Driving down the high street in the sleepy Speyside town of Rothes, it seems VERY low key. But just off the main streets, hidden in plain site are 4 distilleries: Glenrothes, Glen Grant, Speyburn and Glen Spey. A fifth Rothes distillery, Caperdonich was shuttered in 2002. The town is located on the River Spey and in days past had easy access to both peat and barley, both essential to whisky production. A railway station also made transportation in and out easy for the distillers.  Today, Forsyth’s is also a major employer in the town. If you’ve been on a distillery tour or two you’ve probably seen their shiny copper stills. They are renowned around the world for their production, installation and service of stills. The Forsyth’s family has also brought new life to Rothes through the Station Hotel, a high-end hotel with gorgeous rooms and furnishings, as well as two onsite restaurants and the Spirit Safe bar.

The small Glen Spey distillery originated as a mill. A distillery was added in 1878 when merchant James Stuart recognized a shrewd business opportunity at the site located on the River Spey. Today Glen Spey is owned by Diageo and single malt bottlings of the Glen Spey liquid are rare from them. However, indie bottlers occasionally get their hands on Glen Spey casks and bottle it as single cask or small batch single malt expressions.