May is Whisky Month when Scotland’s national drink, uisge beatha’ as we call it – the ‘water of life’, is celebrated through the country.
So it would seem natural that things are kicked off in Strathspey. This region of Scotch Whisky has the highest concentration of distilleries in Scotland. In fact, even though it is in the highlands of Scotland, it is classed as a region all of it’s own.
The Spirit of Speyside Festival was started in 1999 – and this year will see hundreds of events in the region. So May is definitely the place to be for Scotch Whisky lovers.
The Speyside Festival spans five days and it is expected to attract around 27,000 visitors. Some of the events include tours, trips, tastings and workshops. But, if you want to attend, we suggest that you get your tickets soon, as some are already sold out.
There will be The Great Speyside Bake Off run by The Whisky Shop Dufftown. Continuing on the culinary theme will be a series of Cooking with Malt Whisky demonstrations at the Oakwood Cookery School. The “Queen of the Still” and Master of The Quaich, Martine Nouet shows you how.
The Dowans Hotel in Aberlour will run a Whisky Cocktail Master Class, allowing people to sample a range of whisky cocktails before trying to create and name their own.
It was in 1886 when the Glenfiddich distillery (Gaelic for “Valley of the Deer”) was founded in Speyside by William Grant. He, with his nine children built the distillery by hand, taking them about a to finish it. Then on Christmas day, 1887 the first drops of Glenfiddich Scotch Whisky was produced.
The distillery is one of the few single malt distilleries which is still family owned and it is one of the largest producers of Scotch whisky in the world.
Over the years not very much has changed at the distillery, apart from the popularity of the whisky. Glenfiddich is now the most popular single malt whisky in the world.
The Glenfiddich Family (Click on a bottle to buy)
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