Speyburn Distillery

WHISKYs der Welt
*Königin Victorias treue Untertanen in der gerade errichteten Speyburn Distillery in der Nähe von Rothes legten sogar Nachtschichten ein, um zum diamantenen Thronjubiläum 1897 einen Whisky herzustellen. Es war Mitte Dezember, und obwohl die Fenster noch nicht richtig eingesetzt waren und der Schnee von draußen hineinwehte, befahl der Geschäftsführer der Brennerei, die Stills zu befeuern. Speyburn hat seinen viktorianischen Charme behalten und ist seit 1991 im Besitz von Inver House.*

Michael Jackson Malt Whisky:
*Einfach Zauberhaft sind sowohl die wachsende Palette an Whiskys (blumig und fruchtig) als auch die Destillerie (ein häufig fotografierter, von Bäumen umrahmter viktorianischer Bau in einem gewundenen Tal). Fährt man von Rothes nach Elgin, bietet Speyburn einen reizvollen Anblick. Die Brennerei wurde 1897 erbaut und blieb trotz diverser Modernisierungen äußerlich fast unverändert, auch wenn die Kapazität 2014 auf vier Millionen Liter mehr als verdoppelt wurde. Seit Anfang der 1990er-Jahre gehört sie zu Inver House.*

Malt Whisky Yearbook 2018
*Partly for historic reasons, including having an American owner in the past, Speyburn single malt has been popular in the USA for many years. The range however, consisted of just a 10 year old, apart from a few limited releases, for a long time.
In 2009, Bradan Orach without age statement was introduced and in the summer of 2017 it was time for a third addition. A 15 year old matured in combination of American and Spanish oak was released. Non-chill filtered and bottled at 46% it will be part of the core range although limited to 20,000 bottles per year. The key markets are USA, the UK and the res of Europe.
In 1900, Speyburn was the first distillery to abandon floor maltings in favour of a new method – drum malting. In the late sixties, the maltings closed and ready malt was bought instead, but the drum maltings are still there to see, protected by Historic Scotland.
An impressive expansion of the distillery commenced during 2014 and was completed during the spring of 2015. The expansion had cost Â£4m and included a new 6.25 ton stainless steel mash tun. Four of the six wooden washbacks were kept but they have also expanded with no less than 15 washbacks made of stainless steel. Finally, the existing wash still was converted to a spirit still of exactly the same shape as the other one, while a new and much larger wash still was installed. The two spirit stills are connected to a worm tub while the wash still is fitted with a shell and tube condenser. The fermentation time has also been lengthened from the original 48 hours to a minimum of 72 hours. The production in 2017 will be 40 mashes per week and 4.1 million litres of alcohol.
The core range of Speyburn single malt is the 10 year old, Bradan Orach without age statement and the recently introduced 15 year old. In September 2015, Arranta Casks was released as a limited USA exclusive. A second release was made in 2016.*