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Welcome to the Scottish malt whisky pages. Below links to pages about the process of making whisky, an overview of the most popular distilleries and an overview of all the working distilleries in Scotland. further down the page general information about Scotland, the history of whisky and the whisky regions.
Scottish Malt Whisky general information
Scotch whisky is, of course, whisky made in Scotland. Whisky has been produced in Scotland for hundreds of years and according to the Scotch Whisky Association, no one knows exactly when the art of distilling was first practised in Scotland; it is known that the Ancient Celts practised distilling, and that the liquid they produced know as —uisge beatha ("water of life") evolved into Scotch Whisky.
The first taxes on whisky production were imposed in 1644, causing a rise in illicit whisky distilling in the country. Around 1780, there were about 8 legal distilleries and 400 illegal ones. In 1823, Parliament eased restrictions on licensed distilleries with the "Excise Act", while at the same time making it harder for the illegal stills to operate, thereby ushering in the modern era of Scotch production.
Scotland is divided into five regions: The Highlands, Lowland, Islay, Campbeltown and Speyside. Speyside, encompassing the Spey river valley in Moray, north-east Scotland, once considered part of the Highlands, has almost half of the total number of distilleries in Scotland within its geographic boundaries; consequently it is officially recognized as a region unto itself. Another, not official region, is the islands.
- Lowland — only three distilleries remain in operation: Auchentoshan, Bladnoch, and Glenkinchie.
- Speyside — has the largest number of distilleries, which includes: Aberlour, Balvenie, Glenfiddich, Speyburn, The Glenlivet, The Glenrothes and The Macallan
- Highland — some Highland distilleries: Aberfeldy, Balblair, Dalmore, Dalwhinnie, Glen Ord, Glenmorangie, Oban and Old Pulteney.
- The Islands, an unrecognized sub-region includes all of the whisky producing islands (but excludes Islay): Arran, Jura, Mull, Orkney and Skye — with their respective distilleries: Arran, Isle of Jura, Tobermory, Highland Park and Scapa, and Talisker.
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- Campbeltown, once home to over 30 distilleries, currently has only three distilleries operating: Glen Scotia, Glengyle and Springbank, the latter two owned and operated by the J.A Mitchell family. Springbank is the oldest independent distillery in Scotland.
- Islay — has eight producing distilleries: Ardbeg, Bowmore, Bruichladdich, Bunnahabhain, Caol Ila, Lagavulin, Kilchoman and Laphroaig.
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