You know you’re off the beaten track when you come from an area northeast of The Scottish Highlands. This is Speyside, home to The Glenlivet, one of the most widely recognized single malt scotches in the world. “We like to say whisky is bred in the bone,” says Alan Winchester, master distiller. Home to the greatest concentration of whisky distilleries in Scotland, Speyside malts are known for being fruity and floral with a long, smooth finish. “We call this Speyside style, but it was once known simply as Glenlivet.”  

Now home to more than five single malts, The Glenlivet “house style,” as Winchester calls it, hasn’t changed much in 200 years. One exception is Nadurra, an unfiltered, or naked (“nadurra” being the Gaelic term for “naked”) whisky aged in Olorosa sherry casks. “This is whisky in its purest sense, with lots of rich fruit,” says Winchester. “Actually, if you really want to know, it tastes like my family’s Christmas cake.”