The lonely views of distillery stacks – undercut by peatlands, circled by barley fields burning gold – are ever-present. These chimneys, once raw with fire, are often visible from afar on a trip through Scotland, and, like sentinels, have watched over craftsmanship for centuries. Below, in the grainy light of still houses and steadings, maltsters, coopers and coppersmiths sustain tradition, keeping the stories and glories of single malt whisky alive. It’s hard to imagine a time when it might have been otherwise.
Modern Scotland — swaggering, in style, in-your-face — can feel very far away from this picture. And yet what could possibly be more Scottish than single malt whisky? It is, so it goes, a love story between landscape and the communities that make it, and as every year passes, the spirit broadens its reach. New-build distilleries, the return of mothballed favourites, destination restaurants, cutting-edge architecture and want-for-nothing accommodations are encouraging more visitors than ever. Faces such as Harrison Ford (for Glenmorangie) and Priyanka Chopra Jonas (for Johnnie Walker) are generating interest. Not so long ago, whisky tourism was in its infancy. Now, the rationale is one of opportunism.
At this time of rude health, there are 151 active distilleries, the world’s greatest concentration, and these are spread across the five geographic regions of Highland, Lowland, Speyside, Islay and Campbeltown. Those with visitor centres are busier than ever, with 2 million distillery visits, according to the most recent figures from the Scottish Whisky Association — and that’s helping cultivate a growth mindset for future glory. The buzzword is evolution.
In the coming months, the whisky map will see new additions, including Ardgowan, overlooking the Firth of Clyde, and Lerwick Distillery, the first in Shetland. Laggan Bay, the 11th on peat-dark Islay, is another, with distilling starting at the end of this summer. There is talk of more, and where water is still drawn from wells and malted barley turned by hand, it’s hard to expect otherwise.
Such news seems all the more transfixing when you visit these distilleries for yourself, more so when your own story is bound to whisky lore. Mine began in Keith, in the heart of Speyside whisky country, home to around half of the country’s distilleries and where my father was a stillman in the 1970s. His workhouse was Strathisla Distillery, the Highlands’ oldest distillery, dating to 1786, and his accounts of working there were among the defining origin stories of my childhood.
Ask a distiller, and they’ll say something similar: that the spirit is deeply ingrained into the national psyche. “Whisky distilleries and Scottish culture have the same values: tradition, respect, craftsmanship, community and innovation,” distillery director Ian Renwick of The Glenturret in Perthshire tells me. Kirsten Ainslie, assistant blender at Benriach in northern Speyside, describes it in comparable terms. “Whisky is history, romance, connection, climate, landscape, celebration and commiseration,” she says. “We drink it to toast a milestone and sip it when quietly mulling something over.”
Distilleries come from a history of illicit whisky making — the first taxes on Scotch were introduced in 1644, leading to more than 150 years of smuggling. For that reason, this sense of rebellion and defiance goes to “the heart of Scottish culture and character,” as Stewart Walker, distillery manager at Fettercairn Distillery in the Grampians, puts it. It is, most agree, in the DNA. “It’s a story,” adds Robbie Hughes, Glengoyne’s distillery manager. “Not just a drink.”
Trace your fingers across a map and you’ll find a wealth of womb-like distilleries offering immersive experiences, such as The Glenlivet, Glenfiddich, Lagavulin, Bunnahabhain and Glenkinchie. Climate-positive, organic and sustainable drams are in force at smaller independents like Arbikie, Kilchoman, Nc’Nean and Raasay, while surging investment and hype in the country’s returning ghost distilleries, like Rosebank, Port Ellen and Brora, are remedying the past. The commonality is that each revels in escapist joy. “We’ve meticulously restored our distillery, brick-by-brick, to reawaken a whisky icon after years of closure,” Andrew Flatt, brand home host of Brora Distillery, tells me. “It’s a place suspended in time and is a wonderful example of the beautiful stories that connoisseurs and newcomers want to come and explore.”
What’s more, railway enthusiasts come to ride the Keith and Dufftown Railway, an 11-mile heritage line known as ‘the dram tram.’ Meanwhile, those with deeper pockets opt for Belmond’s richly luxurious Royal Scotsman, which freight whisky daydreams in its bar car. It is a place of tutored tastings and conversation, the only distraction the red deer-stocked landscapes. On a recent journey, I swirled 18-year-olds in the company of whisky ambassador Sylwia Szwedo, her expertise interrupted only by rutting stags mid-flow.
Another highlight is following Speyside’s Malt Whisky Trail, a microcosm of working distilleries, a historic still house, and the UK’s only cooperage, which produces and repairs nearly 150,000 oak casks every year. At each stop, the idea is to connect with Scotland’s wild, earthy and extraordinary landscape.
