THE SOUL OF SPEYSIDE
WEDNESDAY MAY 28, 2025
speyside cooperage
Founded in 1947 within the village of Craigellachie, Speyside Cooperage is the UK’s largest independent cask maker. Due to expansion, in 1991 the cooperage moved to a new location outside the village, and here it produces and repairs nearly 150,000 oak casks used by many nearby Speyside distilleries as well as other distilleries throughout Scotland and around the world.
In 1992 the facility began offering tours at its Speyside Cooperage Visitor Centre, the only such attraction in Britain. The Centre is an official stop on the Malt Whisky Trail, a theme route created in the 1980’s to promote the Speyside region’s cultural heritage. Here visitors can view the making of an American Oak cask, using traditional methods and tools, from start to completion.
In addition to its home base, Speyside Cooperage also has branches in the US: Speyside Cooperage in Kentucky and Speyside Bourbon Cooperage in Ohio.
benriach
As it has been “silent” for most of its 124-year existence, BenRiach has acted primarily as a supplier of malts for neighboring whisky brands – hence its distinction as one of only seven distilleries in Scotland having its own malting floor. The “Speckled Mountain” distillery is also one of the relatively few Speyside producers working with a portion of peated malts, which are often associated with the more coastal and otherwise remote regions of Scotland.
Having previously been used in blends, BenRiach was released for the first time as a 10 year old Single Malt in 1994. Despite being limited to small bottling runs, the expression would begin BenRiach’s legacy of a flagship 10.
Today, BenRiach’s Master Blender Dr. Rachel Barrie is arguably the preeminent woman in modern Scottish distilling, with over 30 years in the business.
gordon & macphail
In the 19th century, farmer-distillers would sell their casked whisky to grocers, who then aged and bottled it. The family-run Gordon & MacPhail started out in 1895 as such a grocery but has over the years morphed into an internationally-famous bottler of whisky. G & M warehouses casks from many distilleries and bottles them, these include casks from several long-gone distilleries. Recently they released bottles from a 74-year-old Glenlivet cask.
While they now own the Benromach Distillery and the recently opened Cairn Distillery, their shop in Elgin remains open.
glen moray
Set along the banks of the River Lossie, Glen Moray (pronounced “Murray”) began life as Elgin West Brewery in 1830. The shift to whisky was made with the first run of the stills in 1897, and the distillery has since then produced classic Speyside malt: light, smooth, and with a honeyish sweetness. In recent times Glen Moray, whose name is translated from the Gaelic as “Valley of the Sea Settlement,” had further retained its historical coastal connections by providing some casks for seaside craft brewery Windswept’s barrel-aging series, but unfortunately the brewery was forced to close down in 2024.
Glen Moray was an early pioneer in experimental Scotch cask finishes.
benromach
Founded in 1898, the “Shaggy Mountain” distillery is the smallest traditional one in Speyside. Having changed owners several times over the first seven decades of operation, the distillery was closed in 1983, its equipment mostly sold off. But ten years later it was given new life by the Urquhart family’s Speyside Whisky Distributors, better known to aficionados as Gordon & MacPhail.
Thus, Benromach is today one of the very few Scottish and family-owned distilleries in Speyside. Retrofitted with a new but old-fashioned, hands-on system, it distilled its first new whisky in 1998, with Prince Charles himself officially on hand for the reopening. In another nod to tradition, Benromach has revived a lost, pre-60s style of lightly-peated malt that was once typical of the region.
speyside brewery
This tiny brewery in Forres was opened in 2012, but closed in 2021 due to the Covid-19 pandemic. In 2022, the Urquhart family (owners of Gordon & MacPhail and Benromach Distillery) bought the company and moved it to a new, larger facility near Benromach, bringing along a higher-profile brewer who had formerly worked at the long-established Harvieston. The range and output are thus far conservative, but the house specialty, a 7.5% stout aged in Speyside whisky barrels, boldly reflects the local distillery connection.
duffus castle
Now a magnificent stone ruin set mysteriously alone in a flat, fertile plain, Duffus Castle was originally constructed around 1140 entirely of wood, and was at the time considered one of the most secure fortifications in Scotland. In the face of various conflicts over several centuries, it underwent many alterations and changing of hands. The most significant structural alteration was undertaken in the 14th century as Duffus was fully remade in stone. This version survived for several centuries until the castle was finally abandoned in 1705.
Today curiosity seekers can roam freely around the grounds, possibly witnessing the incongruity of jet fighters from the nearby RAF base whizzing by immediately overhead!
**Every effort has been made to ensure the accuracy of information presented on this webpage. Inner Circle Beer Tours (ICBT) is not responsible for errors in or damages resulting from use of the information contained herein. Information contained on this webpage is subject to change without notice.**
