More than half of Scotland's Whisky distillers can be found in Speyside, many of the famous names have excellent tourist centres, and are happy to show you around their facilities, conducting tours at regular intervals and in most of the major European languages. These centres will offer you a "wee dram" after the tour in order to encourage sales in their shop and hopefully convert you to their brand for years to come. Sadly, these "nosings" and certainly "tastings" have there down side, unless you have a driver who is happy to abstain, the number of centres that can be visited in a day has to be curtailed.

Travelling through some magnificent scenery, the official Whisky Trail is a route that is well sign posted, and covers seven very distinct distilleries, as you drive along this route you can even smell the malt in the air. It is possible to combine whisky and castles as at certain points the two trails cross, so perhaps a happy day can be arranged combining some of Scotland's heritage with putting a wee "glow to the cheeks".

It is important to note that the area is strewn with distilleries almost every town and village has one, such is the world demand for "the amber tincture". Some of these distilleries are therefore merely production units and have no facilities to entertain guests and do not offer tours so please organise visits round the ones that are geared to entertaining visitors.

You can look forward to visiting such names as are listed below, a few have their own website and where known this has been shown so the connoisseur can do some homework before his visit.

Glennfiddich
The Glenlivet
Glenfarclas
Glen Grant
Cardhu Strathisla
Dallas Dhu
Strathisla

In addition there is the opportunity to visit The Speyside Cooperage and watch the manufacture and repair of the oak casks which are still used to mature many different whiskies.