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Distilleries
in Moray.

It’s 20:58 in Moray.
Morayshire

Speyside malts by the river.

Speyside is whisky country, and its distilleries welcome visitors. At Dufftown, the family-owned distillery William Grant built by hand still makes its famous malt, with tours of the warehouses and stills. Nearby, a distillery founded in 1824 by John and Helen Cumming tells the story of a family that began making whisky on a farm. Book tours ahead, and choose a driver.

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Did you know18 hours ago

Cardhu has planted an orchard to echo the orchard-fruit notes in its single malt.

The trees are expected to take around two decades to mature. The apple and pear kept under glass beside the bottles here point to the same flavours.

See Cardhu Distillery · Morayshire
Lunch16 hours agoMorayshireKnockando Woolmill700 yardsMorayshireAberlour Hotel4.6 milesMorayshireSidings Cafe8.2 miles

Lunch near Cardhu Distillery.

The three good places closest to it: Knockando Woolmill, Aberlour Hotel and Sidings Cafe.

See Cardhu Distillery
Did you know14 hours ago

Glenfiddich takes its name from the Gaelic for valley of the deer, which is where the stag in its emblem comes from.

The distillery is still owned by William Grant & Sons and run by the fifth generation of Grant's descendants.

See Glenfiddich Distillery · Morayshire
Did you know12 hours ago

When John Walker & Sons bought Cardhu distillery in 1893, the Cumming family who founded it kept running it.

The Kilmarnock blenders had been buying Cardhu's whisky for years before they bought the distillery on Speyside itself. The sale came with terms: the Cummings would go on running Cardhu and have a seat on the Walker board. More than a century later, Cardhu's single malt is still a key part of the Johnnie Walker blends.

See Cardhu Distillery · Morayshire
Did you know10 hours ago

The Grant family of Glenfiddich only began blending whisky because their biggest customer, the Pattisons of Leith, went bust in 1898.

When the Leith firm collapsed in December 1898, the Grants were left without their largest buyer. So they began blending their own whisky, and went on to build export markets in many countries. The early blend that did best took its name from the old slogan of Clan Grant: 'Stand fast Craigellachie'.

See Glenfiddich Distillery · Morayshire
Quiz8 hours ago

When William Grant built The Balvenie distillery beside Glenfiddich in Dufftown in 1892 and 1893, what did he turn the derelict 'new' Balvenie castle into?

From the magazine6 hours agoThe printed copy of Issue 02Issue 02Spring / Summer 2021

Speyside whisky once had a smoky edge, and lost it in the early to mid 20th century, when peat gave way to coal brought in by train.

Speyside roughly follows the basin of the River Spey, between the Moray Firth, Inverness, Aberdeenshire and Newtonmore, and in the past its whiskies were robust, fruity and, at the time, slightly smoky. Then production changed. Coal, carried in on the railways, replaced peat, and the malting of barley stopped being done at each distillery and was centralised. As a result, 'smoky' no longer describes the whisky of many Speyside distilleries. Some still make peated whisky in honour of the old style, Benromach, Balvenie, BenRiach and Glen Moray among them.

Read the full story in Issue 02
Distillery of the day4 hours ago

Glenfiddich Distillery.

The family-owned distillery at Dufftown that William Grant built by hand in 1886, with tours, tastings, a cafe and the Malt Barn.

Read about it
Did you know2 hours ago

Elizabeth Cumming sold Cardhu to John Walker & Sons in September 1893 for £20,500.

The price did not include the stocks of whisky. The deal also brought 100 shares in the company and a seat on the Walker board for her son John, which is how the name on this gable came to sit under Johnnie Walker's.

See Cardhu Distillery · Morayshire
Did you knowJust now

Elizabeth Cumming took charge of Cardhu when she was widowed at 45 in 1872.

She ran the farm and the distillery while bringing up two young sons, and registered the Car-Dhu trademark in the 1890s. She died suddenly in 1894, aged 67.

See Cardhu Distillery · Morayshire

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