Scotch whisky regions: discovering Scotland in your glass

Historically associated with triple distillation and lighter styles, the Lowland region produces whiskies that are often described as gentle, grassy and floral, with flavours of fresh-cut hay, lemon zest, soft vanilla and clean malt sweetness sitting at the delicate end of the Scotch flavours by region spectrum. 

Most Lowland malts remain unpeated, but a new wave of distilleries is playing with peat in subtle, modern ways, and the region is still the place to look for soft, easy-drinking drams that let grain and fermentation shine.

The Highlands cover a vast sweep of Scotland, so Highland whisky characteristics are wonderfully varied: in the south and east you’ll often find malts with heather honey, toffee, dried fruits and baking spices, while coastal distilleries tend to be more robust, with maritime notes, a touch of brine and occasional gentle smoke. 

Some Highland whiskies lean confidently into peat and others are unpeated yet full-bodied, making this region a fascinating way to see how landscape and climate shape character, and a natural contrast to the more consistently smoky style of Islay.

Once a thriving whisky capital, the Campbeltown whisky region on the Kintyre peninsula is now home to just a handful of distilleries, but its style is unmistakable: often oily and robust, with coastal salinity, hints of engine oil or leather, and touches of dried fruit and spice. 

Here peat tends to play a supporting role, adding earthy, grounding smoke rather than dominating the glass, and Campbeltown sits somewhere between maritime Highland malts and the bolder peat of Islay, making it essential for anyone curious about the more austere, old-school side of regional Scotch character.

This small island produces some of the world’s most distinctive single malts, defined by bold peat smoke, seaweed and iodine with hints of citrus, vanilla, sea salt and a touch of sweetness beneath the smoke. The Islay whisky region is where peat truly takes centre stage, giving rise to intensely smoky drams.

For many, discovering Islay is the moment they truly understand how powerful place and climate can shape the character of a Scotch whisky region. The Laphroaig Distillery sits on Islay’s rugged south coast, where Atlantic storms, sea spray and peat bogs have shaped our whisky making for generations. The way peat is cut and dried, the coastal warehouses where casks rest, and the traditional methods still used all help create Laphroaig’s unmistakable character:.

Although not recognised as an official region, the Scotch Islands – such as Skye, Orkney, Jura and Mull – are often talked about together because their whiskies share a distinctly maritime character, with notes of sea spray, brine, heather and, in many cases, peat smoke, even if styles vary widely from distillery to distillery. 

Some island malts are boldly peated, others gently smoky or completely unpeated, but many share a windswept, coastal soul that connects them to Islay and the western Highlands, reminding drinkers exploring Scotch regions characteristics that Scotland’s shores are every bit as important to flavour as its valleys and glens.