Strathisla Distillery, Keith: The Oldest Working Distillery in the Highlands

Overview

Strathisla, in the old town of Keith, is often called the oldest continuously working distillery in the Scottish Highlands — and with its twin pagoda roofs and waterwheel it is certainly one of the prettiest. Its fruity, rounded malt is the heart of the Chivas Regal blend, and the distillery serves as the “Home of Chivas”.

The history

Strathisla was established in 1786 as the Milton distillery by two local businessmen, George Taylor and Alexander Milne — a founding date that predates almost every other working distillery in the country. It changed hands and names over the years (a colourful mid-20th-century owner ended up in prison for fraud) before being bought in 1950 by Chivas Brothers, who restored it and made it the ceremonial home of their famous blend. Its great age and its beautifully preserved Victorian buildings make it a favourite among whisky enthusiasts.

The water & the land

Strathisla is made with water from the Fons Bulliens Well at Keith, fed by the calcium-rich, peat-free Broomhill Spring — a source said to have been used by Dominican monks as far back as the 11th–13th centuries, which lends the ancient distillery a nicely ancient water supply too.

Strathisla had no founding clan — it was a commercial venture — but the flax-men who built it leased their ground from the Earl of Seafield, whose earldom is the chiefly line of Clan Grant. So even the oldest working distillery in the Highlands stood, like so many, on Grant land.

How it’s made

Strathisla runs two wash stills and two spirit stills for about 2.4 million litres a year, with water from the Broomhill Spring, maturing mainly in American white oak ex-bourbon casks. Founded in 1786 as Milltown distillery by George Taylor and Alexander Milne, it is the oldest continuously operating distillery in the Highlands and the spiritual home of Chivas Regal, which Chivas Brothers (Pernod Ricard) has owned since 2001. It bottles a 12-year-old plus older 14-, 19- and 25-year-old expressions.

Visiting

Strathisla runs a relaxed tour and tasting from its visitor centre and is a genuine pleasure to walk round given its age and beauty — book ahead. It generally opens daily 10–5 from April to October and Tuesday to Saturday 10–4 in winter; check the website.

Nearby & more whisky

• Strathisla among the oldest working distilleries
• More Speyside history, back towards Rothes: Glen Grant and Longmorn.
• Planning a day of it? Our Speyside Whisky Trail finishes its final leg here at Keith, before looping back to Dufftown.
• The whole picture: Scotch whisky — regions, distilleries & the oldest of all
• Nine miles east below Knock Hill: Knockdhu, home of anCnoc single malt
• On the coast at Buckie: Inchgower, the Bell’s malt
• Also in Keith, by the Isla: Strathmill, the J&B malt
• Four miles west at Mulben: Glentauchers
• Across the Isla from Strathisla: Glen Keith, Speyside’s first new distillery after the 1898 crash
• North of Keith on the Buckie road: Aultmore

Sources

• Strathisla distillery — Wikipedia.
• Chivas Brothers; Undiscovered Scotland.