Scotch Scotland geography whisky regions

The list at the right offers an overview of the main MALT WHISKY REGIONS and the various
area's they contain, as identified by whisky writer Michael Jackson. I should point out that this
is just one of many different ways of classifying single malts - and Mr. Jackson's list is just one
of many possible divisions based on geography. As I mentioned before, a classification based
on geography has its merits. Those are mostly on historical grounds, though - these days they
can just as easily produce a heavily peated malt in Speyside as they can on the island of Islay.
Every single malt whisky is still a unique product, but the terroirs theory should be taken lightly.

I will get to the topic of 'maturation' in a moment, but I want to share a few
thoughts on peat first. In fact, that will probably be the very first 'geographical'
distinction you will be able to make after you've taken your first shaky steps into
the wonderful world of whisky. You won't mistake a glass of Lagavulin 16yo for a
Lowlander or a Speysider, even if you haven't tried many different malts before.
It's amazing how such a tiny island (located off the coast of mainland Scotland,
west of Glasgow) can produce a class of whiskies that are so very distinctive.
The peaty character of these Islay malts doesn't come from Islay, though...

So, the area in which a particular single malt whisky is produced is still an important factor.
But there are many more influences at work here. A whisky is influenced by the varieties and quality of the barley that is used for the mash, the minerals in the water, the size and shape of the stills, the mood of the stillman, etc. The single most important factors by far are the type of wood used for maturation, as well as the duration of the maturation itself. Try comparing the Glenmorangie 10yo with the Glenmorangie Port Wood Finish, for instance. The only difference is some two years of extra maturation in port barrels - but what a difference those two years makes! However, we're in danger of getting far ahead of ourselves.
Before whisky can be matured it has to be distilled first - the topic of the next chapter.

So, at the end of chapter 3, you find yourself packed with enough malt trivia to impress your local barkeeper.
That's quite enough 'dry' theory for now, wouldn't you agree? I'd say it's time we focused on more serious business.
Business like the noble art of distillation for example - that's the topic of the next chapter of this Beginner's Guide.

Nevertheless, it offers relative novices a useful handle on malt whisky.
And although the importance of geographic factors like local barley and
micro-climates has diminished in recent decades, they still play a role in
the production process. So, here's a brief synopsis on the geography of
Scotland. The home of bagpipes and haggis is located in the north of the
British isles and divided by scholars into the five main malt whisky regions;
Speyside, Highlands, Lowlands, Islay and Campbeltown. Each region can
be subdivided further. The Lowlands region, for example, is divided into four
area's; Central, East, West and Borders - that with just three active distilleries.

Soon after I started drinking single malts, I discovered that these whiskies
all had their own unique character. Interesting - what could be the cause?
According to the stories spread by PR people that would be 'TERROIRS'
of Scotland - five or six main whisky regions, often divided into different
subdivisions like 'Livet' or 'Findhorn Valley' in the central Speyside area.
Until recently I had little reason to doubt these stories, but by the time
I passed the 2000 malts mark I had learned that 'terroir' is over-rated.

In the first chapter I explained why I'm focussing my liquorous affections on whiskies
from Scotland. It must be much bigger than it looks on this map, because at one
point in history there used to be over 300 different distilleries in the Highlands
alone. Nowadays, there are less than 100 active distilleries left in all Sotland.

More than half of all distilleries in Scotland are located in the central SPEYSIDE region.
Speyside is surrounded by the Highlands - a much larger region. Nevertheless, the variety in character and style in Speyside is huge. There are no simple 'giveaways' like the peat and smoke in Islay malts. Speyside malts usually do have plenty of nose - but please note this isn't necessarily a good thing. And there's at least as much variety in 'quality' as there is in 'personality' in Speysiders. All in all - I wonder if the subdivision of Speyside into smaller area's is very useful. I've found huge differences between 'neighbouring' malts and striking similarities between malts from different area's.
 
