The Speyside distillery

The Speyside distillery stands near the hamlet of Drumguish in the Speyside region of Scotland, close to the village of Kingussie. It was built on the site of an old barley mill from the 1760s. George Christie bought the property in 1962 and, with stonemason Alex Fairlie, spent two decades converting it. The distillery buildings were completed in 1987, and whisky production began in 1990. Two small copper pot stills were installed, among the smallest in Scotland. Water for production came directly from the River Tromie. The distillery produced single malt Scotch whisky and gin under several brands. The SPEY range included core expressions like Tenne, Trutina, and Fumare, alongside limited editions aged 10, 12, and 18 years. A single malt named Beinn Dubh was matured in heavily-charred ruby port casks. Byron’s Gin was made using botanicals from the distillery grounds, including bird cherry and melancholy thistle. Harvey’s of Edinburgh owned the distillery from 2012 and focused on exports, particularly to Taiwan. The site has since closed, with equipment removed for storage. Plans are underway to build the Glen Tromie distillery on the same land, designed to be energy-efficient with zero carbon emissions. The original distillery appeared in the BBC TV show *Monarch of the Glen* under a different name. The Speyside distillery’s legacy lives on through its whiskies and gin, now produced elsewhere.