The Balvenie: Dufftown, Speyside
Owning Company: William Grant and Sons
Established: 1887

Location: Next to the ruins of Balvenie castle.

Visitors Centre: N/A

The Whisky
Balvenie is unusual in having its own maltings and growing (some of) its own barley. It also has its own coppersmith's shop and cooperage (which it shares with Glenfiddich), and eight stills, which have much longer necks than those at its sister distillery. It matures its product in situ - partly in new wood, partly in fino sherry casks and partly in Oloroso casks (the latter are used for the final year's maturation only) - and both expressions are bottled in most elegant flasks.

The unique label-shape of the Balvenie Classic is supposed to echo the doors of the distillery's peat kiln.

The Distillery
In 1892, five years after building the Glenfiddich Distillery, William Grant bought the ground adjacent to it and built a second distillery. It's nucleus was 'new' Balvenie Castle, which had been designed by James Gibb and built in 1724 for the first Earl of Fife in the Adam style.

In 1673 the castle was bought by Alexander Duff of Braco, who gave his name to nearby Dufftown and whose descendants became Earls of Fife.

Location: Bowmore, Loch Indaal, Islay.

Visitors Centre: Open all year, Tel: (Scotland) 01496 810441.
Opening hours: Mon to Fri, Tours from 1000. Last Tour 1530.

The Whisky
Bowmore is a gentle whisky, only a little peat is used in malting and some claim that its geographical situation on the island gives it a balance between the intense malts of the southern shores and the subtler ones of the north.

The Distillery
Nestling in the hills above the shores of Loch Indaal is the village of Bowmore, considered to be the 'capital' of Islay. The distillery buildings are on the quayside.

Bowmore Distillery was established in 1779 by a local merchant, one John Simpson. One of the earliest legal distilleries on the island, it was also owner-operated which, at that time, was unusual, since most proprietors on Islay leased out their distilleries. It was later taken over by one James Mutter and his family: Mutter, as well as being a farmer and distiller had the unlikely role of Ottoman, Portuguese and Brazilian Vice-Consul in Glasgow.

Mutter considerably expanded the distillery and thus the Bowmore name began to travel and demand grew. The family kept the distillery until the 1890s when it was sold and became the Bowmore Distillery Co. During the Second World War the buildings were used as a coastal command base by the Air Ministry and the distillery was acquired by Stanley P. Morrison in 1963.
Morrison's rebuilt and renovated many of the buildings, retaining the malting floors which are still used today.

Visitors Centre: N/A

The Distillery
John Smith, the founder of Cragganmore Distillery, is said to have been the most experienced distiller of his day. He had been manager of Macallan, Glenlivet and Wishaw distilleries, and was lease holder of Glenfarclas distillery when he persuaded his landlord, Sir George Macpherson-Grant, to lease him the land to build a new distillery at Ballindalloch beside the Strathspey railway line, in 1869.

Cragganmore (the name of the hill behind the distillery, whose springs supply the water for production) was the first distillery to be deliberately sited to take advantage of railway transport, and a private siding was built on the Strathspey railway to accomadate distillery traffic. John Smith was a great railway enthusiast, but since he weighed 308 pounds (140kg) and was too wide to enter a railway carriage, he was obliged to travel in the guards van! He died in 1886, leaving the business to his son Gordon, who largely rebuilt the distillery in 1901.

In 1923, Gordon's widow sold the distillery to the Cragganmore Distillery Co. Ltd., a susidiary of White Horse Distillers Ltd. Now the licensed distillers are D & J McCallum Ltd. of Edinburgh who for many years exported Cragganmore mainly to Australia and New Zealand. In 1988/89, however, the brand was deservedly chosen by United Distillers to represent Speyside in their Classic Malts series. It was magnificantly relabelled and widely promoted, and as a result it has become much better known.

Location: Stands at the Drumochter Pass at the head of Strathspey.

Visitors Centre: Open all year, Tel: (Scotland) 01528 522208, Fax: 01528 522240.
Daily opening hours: Jan to Dec: Mon to Fri 0930 to 1630, Jun to Oct: also Sat 0930 to 1600, Sundays in Jul & Aug from 1230 to 1630.

The Distillery
Dalwhinnie, the highest distillery in Scotland stands in an area steeped in history. The placename itself means 'meeting place', where cattle drovers and smugglers met on their way to markets in the south.

The distillery was originally named Strathspey when it was established during the whisky boom of the late 1890s by two men from Kingussie. They chose the site for its access to a supply of clear spring water from Lochan-Doire-Uaine, above the snow line, and abundant peat from the surrounding moors.

The business was not a great success, however, and in 1905 Dalwhinnie was sold to the largest distilling company in America, Cook & Bernheimer. This gave rise to a great concern within the whisky industry in Scotland, which feared that the Americans might attempt to take over the market. Worries were dispelled by the introduction of prohibition in 1922, and in 1926 the distillery passed into the ownership of the Distillers Company Ltd., which licensed it to James Buchanan & Co.
Until 1988/89, the brand was only available locally, but it was chosen by United Distillers for their Classic Malts series, and is now much better known as a result.

