The library
Scotland's Single Malts
131 working distilleries and 21 lost ones, by region.
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Speyside
The crowded heart of malt whisky: half of Scotland's distilleries within a day's walk of the Spey, from Dufftown's seven stills to the glen of the Livet.
AberlourDistilling
Aberlour
Sherried, rich, Christmas cake and spice.
DufftownDistilling
Allt-a-Bhainne
Light, grassy, lately with a touch of peat.
RothesDistilling
Auchroisk
Light, nutty, malty; once sold as The Singleton.
KeithDistilling
Aultmore
Clean, grassy, floral; the Foggie Moss malt.
GlenlivetDistilling
Ballindalloch
Single estate: barley from the castle farm, worm tubs, long fermentation.
CromdaleDistilling
Balmenach
Heavy, meaty, sulphury new make that becomes rich with age; worm tubs.
DufftownDistilling
The Balvenie
Honey, vanilla, orange peel; rounded and luxurious.
ElginDistilling
BenRiach
Orchard fruit and malt; also makes peated and triple-distilled styles.
AberlourDistilling
Benrinnes
Meaty, sulphury, sherry-friendly; worm tubs.
ForresDistilling
Benromach
Old-style Speyside: lightly peated, sherried, waxy.
GlenlivetDistilling
Braeval
Light, floral, grassy; a blender's workhorse.
Grantown-on-SpeyNew, maturing
The Cairn
Gordon & MacPhail's new make from the edge of the Cairngorms.
RothesLost
Caperdonich
Glen Grant's lost twin: fruity, lightly smoky in its old casks.
KnockandoDistilling
Cardhu
Light, sweet, clean; the signature malt of Johnnie Walker.
ElginLost
Coleburn
A light Speysider, silent since 1985.
DufftownLost
Convalmore
Waxy, honeyed, lost since 1985.
BallindallochDistilling
Cragganmore
Complex, meaty, honeyed; flat-topped stills and worm tubs.
CraigellachieDistilling
Craigellachie
Sulphury, meaty, tropical fruit; worm tubs and oil-fired heaters.
CarronDistilling
Dailuaine
Heavy, sherried, meaty; blend fodder for Johnnie Walker.
ForresLost
Dallas Dhu
A perfectly preserved Victorian distillery, silent since 1983.
CarronDistilling
Dalmunach
Fruity Speyside from a dramatic modern stillhouse on the Imperial site.
DufftownDistilling
Dufftown
Light, nutty, malty; The Singleton of Dufftown.
ForresNew, maturing
Dunphail
Floor-malted, direct-fired, worm-tubbed; built for weight.
ElginDistilling
Glen Elgin
Honeyed, orange, rounded; worm tubs; the heart of White Horse.
RothesDistilling
Glen Grant
Light, bright, apple and pear; tall stills with purifiers.
KeithReopened
Glen Keith
Light, fruity, cereal; Chivas blending stock.
ElginDistilling
Glen Moray
Soft, buttery, accessible; a wide range of wood finishes.
RothesDistilling
Glen Spey
Light, grassy, nutty; built for J&B.
AberlourDistilling
GlenAllachie
Sherried, rich, dark chocolate; long fermentations.
ForresDistilling
Glenburgie
Fruity, grassy; the heart of Ballantine's.
DufftownDistilling
Glendullan
Fruity, malty, clean; The Singleton of Glendullan for the US.
BallindallochDistilling
Glenfarclas
Classic sherried Speyside: Christmas cake, orange, oak; direct-fired stills.
DufftownDistilling
Glenfiddich
Pear, oak, light and sweet; the world's best-selling single malt.
GlenlivetDistilling
The Glenlivet
Floral, pineapple, honey; the definitive light Speyside.
ElginDistilling
Glenlossie
Grassy, light, oily; purifiers on the spirit stills.
RothesDistilling
The Glenrothes
Sherried, ripe fruit, vanilla; the round bottle.
KeithDistilling
Glentauchers
Fruity, delicate; a Ballantine's fingerprint malt.
CarronLost
Imperial
Fruity, honeyed Speyside that never found a home.
BuckieDistilling
Inchgower
Salty, nutty, slightly sulphury; the coastal Speysider in Bell's.
DufftownDistilling
Kininvie
Light, floral, blend-bound; the Grants' third Dufftown still.
KnockandoDistilling
Knockando
Light, nutty, elegant; the heart of J&B, bottled by vintage.
