Speyside , named after the river that flows through it, is one of Scotland's five whiskey-producing regions . Technically part of the Highlands, the area is home to the highest number of distilleries , which has led to it being treated as a region in itself.

The proliferation of distilleries in Speyside is due both to the presence of the Spey River and to the inaccessibility of the area. In the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, whiskey was in fact heavily taxed by the Corona and the impervious mountain area around the Spey river, rich in water sources , was the ideal place to produce whiskey and escape the control of the authorities.

With such a concentration of distilleries, Speyside whiskeys can vary a lot in terms of style , however they differ from Islay single malts for being less peaty and therefore softer and more elegant , with a body that varies from the light and vegetable one of Glenlivet , full and round Macallan. Among the blended, Chivas Regal and Monkey Shoulder are also assembled from malts from Speyside.