The spirit of Scotland

Rob Allanson introduces us to Scotland's whisky producing regions

Scotch malt whisky is one of the very essences of Scotland; a golden and copper spider's web that sprawls across the country and weaves its way through history.

Whisky can often provide a link back to the motherland as it sums up the country and the people of this great nation. Every sip hails back to the place the water of life was born, peat-smoke and bog myrtle, heather, fresh hay and honey, white beaches and salt spray: the scents of the land.

It is not often you get something that has so much variation within such a relatively small geographical area, so for the purposes of our guide we have split Scotland up into its traditional whisky producing areas.

There are six main regions, each with a distinctive style, including Speyside, Highland, Islands, Islay, the Lowlands and Campbeltown.

There are plenty of places to stay in the main cities so it is easy to find a base and then head out on the trail hunting some of the best whiskies Scotland has to offer.

Speyside
We start off in what many consider to be the true whisky country. It certainly is one of the finest whisky producing regions in the world and has the greatest concentration of distilleries.

Depending where you draw the boundary lines there is between a third and a half of Scotland's malt distilleries here including some of the world's best loved names, as well as some you may not have heard of.

With classic names such as Glenfiddich, Macallan, Aberlour and The Glenlivet, and an official whisky trail of it...

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• By : Rob Allanson
• In : Drinks
• Issue : 34
• Page : 67
• Words : 1,612