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Vast pyramids of stacked casks fill Speyside Cooperage's outdoor yard, forested hills beyond.
Morayshire

Speyside Cooperage

A working cooperage near Craigellachie, making and mending whisky casks since 1947, with a viewing gallery above the coopers at work.

Welcome

Just outside Craigellachie, deep in whisky country, the Speyside Cooperage has been making and mending casks since 1947.

Visited and photographed by Simon Hird

Every distillery needs them, for so much of a whisky's character comes from the oak it sleeps in, and the yard here is piled with great pyramids of barrels waiting their turn.

Inside, the workshop rings with hammering. From a viewing gallery you look down on the coopers at work, shaping staves, driving on hoops and charring the insides of casks in bursts of flame, all at astonishing speed. A short film tells the story from acorn to cask, and guided tours explain the craft.

Visitors call it a highlight of a Speyside trip, and it makes a fine change from the distilleries. The centre opens on weekdays, when the coopers are working, and tours can be booked online. There is a shop for barrel-themed gifts.

Before you go

Open Monday to Friday, 9am to 3pm.

Book tours online.

Where
Dufftown Road, Craigellachie, AB38 9RS.
Since
1947.
See
Coopers at work from the gallery.

Opening hours

Monday
9am–3pm
Tuesday
9am–3pm
Wednesday
9am–3pm
Thursday
9am–3pm
Friday
9am–2.30pm
Saturday
Closed
Sunday
Closed

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Did you know

A worker steam-treats a cask amid thick vapour at Speyside Cooperage, rendered in black and white.
Did you know

From acorn to cask.

The cooperage follows the journey of an acorn to a finished oak whisky cask.

A worker in a red apron fits new hoops onto a cask at Speyside Cooperage.
Did you know

Coopers against the clock.

From the viewing gallery you can watch the coopers make and repair casks against the clock.

Ben Lerwill

From our guide to Moray

Whisky wouldn’t be whisky without the oak casks it matures in, and the age-old art of coopering (or cask-making) is alive and well at the Speyside Cooperage. Take a tour to watch the practitioners at work – shaping, shaving and charring their barrels – while learning about the skills that go into the trade. Recommended.

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Where it is

On the Dufftown road just outside Craigellachie, AB38 9RS.

Close bySpeyside.
  1. The wave of the timber roof over the Macallan distillery building on its grass-covered hillside in autumn light.TimeSpirit1 mile as the crow flies
  2. The Fiddichside InnThe Fiddichside Inn1 mile 3 min by road
  3. A cast-iron arched bridge with castellated stone towers spans a rocky river gorge, pine-covered cliffs rising on the far bank.CraigellachieThe village where the Fiddich meets the Spey.1 mile 3 min by road
  4. War memorial with poppy wreaths in front of a stone church towerAberlour Hotel3 miles 6 min by road
  5. Glenfiddich DistilleryGlenfiddich DistilleryThe distillery up the road at Dufftown.3 miles 6 min by road
  6. DufftownDufftownThe whisky town.4 miles 6 min by road
Directions
Sidings Cafe, MorayshireRestaurantsSidings Cafe2.8 miles
Dufftown station sign mounted on a wooden shed with railway carriage alongsideAttractionsThe Keith & Dufftown Railway2.9 miles
The courtyard front of Balvenie Castle, the round tower and gateway of the Atholl Lodging rising over a cobbled yard, a well and a lawn under grey cloud.AttractionsBalvenie Castle2.9 miles
BEINN Coffee & Books, MorayshireShoppingBEINN Coffee & Books3.7 miles
Ruined stone castle atop a grassy mound beneath a cloudy skyAttractionsAuchindoun Castle6.6 miles
Cardhu distillery building with pagoda roofs and red door under grey skyAttractionsCardhu Distillery8.6 miles
Long spinning frame with wound bobbins fills a stone-walled mill roomRestaurantsKnockando Woolmill9.1 miles
The Inveravon Pictish stones in their lit porch at the church, grey slabs carved with an eagle, discs and a crescent.AttractionsInveravon Pictish Stones9.3 miles
The Auld Brig's single stone arch over the slow, clear River Isla in Keith, between grassy banks and trees in leaf.AttractionsThe Auld Brig, Keith9.3 miles

Recommend to a friend

The Daily for 24 October, from Scotland with love. a stone arch bridge crossing a rushing gorge below a moss-covered cliffside building, autumn trees on both banks

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Stay nearby

Places to stay near the cooperage, and when each is next free.

The timber cabin lit at dusk against a pink sky, a hot tub steaming on the deck beside two chairs.Callie Bothy
  • Sleeps 2
  • In Pluscarden
  • 12 miles from the Speyside Cooperage
Free 31 Oct – 3 NovThe Gatehouse, MorayshireThe Gatehouse
  • Sleeps 4
  • In Elgin
  • 13 miles from the Speyside Cooperage
Check datesA yellow-harled tower house with battlements flies a flag above conical yew trees and a lawn.Innes House
  • Sleeps 38
  • In Elgin
  • 13 miles from the Speyside Cooperage
Check datesA white harled farmhouse with a slate roof and chimneys stands amid greenery under a blue sky.Viewfield Farmhouse
  • Sleeps 8
  • In Elgin
  • 13 miles from the Speyside Cooperage
Check datesPlaces to stayEvery stay in MorayshireAll our places to stay nearby, to search by date and by who is coming.See them all
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What we have written about it and more in Morayshire.

From the magazineMoray: Discovering the Nooks and Crannies
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