Location: In the field of Glenfiddich ('The valley of the deer') near Dufftown.

Visitors Centre: Open all year, Tel: (Scotland) 01340 820373.
Opening hours Mid Oct to Easter: Mon to Fri 0930 to 1630, Easter to mid Oct: Mon to Sat 0930 to 1630, Sun 1200 to 1630.

Web Site: www.glenfiddich.co.uk

The Whisky
Glenfiddich is not only the world's best-selling malt whisky, it is the whisky which introduced the world to the pleasures of single malt. Above all, Glenfiddich's success is attributable to the fact that it is the most 'accessible' malt and easy to drink at any time of the day.

William Grant & Sons had always been adept at packaging its products. In 1957 the firm introduced a triangular bottle - wildly eccentric at the time - and was the first to put its products into tubes and gift tins. It was also the first to realize the significance of duty-free trade and to take advantage of these worldwide outlets.

The Distillery
William Grant (1839-1923) was the son of a tailor in Duffton. He served an apprenticeship as a cobbler, then learned the art of distilling at Mortlach Distillery, where he worked for twenty years. Although he earned only £200 a year he patiently saved part of his wage until he had enough to establish his own business. He chose a site near Dufftown and buying his stills and plant second-hand from Cardhu Distillery for £120. The first whisky ran from the stills of Glenfiddich on Christmass Day 1887.

William Grant brought his eight children into the business, and the company is still directed and managed by his descendants.

The Distillery Today
This sense of family tradition and continuity runs through all the company's operations: Glenfiddich still has its own cooperage and coppersmiths, grows some of its own barley and has its own maltings; it retains open mash tuns and traditional Douglas fir washbacks, and it fires its stills directly, with coal. The distillery is unique in bottling in situ, reducing the spirit with the same water from the Robbie Dubh as is used in its making.

Location:Close to the Parks of Rosebank, Kirkwall.

Visitors Centre: Open all year, Tel: (Scotland) 01856 874619.
Daily opening hours: Apr to Oct: Mon to Fri 1000 to 0700, Jul & Aug Sat & Sun 1200 to 0700, Nov, Dec, Mar: Mon to Fri Tour at 1400 & 1530, Jan & Feb By appointment only.

The Whisky
By the 1880s Highland Park had an established reputation and at one time both the king of Denmark and the Emperor of Russia declared it to be the finest whisky they had ever tasted.

In 1888, James Grant, whose father was manager of The Glenlivit Distillery, became managing partner, and later owner, of Highland Park.

Its product retains much that is traditional, even original. It has its own floor maltings and peat beds (the peat is cut shallow to impart a light 'rooty' character) and two traditional peat-fired kilns. During malting a little heather is burned.

The Distillery
The world's most northerly distillery was founded in 1798 by Magnus Euson of Gallowhill. Until it was licensed in 1825 it's production was illicit and Euson was assisted in evading the excisemen by a kinsman who was a Kirk elder and hid the contraband under the pulpit. The Distillery Today

The Grants relinquished control to Highland Distilleries in 1937. Highland Park has been promoted as a single malt since the early 1970s and is currently the sixth largest selling malt in the UK. Its main export markets are France, Italy, Germany, Holland, Hong Kong and the USA.

Location: Occupying a site of six acres, at the head of a small bay near the south coast of Islay.

Visitors Centre: Open all year, Tel: (Scotland) 01496 2250.
Daily opening hours: Mon to Fri.

The Distillery
Situated in a small bay near the south coast of Islay, Lagavulin stands near the ruins of Dunyveg Castle. It was from here that 1,000 Islaymen set sail to fight alongside Robert the Bruce at Bannockburn in 1314, and in this bay the Macdonalds maintained their power base as Lords of the Isles until they were finally driven out by the Campbells three centuries later.

Lagavulin legitimately claims to be one of the oldest distilleries in Scotland. Distilling on the site is thought to date from as early as 1742. In the late 1700s it is believed that there were up to ten illicit stills operating in the district. But by the 1830s only two distilleries remained in the bay. In 1837 these distilleries amalgamated to form Lagavulin. At this stage the distillery was under the ownership of the Graham brothers and James Logan Mackie, uncle of Sir Peter Mackie who later became one of the 'big five' in the whisky industry.

The Distillery Today
By 1875 Lagavulin was producing 75,000 gallons of whisky. It was chosen by United Distillers for their Classic Malts series in 1988/89 and is now more widely available.

Location: Laphroaig, stands in a broad depression on the south coast of Islay.

Visitors Centre:Open Aug to Jun, Tel: (Scotland) 01496 302418.
Daily opening hours:
Mon to Thur Tours 1030 & 1415.

Web Site: www.laphroaig.com

The Whisky
Laphroaig's peat bogs on the Glenmachrie Peat Moss and it's water source, the Kilbride Dam, combine in the distilling process to produce the characteristically peaty and full-coloured whisky that features in the top five best-selling malts today.
It's unique taste saw it prosper in America during the Prohibition (1920-1933) where its import was permitted as a 'medicinal spirit' - aqua vitae indeed!

The Distillery
Laphroaig (la-froyg)- Gaelic for "the beautiful hollow by the broad bay" - boasts, as its name demands, an idyllic setting for a Distillery, with its own sea loch and peninsula.

