Soft water off granite hills; sheltered glens that drew illicit stills long before licences.Scotland's biggest region — coastal salt in the west, granite glens in the north, soft farmland south.
Style
Orchard fruit and honey from ex-bourbon; dried fruit and spice where sherry wood rules.No single style: waxy and muscular up north, balanced and maritime out west, gentle and malty in the south.
Distilleries
118
Where to start
The same distillery often makes both styles — check the cask type on the label before assuming a Speysider is light.Ask where in the Highlands a bottle comes from — north, west or south predicts the glass far better than the word 'Highland'.
Every figure above is read from the Atlas entry for each, so this page stays in step with them.