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Speyside Cooperage is 37 miles northeast of
Aviemore, 56 miles northwest of
Aberdeen, close to the Whisky Towns
of Craigellachie, Aberlour, Dufftown, and
Rothes.
The Cooperage is open Monday to Friday with
Tours every half hour from 9.00am to 15.30pm.
Closed at Christmas and New Year for two weeks.
Postcode: AB38 9RS.
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Camping & Touring Parks in
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The Image top is of the entrance to the
Speyside Cooperage with a large Car Park and
scenic Gardens.
The Gardens and Cafe have a Barrel theme,
with Barrel Seats and Barrel Buildings.
The main tour is inexpensive, at about 1
hour to view Barrels being Made, Fired, or
Repaired from a Gallery, with a Whisky Tasting
at the end.
A VIP Tour lasts about 90 minutes, allowing
you to see up close Barrels being Made, and
even Having a Go yourself, this tour may not be
available just now.
The way Barrels are Made, and what they may
have been Used for Before, allows the
Distilleries to create their own Unique
Whisky.
Many people visiting the Cooperage also
visit the Distilleries in the area, such
as:
Dewar's in the Village of Craigellachie half
of a mile north, but this Distillery does not
allow visits just now.
Distilleries for Visits are:
Glenfiddich - 3 miles southeast
Aberlour - 3 miles southwest
Macallan - 3 miles northwest
Glen Grant - 4 miles north
Glenfarclas - 7 miles
southwest
Ballindalloch -
10 miles southwest
Cragganmore -
13 miles southwest
Glenlivet - 15
miles southwest
Strathisla - 13 miles
northeast
Glen Moray - 15 miles north
Dallas Dhu - 24 miles northwest
Benromach - 26 miles northwest
All Scotland Whisky Distillers that can
be visited.
Speyside Cooperage History
1947 - the Speyside Cooperage was founded by
the Taylor family in the Village of
Craigellachie, growing to become the largest
independent Cooperage in the UK, later with
branches in Alloa, Kentucky, and Ohio.
1991 - the Speyside Cooperage was moved to
its present location, 1 mile south of
Craigellachie.
1992 - the Speyside Cooperage Visitor Centre
was opened to allow Tourists to view Whisky
Barrels being Made and Repaired.
2008 - Speyside Cooperage was bought by
Tonnellerie Francois Freres Group, owners of a
number of Cooperages and Stave Mills.
2019 - a Macallan 1926 Bottle of Whisky / 60
years old, sold for £1.5m at
Auction. Rare Old Whisky like this is now
highly collectable, unlikely ever to be
drunk.
Many of these Barrels being repaired at the
Cooperage are former Oak Bourbon Barrels from
the US, or Oak Sherry Barrels from the EU.
Along with Firing the inside of these Barrels,
adding Flavours, and Length of Time the Whisky
is Matured in the Barrels, leads to a vast
Range of Whisky, from 3 to 60 years old.
Flavours tend to be such as: Nutty, Peaty,
and Vanilla.
Most Scotch Whisky is Blended, either Mixed
Batches of Malt Whisky, or Mixed Batches of
Malt and Grain Whisky.
Malt Whisky is more expensive, as Malting of
the Barley is a time consuming process, Soaking
and Drying the Barley a number of times, with
that process allowing different strengths of
the Malt Flavour to be achieved.
Grain Whisky is less expensive to make, with
different types of Grain put straight into the
Distilling process, but has Less Taste, so
Blending with Malt Whisky gives More Taste at
low cost.
Many less expensive Whisky Brands have a low
percentage of Malt Whisky, high percentage of
Grain Whisky. This Whisky is exceptionally
popular for the price, with 3 Year Old Blended
about the same price as Standard Vodka.
Debates will always go on about what is the
best Whisky, Blend, and what age. Scotch Whisky
is said to be at its best after Matured in the
Barrel for 20 years, with 20 year old Whisky
about 10 times more expensive than a 3 year
old.
The least expensive Scotch Whisky is 3 years
old Blended, the shortest time Whisky can be
matured for, containing a high percentage of
Grain Whisky.
The best selling Scotch Whisky is Johnnie Walker,
with its inexpensive Red Label, 12 year old
Black Label, 15 year old Green Label, and 18
year old Platinum Label.
Johnnie Walker began Blending Whisky in the
1820s in Kilmarnock southwest Scotland,
becoming the biggest name in Whisky through his
famous Blends.
At that time, you could only Blend Grain
with Grain, or Malt with Malt.
1860 - an Act was passed making it legal to
Blend Malt and Grain Whisky, leading to a vast
number of new Whisky Blends.
Most Whisky is sold diluted with water until
it has an alcoholic strength of about 40% abv.
Growing in popularity is Cask-Strength Whisky,
normally between 50% and 75% abv.
Many Distilleries now allow you to fill a
Bottle of your own, straight from a Barrel.
Many of the Malt Whisky Distillers are in
the Speyside area of Scotland, with the two
vast Scots Grain Distilleries being Cameron Bridge in Fife, and
Grants in
Ayrshire.
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