Speyside as: ‘(i) the wards of Buckie, Elgin City North, Elgin City South, Fochabers Lhanbryde, Forres, Heldon and Laich, Keith and Cullen and Speyside Glenlivet of the Moray Council as those wards are constituted in the Moray (Electoral Arrangements) Order 2006(b); and (ii) the Badenoch and Strathspey ward of the Highland Council as that ward is constituted in the Highland (Electoral Arrangements) Order 2006(c).’

That was a bit old school best man speech, wasn’t it? “Webster’s Dictionary defines love as…” Much in the same way that isn’t fit for a good union, that geographical distinction does not sum up the whisky epicenter that is Speyside. Home to over 50 whisky distilleries, the greatest number of any Scotch whisky region, the northeast of the Highlands has a rich tradition of whisky making by the River Spey and its tributaries. Full of natural water sources, aided by fields of local barley, and in an ideal whisky maturation climate, Speyside has grown into what is surely the most extraordinary single area of whisky production in the world. But how? Our guide to Speyside will explain all…