Strathisla Distillery
Strathisla, the spiritual home of Chivas is the oldest working distillery in the Scottish Highlands dating back to 1786. The Chivas family motto set the tone for our brand ethos long before the brothers were born: By Virtue. Not By Force.
At Strathisla Distillery feel closer to the true spirit of our rich, smooth, Chivas Regal blends and the classic Speyside malt at their heart. As a whisky aficionado your Strathisla visit will be a sensory experience, created in a beautiful riverside distillery now in its 232nd year of Scottish Highlands’ history.
Address:
Seafield Avenue, Banffshire, AB55 5BS
This distillery is included as part of our South Speyside Tour.
Directions:
If you're arriving by car, we are situated in the town of Keith along A96 between Aberdeen and Inverness. If you're taking the train, the train station in Keith is about 10 minutes’ walk from Strathisla Distillery.
Opening Times:
- April–Oct: Mon-Sun 10am-5.00pm
- Nov–March: 10am-4pm
Podcast:
We interviewed Jenna Collins, Visitor Centre Supervisor at the Strathisla Distillery, in our November 2020 podcast.
Jenna tells us what it means to her to work at the Home of Chivas after spending most of her career working in distilleries, why she thinks everyone should get to write their own tasting notes, and news of their Distillery Reserve Collection for 2020. And there’s even an interesting request from Queen Victoria!
Tours:
Spend an hour - more if you choose to - in expert, yet informal company, discovering the ancient craft of distilling spirits, and the rare skill needed for blending them.See and hear how prestigious whiskies are created from simple, natural ingredients. Inhale the distinctive aromas during production and share the many subtleties of each one as you ‘nose’ and then taste them to complete your tour.
CHIVAS: BLENDING WORKSHOP £45
Create your own Blended Scotch Whisky at Strathisla Distillery where the single malt at the heart of Chivas Regal is made.
In this unrivaled, interactive workshop we will begin by introducing you to two examples of Chivas Regal with quite different flavour profiles before moving on to exploring some of the component single malt and grain whiskies. Once you have discovered where your preferences lie you will have time to experiment with the component whiskies: fruity, citrus, creamy, smoky & floral, to create your very own unique blend to take home in a cute 20cl bottle.
Duration: 45mins
STRATHISLA DISTILLERY TOUR £22
You will be welcomed with a Highball cocktail in our story room while enjoying a brief history presentation about the heritage of Strathisla Distillery and Chivas Brothers.
The perfect tour for an introduction to whisky making where your guide will take you into the production areas, explain the distillation process from start to finish and then show you racks of filled whisky casks quietly laying in the cool tranquility of the bonded warehouse.
You are invited to join a tutored tasting of four whiskies and learn about the intricate relationship between our single malt and our world-famous Chivas Regal blends.
Duration: 1hr 20 mins
WAREHOUSE NO.3 EXPERIENCE £60
NEW for 2024. We are delighted to re-open the doors of our stunningly renovated Traditional Dunnage Warehouse for 2024.
Strathisla's Warehouse No.3 has nurtured casks of our maturing spirit for over 200 years, join us for a tour of this enchanting space. Unlock the Chivas Vault and sample a Chivas 18 straight form its cask. We will then welcome you into our cosy tasting room to enjoy three more delicious drams: Strathisla 15yo Distillery Reserve, Longmorn 22yo Distillery Reserve and Strathisla 18yo Distillery Exclusive.
Duration: 1hr
THE ROYAL SALUTE EXPERIENCE £120
NEW for 2024. Immerse yourself in the world of Royal Salute Blended Scotch Whisky. Born in Speyside in 1953 as a tribute to the British monarchy, Strathisla Distillery is the home of Royal Salute in Speyside. In this NEW experience you will be one of the first to be welcomed into the Royal Salute Vault where you will taste an exceptionally rare dram pulled from a maturing cask. We will then retreat to the luxury of The Kingdom Room for a tasting of 3 Royal Salute whiskies: a classic blend, an old, rare blend and a limited edition blend.
In the last step of the experience you will discover the Royal Salute whiskies in our shop where you will have the privilege of a one time only 15% discount on the RS range.
Duration: 1hr 30mins
STRATHISLA MATURATION TOUR & TASTING £55
Spend some time exploring Strathisla's traditional dunnage warehouse with one of our expert hosts. We will begin the experience by nosing a sample of New Make Spirit from Strathisla. You will then explore the stows and vaults within the warehouse while your hosts shares their knowledge of the maturations process and the impact it has on the final flavour of the spirit. Following this you will enjoy a tutored tasting in the 'watchers's office' tasting room of three Strathisla single malts of varied maturation types.
Duration: 1hr
