The big three
Three Speysiders dominate the single malt world. Glenfiddich — still family-owned by William Grant & Sons — practically invented the category when it began exporting its malt as 'single malt' in 1963, and trades the crown of world's best-seller with The Glenlivet, which currently leads by volume and has long been America's number-one single malt; its founder George Smith took out the parish's first licence under the 1823 Excise Act. The Macallan chose another crown: sherry oak, luxury and the auction room — a 1926 Macallan sold for £2.19 million in 2023, the most ever paid for a bottle of whisky.
Start here: Glenfiddich 12 for orchard freshness, Glenlivet 12 for honeyed smoothness, Macallan 12 Sherry Oak for dried-fruit richness.