Balblair Distillery

Balblair Distillery in the Northern Highlands region is one of the oldest distilleries in Scotland that is still operational. It was founded in 1790 on Balnagowan Estate at the village of Edderton in Ross-Shire. This land was owned by the Ross Clan who would go on to operate the distillery for the next 100 years, passing the reins down for three generations.

While Balblair’s name and legacy reach back to 1790, the current distillery only dates to 1872. The Ross family rebuilt it from scratch a half mile to the north of its original location in order to be closer to the new railway line. In 1894 the Ross family passed control to Alexander Cowan, who went about extensively rebuilding the distillery.

Balblair was hit particularly hard by recession and wartime difficulties in the first half of the 20 th century. The distillery was forced to close in 1911 not long after Cowan’s refurbishments. It wouldn’t open again until 1949 after being purchased by Robert Cummings, the owner of Old Putney. The remaining stock from before it closed dwindled in the intervening years, and the last was shipped out by 1932.

A smaller operation than many distilleries, Balblair operates only a single pair of stills and six Oregon Pine washbacks capable of 14 mashes a week.

Cummings operated the distillery until 1970 when it was sold to Hiram Walker. The current owners are Inver House Distillers, who bought it off Allied Distillers in 1996 and began exploring new ways to promote the distillery.

In 2007 Balblair embarked on a rebranding of its entire line. The typical age statement labelling was scrapped in favour of vintage bottlings marked with the year the whisky was distilled. The last of those released was the 2005 vintage. This is a fruity Highland single malt with notes of toffee, vanilla, and citrus.

In 2019 Balblair decided to take a step back in time and release a new range of single malts complete with age statements. The core lineup is made of 12, 15, 18, and 25 year old whiskies. All of these are first matured in American oak ex-Bourbon casks. The 12 year old single malt has its second maturation in double-fired American Oak casks. The other three expressions in the core range spend additional time in first fill Spanish Oak butts for added complexity.