The Spey  

 
 

The Speyside Distillery was sold to Harvey‘s of Edinburgh Ltd.

which is owned by John Harvey McDonough (senior chairman) in September 2012. The Speyside Distillery was owned by the Glasgow-based Speyside Distillers Co. Ltd., director was Sir James Aykrod, with an annual turnover of £8m.  The County Durham whisky dealer John Harvey McDonough bought the complete stock, the brand and the distillery equipment. The distillery premises are still owned by Andrew Shand and have been rented to Harvey‘s of Edinburgh.


The Spey is the whisky brand of Harvey‘s of Edinburgh. There is also a 12 year old  Spey Single Malt whisky produced by Harveys of Edinburgh. The trademak is owened by John Harvey McDonough and Spey Royal Choice non aged which is currently only sold within the palace shops at the Tower of London, Hampton Court Palace and Kensington Palace and online (retails at £150).


One of the smallest distilleries in Scotland is the perfect reality of George Christie‘s dream. Built by the dry stane dyker Alex Fairlie single-handedly over twenty years the farmhouse distillery began production on December 3rd, 1990. The first single malt was called Drumguish. There are also a malts named Glentromie and Cu Dubh, the very black. The distillery‘s name derives from a distillery at Kingussie which was demolished in 1911. Small batch production makes „the best whisky in the world.“


Speyside Distillery offers the most idyllic setting of a distillery producing between 500.000 and 600.000 litres of pure alcohol per year (2016). In 2006 a peated spirit was distilled which is now produced during one week per year. There are no warehouses on site. The spirit is tankered to Rutherglen, Glasgow.


The character is fruity, fresh, nutty and delicate with hints of vanilla. A very clean, slighty sweet and soft malt.


The annual production reached about 430,000 litres in 2012. I was increased to 500,000 litres in 2014. They worked six days with two shifts in 2016. Spey whisky sold 60,000 nine-litre cases in Taiwan, representing 90% of its annual sales (2013).


Distillery Manager: Sandy Jameson (2014)


Private tours prior arrangement. There is no visitor centre.


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owner: Harvey‘S Of Edinburgh International Ltd.