ElginDistilling
Linkwood
Floral, apple, rose; one of the great blending malts.
ElginDistilling
Longmorn
Rich, fruity, waxy; the blender's Speyside and Masataka Taketsuru's model.
CraigellachieDistilling
The Macallan
Sherried, dried fruit, oak; the Rolls-Royce of single malts.
ElginDistilling
Mannochmore
Light, floral, grassy; once home to the black whisky Loch Dhu.
ElginDistilling
Miltonduff
Fruity, floral; a Ballantine's fingerprint malt.
DufftownDistilling
Mortlach
The Beast of Dufftown: meaty, sulphury, rich; distilled 2.81 times.
DufftownLost
Pittyvaich
A short-lived 1970s Dufftown still; sherried in its Flora & Fauna bottling.
ElginDistilling
Roseisle
The super-distillery: switchable light or heavy styles, 12.5 million litres a year.
RothesDistilling
Speyburn
Light, fresh, lemony; one of the best-selling malts in the US.
KingussieDistilling
Speyside Distillery
Light, grassy, floral; SPEY and the Beinn Dubh black whisky.
KeithDistilling
Strathisla
Rich, fruity, sherried; the spiritual home of Chivas Regal.
KeithDistilling
Strathmill
Light, nutty, oily; purifiers; built for J&B.
KnockandoDistilling
Tamdhu
All sherry cask: dried fruit, cinnamon, oak.
GlenlivetDistilling
Tamnavulin
Light, grassy, sweet; big in supermarkets since 2016.
GlenlivetDistilling
Tomintoul
The Gentle Dram: light, grassy, soft; Old Ballantruan is its peated side.
AdvieDistilling
Tormore
Nutty, fruity, oily; the architect-designed distillery.
Highland
Everything north of the line from Greenock to Dundee that is not Speyside: the waxy northern coast, the sherried east, Perthshire's old farm distilleries and the wild west.
CaithnessNew, maturing
8 Doors
The most northerly distillery on the British mainland.
PerthshireDistilling
Aberfeldy
Honeyed, orchard fruit, gentle oak; the heart of Dewar's.
AngusDistilling
Arbikie
Field-to-bottle Highland, rye and malt from the estate.
AberdeenshireDistilling
Ardmore
Peated Highland, dry woodsmoke and vanilla.
West HighlandsDistilling
Ardnamurchan
Half peated, half unpeated, married: coastal, oily, sweet smoke.
Easter RossDistilling
Ardross
Two makes, peated and unpeated, from a converted farm steading.
Easter RossDistilling
Balblair
Spicy, fruity, leathery; one of the oldest working distilleries.
Banffshire coastLost
Banff
The unluckiest distillery: fire, a German bomb and an exploding still.
LochaberDistilling
Ben Nevis
Big, fruity, oily and slightly funky; old-fashioned brewer's yeast.
Easter RossLost
Ben Wyvis
A malt distillery inside the Invergordon grain plant; its stills went to Kilchoman.
PerthshireDistilling
Blair Athol
Nutty, spicy, sherried; the heart of Bell's.
SutherlandReopened
Brora
Waxy, peaty, legendary; the 1970s spirit is among the most sought-after on earth.
SutherlandDistilling
Clynelish
Waxy, candle-like, coastal and fruity; a cult among blenders.
Easter RossDistilling
The Dalmore
Orange, chocolate, sherry; the luxury Highland malt.
BadenochDistilling
Dalwhinnie
Heather honey, gentle smoke, clean; worm tubs in a cold place.
PerthshireDistilling
Deanston
Waxy, honeyed, cereal; unpeated and unchillfiltered.
SutherlandDistilling
Dornoch
Old-style spirit: heritage barley, brewer's yeast, long fermentation.
PerthshireDistilling
Edradour
Rich, creamy, sherried; a farm distillery in a postcard glen.
KincardineshireDistilling
Fettercairn
Tropical fruit, toffee, a touch of sulphur; cooling rings on the stills.
InvernessLost
Glen Albyn
One of Inverness's three lost distilleries.
AberdeenshireDistilling
Glen Garioch
Robust, heathery, once peaty; direct-fired again since 2021.
InvernessLost
Glen Mhor
Neil Gunn's favourite: full, fruity; closed 1983.
Black IsleDistilling
Glen Ord
Grassy, malty, honeyed; The Singleton of Glen Ord, big in Asia.
