Apart from the central Speyside area in the
heart of the Highlands there are five other districts.
The islands Orkney, Skye, Mull and Jura are all considered to be part of the Highlands; the island
Islay is an 'official' region on its own.
The Highlands cover the largest part of Scotland. Anything North of the imaginary
line between the Firth of Clyde in the West and the Firth of Tay in the East
(i.e. the line between Glasgow and Edinburgh) is considered to be part of
the Highlands. By far the most single malt whiskies are distilled and
bottled in the Higlands; well over 50% of all malts are from the
famous 'Speyside' region alone. Because the area is so large
there's a wide variety in terms of the conditions that shape
the character of a single malt. As a result, it's hard to
describe specific characteristics of 'the Highland malt'.
Whiskies from the Midlands (a.k.a. South Highlands) like
Tullibardine or Glenturret are very different from expressive
Northern Highland malts like Glen Ord or Dalmore. Considering
over 80% of all malts are produced in the 'Highlands' region
the identification 'Highland Malt' doesn't tell you very much.
Ooooh - How I love those Northern bouquets.
Big, sweet and malty; that's the nose of a 'typical' Northern Highlander for you.
Official bottlings like the
Dalmore 12yo, Glen Ord 12yo and Old Pulteney 12yo are fragrant with a lot of complexity. There's nothing wrong with the taste of most of the Northerners I've tried either. Sweet, a little dry, and usually with a long finish. Still, there's a
lot of variety among them. Glenmorangie, Balblair and Teaninich seem to be a little 'lighter' in character than the rest, for example.
As it turns out, I have great difficulty finding specific characteristics for a 'typical' eastern Highland malt. Glen Garioch and Royal Lochnagar bottlings tend to be quite fruity, while Old Fettercairn and Lochside have a more malty and oily character. Glencadam and Glenesk showed a lot of grainy elements like paint thinner.
As far as I'm concerned, the Western Highlands produces two decent malts: Oban and Ben Nevis. The bottlings I've tried from Glengoyne, Glenlochy and Loch Lomond didn't tickle my fancy. In the future, I'll concentrate my nosing and tasting activities on malts from other areas, I think.
Apart from the very nice Flora & Fauna Blair Athol 12yo and some Aberfeldy bottlings none of the Midlands malts I've tried so far managed to impress me.
Most Midlanders are just what you would expect; a strange mixture of Highland and Lowland
characteristics.
Not really my cup of tea.
My favorite island is Islay, but that's a seperate region in its own right.
Orkney and Skye come right after that, even though the latter one only has one distillery: Talisker. The malts from Mull, Jura and Arran lack the power
and intensity of the coastal islands.
Orkney |
Single malts from the Highlands |
The names of all the active distilleries in the area are shown at the right. |
Highland Districts: |