It seems a good idea for my first travel to article to be about where I live.

Dufftown is the beating heart of the malt whisky industry.  The Dufftown distilleries produce something like 40 million litres of pure alcohol per year.  Over 10% of the industries capacity is in our town. That’s the same amount of alcohol as in over 140 million bottles of whisky.  That’s over 87,500 bottles per Dufftownite each year. We also have our own free angels’ share from the casks maturing here which is something like 14,000 free bottles of whisky a day being released in to the air around our very happy town. Whisky is literally in our blood.  If that is not a reason to come to Dufftown then what it?  All set in breath taking countryside.  Hills and valleys.  Sheep and Highland Cattle.  Plus some of the best whisky tours on Speyside at Balvenie and Glenfiddich.  You have to come!

Breathing in all that angelic air is probably why each year we come up with so many different events from the norm for The Spirit of Speyside Whisky Festival.  Whether it’s finding the best malt to go with a bacon a roll or an in-depth tasting on the influence of different woods on the maturation of whisky we have it all.  We try and make whisky fun and informative for everyone.

Some other whisky retailers have told me my shop is in the middle of nowhere but all that The Malt Whisky Capital of the World has to offer is only an hour from the airports in Aberdeen and Inverness.  You may not get so many people as Edinburgh say, which may be a good thing, but what you do get is whisky people in the centre of whisky country.  Those other shops don’t get a still man from Glenrothes popping in to buy some beer, the head of distilling for Chivas Brothers dropping by in for a chat, Diageo’s key production guy for Speyside wanting your opinion on flanged stills or the visitor center manager for Glenfarclas dropping of some stock for you.  These are all local people.  You can meet them in my shop, in our restaurants, in our pubs or even our Coop.

Center of nowhere or the center of malt whisky?  Come to Dufftown and you decide.