AngusDistilling
Glencadam
Creamy, delicate, barley-sweet; the last distillery in Brechin.
AberdeenshireDistilling
The GlenDronach
Heavily sherried: dried fruit, chocolate, walnuts.
AngusLost
Glenesk (Hillside)
Montrose's flax mill turned distillery under five names.
Banffshire coastReopened
Glenglassaugh
Coastal, tropical fruit, salted caramel; from the beach at Sandend.
StirlingshireDistilling
Glengoyne
Unpeated, slow-distilled, sherried; apples and toffee.
LochaberLost
Glenlochy
Fort William's other distillery, closed 1983.
Easter RossDistilling
Glenmorangie
Delicate, floral, vanilla and citrus from the tallest stills in Scotland.
PerthshireDistilling
The Glenturret
Hand-mashed, small-batch, lately luxurious; the Famous Grouse's old home.
BuchanLost
Glenugie
Scotland's most easterly, fruity and waxy; closed 1983.
KincardineshireLost
Glenury Royal
Dry, smoky, austere; one of three Royals, lost in 1985.
Easter RossDistilling
GlenWyvis
Light, fruity, carbon-neutral; the first community-owned distillery.
BanffshireDistilling
Knockdhu (anCnoc)
Clean, lemony, cereal-sweet; peated editions by the vintage.
DunbartonshireDistilling
Loch Lomond
Many makes from one site: Inchmurrin, Inchmoan, Croftengea and the Loch Lomond range.
AngusLost
Lochside
A brewery turned grain and malt distillery, Spanish-owned, lost in 1992.
Banffshire coastDistilling
Macduff (The Deveron)
Soft, apple, cereal; a 1960s distillery bottled as The Deveron.
InvernessLost
Millburn
Inverness's oldest distillery, now a restaurant.
MorvernDistilling
Nc'nean
Organic, fruity, light; carbon-neutral and recycled-glass bottled.
AngusLost
North Port
Brechin's lost second distillery, austere and grassy.
West HighlandsDistilling
Oban
Orange peel, sea salt, a wisp of smoke; the West Highland malt.
CaithnessDistilling
Old Pulteney
Briny, oily, fresh; the Maritime Malt.
NairnshireDistilling
Royal Brackla
Fruity, sherried, grassy; the first Royal Warrant.
DeesideDistilling
Royal Lochnagar
Clean, grassy, sandalwood; the Queen's distillery.
PerthshireDistilling
Strathearn
Micro-distillery: tiny alembic stills, small casks, experimental.
Easter RossDistilling
Teaninich
Grassy, oily, intense; a mash filter instead of a mash tun.
Inverness-shireDistilling
Tomatin
Soft, apple, honey; once the biggest distillery in Scotland.
PerthshireDistilling
Tullibardine
Malty, sweet, with a range of wine finishes from its French owners.
CaithnessDistilling
Wolfburn
Gentle, fruity, with a lightly peated Morven; the mainland's most northerly until 8 Doors.
Islay
Nine working distilleries and one legend reborn on an island of peat bogs and Atlantic weather, where the smoke gets into everything.
KildaltonDistilling
Ardbeg
Intensely peaty, tarry smoke with lime and a sweet, creamy centre.
North IslayDistilling
Ardnahoe
Peated, oily and sweet; worm tubs give it weight.
Loch IndaalDistilling
Bowmore
Medium peat, sea air, tropical fruit, lavender; the balanced Islay.
Rhinns of IslayDistilling
Bruichladdich
Unpeated, floral and barley-sweet; the peated Port Charlotte and super-heavily peated Octomore come from the same stills.
North IslayDistilling
Bunnahabhain
Mostly unpeated: nutty, sherried, saline; the gentle Islay.
North IslayDistilling
Caol Ila
Clean, oily, lemony smoke with a bacon edge; the backbone of Johnnie Walker.
Rhinns of IslayDistilling
Kilchoman
Peated, citrus, clean; a farm distillery that malts its own barley.
KildaltonDistilling
Lagavulin
Peat smoke, iodine, sherry and seaweed; slow distilled, the deep Islay.
KildaltonDistilling
Laphroaig
Medicinal, tarry, seaweed, TCP; the love-it-or-hate-it Islay.
Rhinns of IslayLost
Port Charlotte (Lochindaal)
The lost Islay village distillery whose name lives on in Bruichladdich's peated whisky.
KildaltonReopened
Port Ellen
The lost Islay legend: smoky, lemony, austere; back on the stills since 2024.