Maybe the essential draw of a whisky trip – by rail, road, or ferry – is that everyone feels implicit in the experience, lost to it and in love with Scotland’s landscapes anew, and this helps bring you into closer touch with its communities, but also with a deeper part of yourself. Everyone agrees, teetotaller or not. Whisky emboldens the traveller.
Six of the best distilleries to visit in Scotland
Glenmorangie, Tain
This part of the Easter Ross coast, crumpled and folded with low, brooding hills and patched with barley fields, lies invisible to many visitors — that is, with the exception of this world-renowned distillery. Drams of floral, citrus-spiced whisky have been produced on the farm there since 1843, yet the distillery has continued to evolve. As well as a glass tower housing two swan-necked stills — the tallest in the country — and a half-mad laboratory for new creations, there are tours galore and innovative dram tastings. To stay overnight, whisky-flavour-inspired rooms and cottages are the reward at deliciously handsome Glenmorangie House nearby.
Website: glenmorangie.com
The Glenturret, Crieff
Founded in 1763, making it Scotland’s oldest working distillery, The Glenturret has something no other can brag about: a Michelin-star restaurant. Right now, The Glenturret Lalique has two stars thanks to chef Mark Donald’s commitment to doing wonderful things with tattie scones, langoustine and juniper-smoked sika deer, and yet his multi-course menu is only one of the draws. There are whisky maker experiences and bespoke private tours, a Lalique boutique and a 12-bed private hideaway, Aberturret Estate House. The drink itself? The 12 Year Old is rich, with dried fruits, gentle spices and smooth, oaky sweetness. Approachable, then, like the distillery itself.
Website: theglenturret.com; theglenturretrestaurant.com
The Macallan, Aberlour
Central Speyside is Valhalla for spirit lovers, with shoulder-to-shoulder distilleries like Aberlour, Cardhu, Craigellachie and Knockando paying painstaking tributes to maltmen, past and present. In the eye of the River Spey, The Macallan Estate looks as though it might have always been there, the building half emerging from the soil like a mythical Scots beastie rearing its back. The architecture is arresting and a reflection of the forests around it — a visual display of woven steel, wood and vaulted interiors beneath a wildflower-turfed roof. Undeniably romantic, it is also a place for insightful tours and next-level fine dining, thanks to the arrival of TimeSpirit, a fantasy restaurant collaboration with three-Michelin-starred El Celler de Can Roca.
Website: themacallan.com
The Port of Leith Distillery, Edinburgh
On down the coast to the capital and to this vertical distillery, the first of its kind in the country. Every other building in Leith seems to be obsessed with heritage, but not this hyper-modern, nine-storey black waterfront tower — the idea was originally for a conventional distillery, but ambition drove co-owners Ian Stirling and Paddy Fletcher towards the clouds. As well as various tours and tastings, the top-floor mezzanine bar rewards with whisky cocktails and memorable skyline views. “We envisage interrogating every part of the whisky production process to create a perfectly balanced waxy spirit,” says head of whisky Vaibhav Sood. “People are falling in love with tradition, and in a world full of digital, we’re producing something organic and steeped in heritage.”
Website: leithdistillery.com
Glen Scotia, Campbeltown
In the 1800s, this end-of-the-road Kintyre town was the world’s whisky capital, with 35-odd distilleries crowded and clustering the streets. These days, only three remain. The Victorian-era warehouse of Glen Scotia, with its story beginning in 1832, still feels raw and warped, yet it is the ideal setting for behind-the-scenes tours to learn about mashing and fermentation, distillation and maturation. Distillery manager Iain McAlister is a whisky polymath, and his dedication to single cask expressions has seen the distillery win numerous best-in-class awards, so don’t pass on a flight tasting masterclass. A long way from most other big-ticket distilleries, it’s the sort of place where you feel part of a secret club.
Website: glenscotia.com
Ardbeg
Nowhere is the character of whisky so influenced by sea and land as on the Southern Hebridean island of Islay — you can feel it in the air, with your senses slammed. The phenol-heavy, oily drams produced by the 10 obsessive distilleries here are influenced by the mashing Atlantic, wind-whipped sea spray, and pungent, crackling peat, particularly those produced on the south coast. This is where you’ll find Ardbeg, a coastal home for dram-in-detail warehouse tours, plus fine food at The Old Kiln Cafe and Ardstream Trailer. Upping the showiness, Ardbeg House in nearby Port Ellen is opening this autumn, with slavering attention to detail, a dozen themed rooms, a restaurant and a bar to muddle over the peaty paradox of soot and fruit. “A whisky lover will taste an Ardbeg somewhere like Shanghai, then look at where it’s made,” says distillery manager Colin Gordon. “On a rock in the Atlantic Ocean — and that’s so captivating.”
Website: ardbeg.com