The distillery was Established in 1815 by the brothers Donald and Alec Johnston. Alas one of the founding brothers died in 1847 by drowning in a vat of fermenting wash, and it passed through the family, with much in-fighting along the way, until, between 1954 and 1972, it had the distinction of being run by a lady distiller, Mrs Bessie Campbell. However, D. Johnston & Co. the founding company still remains on the label as the declared Distiller and Bottler.

The Distillery Today
Many of the original buildings remain, including the traditional malting floors where the malt is regularly turned by hand to maintain an even temperature throughout the 7-day germination period.

Laphroaig goes from strength to strength as part of Allied Distillers' portfolio and received the Queen's Award for Export Achievement in 1994.

Location: The Macallan's is located on the original Macallan Farm beside the Spey river.

Visitors Centre: Open all year. Tel: (Scotland) 01340 871471.
Daily opening hours: Mon to Fri Tours by appointment at 1000, 1100, 1400, & 1500

Web site: www.themacallan-themalt.com/

The Whisky
Since the 1970s The Macallan's entire output has been matured in sherry wood - it is the only distillery to use sherry wood exclusively. When the availability of casks became a problem in 1976 the company began to buy its own new wood in Spain and have it seasoned in the bodegas of Jerez for four years before shipping it and filling it with whisky in 1976. This is an expensive policy (the cost of a sherry butt is about ten times that of a bourbon cask), but it makes a major contribution to Macallan's uniqueness.

The first batch of The Macallan was not deemed to be ready for the market until 1980: since then its popularity and successs has been phenomenal.

The Distillery
The Macallan established a reputation early on and applied for a licence in 1824. The distillery changed hands several times throughout the 19th century and in 1892 was bought by an Elgin merchant, Robert Kemp, who owned Talisker Distillery in Skye.

The Distillery Today
The brand currently stands at number three in the UK malt whisky market, number five in the world. It is also a favourite among the local people of Speyside.

Location: Midway between the Caledonian and Crinan canals.

Visitors Centre: Open all year, Tel: (Scotland) 01631 564262.
Daily opening hours: Mon to Fri 0930 to 1700.

The Distillery
The town of Oban is also known as the 'Gateway to the Isles'. Two brothers, the Stevensons settled here in 1778 and greatly enriched the hamlet, as it was then, with their business activities ranging from slate quarrying to shipbuilding. In 1794 Hugh Stevenson built the Oban Distillery, hiring an experienced Lowland distiller to manage the whole operation.

The distillery remained in the hands of the family until 1866 and was eventually acquired by one Walter Higgin (1883). By this time Oban was a busy port with wool, whisky, slate, and kelp being shipped to Liverpool and Glasgow by steamship. The railway also brought in a new wave of prosperity to the area: tourism with the first scheduled passenger trains arriving from Glasgow in 1880. Higgin made many improvements to the distillery with solid rockface behind it blasted away to accommodate the enlargements.

In 1898, Alexander Edward, owner of Aultmore Distillery, bought Higgin out. In its first year the Oban and Aultmore Distilleries Ltd. suffered near fatal loses, when the major blending company Patterson's of Leith collapsed.

In 1923 Aultmore was acquired by John Dewar & Sons and Oban by a new company, Oban Distillery Co. This in turn came under the wing of DCL when Scottish Malt Distillers bought the entire capital share in 1930.

Established: 1843

Location: Set in the lee of Cnoc-nan-Speireag-Hawkhill, near the village of Carbost, on the shore of Loch Harport.

Visitors Centre: Open all year, Tel: (Scotland) 01478 640314.
Daily opening hours: Mon to Fri 0900 to 1630, Nov to Mar by appointment.

The Distillery
Talisker is the only distillery on the Isle of Skye, and takes its name from a farm some miles away nearer the village of Carbost.

It was started in 1843 by Hugh and Kenneth MacAskill from Eigg. Hugh was a tacksman (senior tenant farmer, who leased land to others) and acquired the lease of Talisker House and estate of Macleod of Macleod.

After the brothers' deaths the distillery was eventually acquired by a partnership between Grigor Allan, Procurator Fiscal of Morayshire, and Roderick Kemp, a wine and spirits merchant, and substantial sums of money were invested in rebuilding and refitting the distillery. By this time the whisky was gaining a reputation for itself. Robert Louis Stevenson mentioned it in a poem, 'The Scotsman's Return from Abroad' in 1880,

In 1892, Kemp bought the Macallan Distillery on Speyside and Allan took over the entire ownership of Talisker which merged it with Dailuaine to form the Daluaine-Talisker Distilleries Ltd. This company extended the premises at Talisker, built a pier, a tramway to link it to the distillery and houses to accomodate the employees and excise officer.

In 1925 through a previous merger with some of the founding memders of the 'big five' the distillery became fully owned by United Distillers. The distillery was partly rebuilt in 1960 after a fire and its own floor maltings were demolished in 1972. One of the original features of the distillery is the presence of traditional condensers.

In 1988/89, the brand was chosen by United Distillers for their Classic Malts series.