Lowland
Grassy, gentle and once nearly extinct; the Lowlands have more new distilleries than any other region, from Fife farms to Glasgow docks.
PerthshireDistilling
Aberargie
Farm-to-bottle, barley grown in the fields around it.
AyrshireDistilling
Ailsa Bay
Peated Lowland, sweet and smoky, precisely engineered.
DumfriesshireDistilling
Annandale
Two makes: peated Man O'Sword and unpeated Man O'Words.
DunbartonshireDistilling
Auchentoshan
Triple distilled: light, grassy, lemon and green apple.
GallowayDistilling
Bladnoch
Grassy, citrus, light Lowland; new owners added sherried styles.
Scottish BordersDistilling
The Borders Distillery
Light, fruity Lowland from a Victorian electric works.
GlasgowDistilling
The Clydeside Distillery
Light, fruity, unpeated Lowland from the old Queen's Dock pumphouse.
FifeDistilling
Daftmill
Buttery, orchard fruit, barley sugar; a farm distillery that distils only between harvests.
FifeDistilling
Eden Mill
Sweet, cereal, with experimental malts: chocolate and crystal barley.
GlasgowDistilling
The Glasgow Distillery
Fruity, modern; peated and triple-distilled editions under the 1770 name.
East LothianDistilling
Glenkinchie
Grassy, floral, light; the Edinburgh malt.
EdinburghDistilling
Holyrood
Experimental: brewer's malts, exotic yeasts, tall stills.
FifeDistilling
InchDairnie
Engineered for flavour: Lomond stills, mash filter, winter barley, rye.
DunbartonshireLost
Inverleven
The malt still inside Hiram Walker's Dumbarton grain plant; its stills went to Waterford.
FifeDistilling
Kingsbarns
Light, tropical, barley-sweet; the golfer's distillery.
FifeDistilling
Lindores Abbey
Fruity, waxy Lowland on the site of the first recorded Scotch whisky.
DunbartonshireLost
Littlemill
Possibly Scotland's oldest, triple-distilled and light; gone in 2004.
AyrshireDistilling
Lochlea
Farm-grown barley, seasonal releases, on Robert Burns's old farm.
StirlingshireReopened
Rosebank
The King of the Lowlands: triple-distilled, floral, worm tubs.
West LothianLost
St Magdalene
Linlithgow's lost Lowland, closed 1983.
Campbeltown
The Victorian whisky capital, down to three distilleries at the end of the Kintyre peninsula, all of them cult.
CampbeltownDistilling
Glen Scotia
Salty, oily, lightly peated; Campbeltown's other survivor.
CampbeltownReopened
Glengyle (Kilkerran)
Lightly peated, oily, lemon and sea spray; sold as Kilkerran.
CampbeltownDistilling
Springbank
Oily, salty, lightly peated and 2.5-times distilled; a cult that will not expand.
Islands
Orkney, Skye, Mull, Jura, Arran, Raasay, Harris and Lewis: not an official region, but every one of them tastes of where it is.
Isle of LewisDistilling
Abhainn Dearg
Rugged, salty, farm-scale and unpolished.
Isle of ArranDistilling
Arran (Lochranza)
Fresh, citrus, apple and vanilla; a modern island malt with no peat.
OrkneyDistilling
Highland Park
Heather-peat smoke, honey, sherry; the most northerly of the classics.
Isle of HarrisDistilling
Isle of Harris
The Hearach: lightly peated, maritime, long-aged in a damp island warehouse.
Isle of RaasayDistilling
Isle of Raasay
Lightly peated and unpeated spirit in red wine, rye and chinquapin casks.
Isle of JuraDistilling
Jura
Light, nutty, honeyed, a wisp of smoke; one road, one pub, one distillery.
Isle of ArranDistilling
Lagg
Heavily peated Arran; the island's smoky second distillery.
OrkneyDistilling
Scapa
Honeyed, heathery, unpeated; a Lomond wash still above Scapa Flow.
Isle of SkyeDistilling
Talisker
Peppery, smoky, maritime; made by the sea on Loch Harport.
Isle of MullDistilling
Tobermory (Ledaig)
Two makes: unpeated Tobermory, fruity and fresh; heavily peated Ledaig, oily and smoky.
Isle of SkyeDistilling
Torabhaig
Well-tempered peat: smoky, sweet, maritime; Skye's second distillery.