Glen Keith

On the banks of the River Isla, at the site of the old Mill of Keith sits the Glen Keith, a stone’s throw from its sister Strathisla Distillery. Completed in 1958, Glen Keith was the first distillery to open in Speyside post the whisky boom in the 1890s. It was designed as an experimental distillery, making a ‘sideways’ and versatile spirit; Seagram built the distillery partly to explore the production of a peated spirit for blending: Glen Isla. Among its experimental features was the first microprocessor; this chip controlled all aspects of production. Glen Keith experimented with triple distillation and has been rumoured to produce mash bills from grains other than barley.

In 1999 Glen Keith Distillery was mothballed. New owners overhauled and refurbished the distillery reopening it in 2013.