The HIGHLANDS cover a much larger area than Speyside, but are a distant second when it comes to the number of distilleries. Anything located North of the imaginary line between the Firth of Clyde in the West and the Firth of Tay in the East (in other words, the line between Glasgow and Edinburgh) is considered to be situated in the Highlands region.
Well, with the exception of the central Speyside area and Islay, of course...

But so far I've only talked about Scotland - what about other countries like Ireland, Japan and the USA?
Well, as the name suggests, Malt Madness focusses on MALT whisky - and Scotland is still the undisputed #1 by far.
Nevertheless, very interesting things are happening in other countries as well - and older grain whiskies and blends can be very appealing too. I'll go deeper into those segments of the whisky world in the Advanced Beginner's Guide, but you can also find some information in the Deviant Drams section and the Lexicon (all distilleries in the world) on Malt Maniacs.

That conveniently brings us to the third region on the list; the LOWLANDS in the South of Scotland.
The region is actually the Southernmost part of Scotland, closest to England. But then again, most Lowland distilleries are located near the Northern border of the region, roughly around the line between Glasgow and Edinburgh (or the line from Dundee to Greenock). Hadrian's Wall forms the Southern border of the Lowlands. These borders are arbitrary anyway; The Inverleven is a Lowland malt, while the Inchmurrin distillery (located only a few miles to the North) is officially a Midland (= southern Highland) malt. The same goes for Glengoyne and Littlemill. The only active Lowland distillery that isn't distilled close to the Highlands border is Bladnoch!

Single malts produced in the Midlands (a.k.a. South Highlands)
like Tullibardine or Glenturret are really quite different from the expressive Northern Highland or Island malts like Highland Park.  Because the 'Highlands' area is so large there's a wide variety in terms of the conditions that shape the character of a single malt; Scotland has many different 'micro climates'. As a result, it's very hard to identify any specific characteristics of 'THE Highland malt'. The broadest generalisation I'm willing to make is that an average young Highland malt is more expressive than a young Lowlander.

But that's ancient history - very interesting in itself, but perhaps not the most suitable material for a 'Beginner's Guide'.
However, it is a topic I've investigated further in the Advanced Beginner's Guide - an extensive addition to this basic guide.
Even though the importance of 'terroir' is sometimes overrated, different malts from the same part of Scotland share certain
characteristics. The region of origin of a whisky can sometimes tell you something about the character of the whisky, before
you've tasted it. Most young island whiskies, for example, tend to have a stronger bouquet than whiskies from the Lowlands.

The Romans could have reached ISLAY if they would have had any
balls (and would have been able to swim). The island is located not
far beyond the Westernmost edge of the ruins of the Antonine wall.
Most Islay whiskies are immediately recognisable as such because
of their trademark peaty style. However, the peaty character (you
either love it or hate it) of most Islay malts isn't an actual 'regional'
trait as such. Mainland distilleries can produce peat monsters too,
as distilleries like Brora and Benriach have proven in the past.

The CAMPBELTOWN region is the ugly duckling of the five.
It's positively the smallest Scottish malt region, named after the only real town on the Kintyre peninsula. These days, there are only two active distilleries left in the entire Campbeltown region; Springbank and Glen Scotia - three or four if you count Glengyle and Longrow as well. But things used to be very different...
A century ago, Campbeltown had more than 30 distilleries.

The peaty, smoky style of many Islay malts has nothing to do with the brown 'peaty' water that is sometimes used during production. It is caused by the fact that the germinating barley is dried over peat fires instead of, for example, coal fires or central heating.
The fragrant smoke carries over into the barley, then the whisky.
 
As you go along you'll discover more and more differences between different malts. Although many single malts reveal their origins in their nose and taste, every one of them is unique.
The product of distilleries only miles apart can be very different.
It's the wide variation in character and style which sets single malts apart from other drinks like cognac, bourbon and wodka.

Scotch malt whisky guide

Scotch whisky information