Burns Night: A Good Time to Get to Know Scotland's Five Whisky Regions
Burns Night rolls around every 25th January - that annual celebration of Scotland's most famous bard - and it's always the perfect excuse to indulge in a dram or two.
Whether you're a seasoned whisky enthusiast or someone who only ventures into single malts once a year, the sheer variety of Scottish whisky can feel a bit overwhelming. Sweet or smoky? Light or robust? Fruity or maritime? If you've ever stood in front of a shelf full of bottles wondering where to start, you're not alone.
Single malts come in an impressive range of styles, shaped by the regions where they're made. If you like robust and smoky, there's a dram for that. If floral and delicate is more up your street, there's plenty to go with there. The beauty of the five regions is that each brings its own distinctive character - from the sweet elegance of Speyside to the briny complexity of Campbeltown.
So if you need a bit of a hand deciding, here's our very quick guide. A shortcut to finding a dram that works for you.
Speyside Single Malts
A name synonymous with single malt. It's not a large region, but nowhere else in Scotland has such a dense concentration of distilleries.​
Sweet, fruity and elegant, with orchard fruits, honeyed sweetness and a rich malt backbone, they're generally light on peat, more concerned with approachability and complexity with a smooth finish. Glenlossie 10 Year Old ticks all the boxes - full-flavoured with fruity sweetness, heather hints and delightful honeyed notes. It also has a bit of subtle maltiness and a mere hint of smoke without wandering too far from what makes Speyside special.​​
Highland Single Malts
Covering most of northern Scotland and encompassing a wide range of styles, where some real gems are to be found.​
Diversity’s the name of the game here. Always well balanced, you'll find everything from light and floral to richer, more robust styles. Honey and heather notes with warming spices - cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg or sometimes with a bit of subtle peat thrown in. Glenmorangie The Original 10 Year Old sits at the elegant end of things - floral, soft and creamy from ex-bourbon maturation in their famously tall stills. A good example of the region’s trademark smooth, approachable character.
Islay Single Malts
The windswept Hebridean island is famous for its smoky, peaty style.​ Bold and unmistakable, defined by peat smoke and maritime character. You'll get smoky intensity with briny, seaweed notes, typically balanced by sweet honey, citrus and earthy characteristics. Bowmore 12 Year Old comes from Islay's oldest distillery and captures what the island's about - complex and balanced, with lemon and heather honey sitting alongside that trademark peat smokiness – but without blowing you away.
Lowland Single Malts
They might lack the rugged romance of other regions, but they make up for it with some beautifully delicate and characterful malts.​
Lightness and elegance are the themes with floral honeysuckle, cream, citrus and toffee coming through. Many distilleries here use triple distillation for purer, smoother spirits with unpeated, approachable flavours. Auchentoshan American Oak shows exactly what the region does best - triple distilled and bourbon-matured, it's sweet and smooth with vanilla, coconut and citrus leading to white peach and a crisp grapefruit finish. Delicate doesn't mean simple.​​
Campbeltown Single Malts
The region that went from whisky capital to near-extinction; thankfully there's a few distilleries left to keep the flame alive.​ Once home to over thirty distilleries, Campbeltown's now down to just three, but distinctive enough to be worthy of note. What you get is robust, briny complexity with oily richness standing against sweet fruit, coastal salinity and subtle peat. Glen Scotia Double Cask combines bourbon and PX sherry cask maturation for rich, spicy power with sea spray, vanilla oak and spicy fruits. It shows why Campbeltown still earns its place on the map.​​
Find Your Dram
Burns Night's a good excuse to explore Scotch Single Malts. Speyside honeyed elegance, Highland versatility, Islay's smoky punch, Lowland's gentle charm, or Campbeltown's robust character, there's something to suit your palate. Pick a region, pour a dram, and see where it takes you.
