Whisky Wisdom

The six whisky regions of Scotland

Highlands

The Highlands region is by far the largest region. It's easier to split the Highlands into four subregions; north, east, south and west, as each of these sub-regions has its own style. You’ll find full-bodied single malts in the north, sweet and rich in character, with Glenmorangie and Dalmore being two of the more recognisable whiskies. Lighter, fruity whiskies are more commonly found in the east, such as Glendronach. Similar drams are located in the South, these would typically have a touch less body, such as Aberfeldy. The Western Highlands offers the full body with more of a peaty punch, and the coast has a significant influence on those whiskies; Oban is one of the more prominent names.

Typical Highland flavours are Fruit Cake, Malt, Oak, Heather, Dried Fruit and Smoke

Lowlands

Lowlands is the second biggest whisky region in terms of its area, but it's currently only home to a few distilleries. The Lowlands region covers the south of Scotland up to the north of Glasgow and Edinburgh. It meets the border of the Highlands; the line follows the old county borders running from the Clyde estuary in the west to the River Tay in the east. Anything south of this is to the border with England is classified as the 'Lowlands' in whisky terms.

Lowlands whiskies tend to be light and gentle with no peatiness; unlike any other region, they were once all triple distilled. Only Auchentoshan uses this technique now for all of its production. Due to the inland location of the distilleries, there is slight salinity within the whisky; because of this, Lowland Whiskies are a great entry into malt whisky.

Typical Lowland flavours: Grass, Honeysuckle, Cream, Toffee, Toast and Cinnamon

Speyside

The region of Speyside is located in the northeast of Scotland surrounding the River Spey; it's a sub-region to the neighbouring Highlands because of the high density of distilleries in the area. It's home to the highest number of distilleries in Scotland, with well over 60 at present. Speyside is known for its wide range of whiskies displaying different characters, famously for sweet single malts with either very little peat or no peat present at all. Because of this style, Speyside tends to be an excellent entry-level for those beginning their whisky adventure. They allow the user to discover their favourite tastes when it comes to drinking single malts.

More than 60% of Scotland's whole single malt production is from the active distilleries of Speyside; this shows how important this region is in terms of exports of Scotch and Scottish produce around the World.

Typical Speyside flavours: Apple, Vanilla, Oak, Malt, Nutmeg and Dried Fruit

Islands

Scotch produced on the islands surrounding the mainland of Scotland offers a very diverse and different taste; they're not, however, recognised by the Scotch Whisky Association but are easily grouped for geographic reasons as one as they're all islands.

There are nearly 800 islands off of Scotland’s coastline, with only a few that are inhabited; it's easy to see why the varying style differentiates from North to South. Of the inhabited islands, Orkney has two whisky distilleries, Scapa and Highland Park. Lewis & Harris is home to Abhainn Dearg. Talisker is located on Skye, Tobermory on Mull with Jura and Arran located on their namesake islands. Although diverse in flavours, peat and salinity are found in all Islands whiskies; the latter is because of the sea's vicinity.

Typical Island flavours: Smoke, Brine, Oil, Black Pepper and Honey

Islay

The Scottish island of Islay (pronounced eye-luh) is located to the west of the mainland and is the smallest whisky region in terms of area coverage in Scotland. Even though it's a relatively small island, Islay is currently home to 8 distilleries, 3 of which are World famous - Ardbeg, Laphroaig and Lagavulin.

The region is known for its peaty single malts, and it's believed that whisky distillation reached Scotland from Ireland via Islay in the 13th century, hence the high number of past and present distilleries the island.

Typical Islay flavours: Seaweed, Brine, Carbolic Soap, Apple, Smoke and Kippers

Campbeltown

Campbeltown is part of mainland Scotland, but it's found at the Mull of Kintyre's foot and was once a thriving whisky hotspot with over 34 distilleries. However, it's now home to just 3. A 50% market slump in the 1850s meant what followed was a catastrophic fall from grace. A mixture of improved transport links to the rival distilleries in the north and a decline in quality as distillers cut corners for mass-production resulting in an inferior product.

Today, Campbeltown whisky is back at the top. It is known for its dryness and sometimes pungent taste because of its location; the region sticks out of the mainland and is closer to neighbouring islands Arran and Islay than any other mainland producer.

Typical Campbeltown flavours: Brine, Smoke, Dried Fruit, Vanilla and Toffee