Cask Number: 9

Age: 28 years

ABV: 51.0%

Cask Type: Sherry Butt

Bottles: 564

Bottle Size: 700ml

91 Points from Whisky Advocate: Caramelized sugar, grilled pineapple, and baked apples make for an enticing nose, pulling you back for more; if you stick with it awhile you'll be rewarded with earthier notes and minerality. Java on the palate, flavors of coffee ice cream and cafe con leche enhance a delightfully creamy texture. The finish sees more of that espresso influence, and it's amplified by dark chocolate brownie batter and cardamom spice. No complaints here. 

Natural color, non-chill filtered.

Reviews from Real Scotch Drinkers

From Whisky Advocate - 91 points

Caramelized sugar, grilled pineapple, and baked apples make for an enticing nose, pulling you back for more; if you stick with it awhile you'll be rewarded with earthier notes and minerality. Java on the palate, flavors of coffee ice cream and cafe con leche enhance a delightfully creamy texture. The finish sees more of that espresso influence, and it's amplified by dark chocolate brownie batter and cardamom spice. No complaints here.

About the Speyside Distillery

To be clear we’re talking about the Lost Speyside Distillery, not to be confused with the Speyside region, home to more than 50 scotch whisky distilleries. The Speyside Distillery, now a ghost distillery was an understated yet spectacularly beautiful distillery. Turning off the A86 in the village of Kingussie, there are no signs for the distillery, a stark contrast to most of Speyside where distillery signage is abundant. As you exit the village, the rural landscape is suddenly obstructed by the striking ruins of the Ruthven Barracks but still no signs of the distillery. And then at last, surrounded by farmland lies a tiny and picturesque lost distillery.

A former barley mill, the Speyside Distillery was tiny, so small that the stills had to be cut down to fit in the existing building. Privately owned, the mill was lovingly transformed into the distillery by hand over 25 years by a traditional stone mason! The landscape is stunning, a small spring runs immediately next to the distillery buildings, essential for both the former mill operations and distillery operations.  The 200 year old waterwheel was not only an unexpected photo opp but a functional part of the distillery's operations. The water is clean, fresh, crisp – on tours folks were invited to dip a cup into the spring and try it themselves. Winding around the site, is the babbling River Tromie, a tributary of the famed River Spey.

Whisky lovers aren’t the only ones to fall in love with this distillery though. The distillery was featured in the popular BBC series Monarch of the Glen as the ‘Laggonmore Distillery’.

The artisan whiskies of the Speyside Distillery are known for their light and delicate flavors. A live yeast strain was used in fermentation, highly unusual. The extraordinarily short stills contribute to the intensely flavored spirit. An easy drinking, very smooth scotch whisky for sure. 

But alas, all good things cannot last forever. As lovely as the site is, it was located in a floodplain and the distillery officially shuttered operations in the Spring of 2025. The Speyside Distillery is now officially a lost distillery or a ghost distillery, if you prefer. Be sure to try this vintage bottling from the original Speyside Distillery before it’s lost to history and the floodwaters of the River Tromie.