The world's acknowledged heartland of malt distillation, Speyside accounts for the area between the Moray Firth, the Cairngorm range and the North Sea, sweeping from rugged granite mountains down to fertile, barley-growing farmland. Noted for their elegance, complexity and refined smokiness, the malts of this region are as varied as the landscape they are born into. As a result, they range between two extremes - from big, powerful and almost sherry-like in character, to lighter, subtler styles.