Strathisla distillery was built in 1786 on the banks of the river Isla, and today is the oldest and most picturesque distillery in the highlands of Scotland. Chivas Brothers purchased Strathisla in 1950 to safeguard this special Speyside malt for Chivas Regal. With its short, small copper stills and natural spring water, Strathisla produces a full-bodied single malt Scotch whisky.

Speyside is an area around the River Spey in Moray and Badenoch and Strathspey, in northeastern Scotland. The term Strathspey usually refers to the upper part of the strath from the source of the Spey down to the capital, Grantown-on-Spey, whereas the anglicised form, Speyside, refers to the area from Grantown-on-Spey to the mouth of the river at Spey Bay. Recently there has been some controversy over attempts to anglicise the name into Spey Valley. The tourist area from the south starts at Dalwhinnie and continues North along the A9 towards Newtonmore, Kingussie, Aviemore and on towards Grantown-on-Spey. Speyside has the greatest number of distilleries of any of the whisky-producing areas of Scotland.