Annandale distillery is a whisky distillery producing single malt Scotch whisky in

Annan, Dumfries and Galloway Annan ( ; ) is a town and former royal burgh in Dumfries and Galloway, south-west Scotland. Historically part of Dumfriesshire, its public buildings include Annan Academy, of which the writer Thomas Carlyle was a pupil, and a Georgian build ...

Scotland Scotland is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It contains nearly one-third of the United Kingdom's land area, consisting of the northern part of the island of Great Britain and more than 790 adjac ...

History

Annandale Distillery was established in 1836 by George Donald and was later bought by Johnnie Walker and Son in 1893. It was closed down in 1924 but was very well preserved. In 2007 the distillery was bought by the Annandale Distillery Company which is owned by David Thomson and Teresa Church. In 2008, the company received a grant of £150,000 from the Regional Selective Assistance (RSA) support as part of a £10.5m investment which will employ up to 29 people. In November 2014, the Annandale Visitor Centre opened and the first casks were distilled. The first cask of unpeated whisky made the news and was put up for sale for £1million. The first cask of peated whisky 'Cask 40' was filled by ex- Scotland Rugby Union player Doddie Weir. Doddie was invited to do this after unwittingly becoming involved in the restoration of Annandale distillery by the distillery's rugby fan owner David Thomson. In November 2017, the first cask was broached, by the two owners David and Teresa. And in December of the same year Doddie Weir returned to broach the first peated cask. 99 of the bottles from the first ever peated cask were sold and auctioned off to raise money for Doddie Weir's charity the My Name'5 Doddie Foundation to help people with

motor neuron disease Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), also known as motor neuron disease (MND) or—in the United States—Lou Gehrig's disease (LGD), is a rare, terminal neurodegenerative disorder that results in the progressive loss of both upper and low ...

and to hopefully find a cure. And in July 2019 the distillery handed over a cheque to Doddie for £27,800 from the money raised from the bottles. In June 2018 Annandale distillery released their first release, twenty 2014 production casks were selected for bottling. Annandale Distillery's single cask, single malt scotch whiskies are branded as (unpeated) Man O' Words named after

Robert Burns Robert Burns (25 January 1759 – 21 July 1796), also known familiarly as Rabbie Burns, was a Scottish poet and lyricist. He is widely regarded as the List of national poets, national poet of Scotland and is celebrated worldwide. He is the be ...

the once local exciseman in Annan and 'Scotland's national poet' and (peated) Man O' Sword named after King

Robert The Bruce Robert I (11 July 1274 – 7 June 1329), popularly known as Robert the Bruce (), was King of Scots from 1306 until his death in 1329. Robert led Kingdom of Scotland, Scotland during the First War of Scottish Independence against Kingdom of Eng ...

the former 7th

Lord of Annandale The Lordship of Annandale was a sub-comital lordship in southern Scotland (Annandale, Dumfries and Galloway, Annandale) established by David I of Scotland by 1124 for his follower Robert de Brus. The following were holders of the office: *Robert ...

and King of Scots, who once had a

motte and bailey castle A motte-and-bailey castle is a European fortification with a wooden or stone keep situated on a raised area of ground called a motte, accompanied by a walled courtyard, or bailey, surrounded by a protective ditch and palisade. Relatively easy ...

local to the distillery. In September 2018, four more casks were selected to be bottled. These were two 2015 first fill Bourbon casks (peated and unpeated) and two authentic

Oloroso Oloroso ("scented" in English language, English) is a variety of fortified wine (sherry) made in Jerez de la Frontera, Jerez and Montilla-Moriles and produced by oxidative Aging of wine, aging. It is normally darker than Amontillado. Oloroso is us ...

Spanish Oak Sherry casks (peated and unpeated). All four were selected by the late Dr Jim Swan. The bottles from these casks were released in late November 2018, under the same Man O' Sword and Man O' Words Trademark made famous by Annandale's inaugural first release earlier the same year. Released in July 2019 is the

Outlaw King ''Outlaw King'' is a 2018 historical action drama film, co-written, produced, and directed by David Mackenzie. Chris Pine stars as Scottish king Robert the Bruce during the Scottish Wars of Independence in 1304–07. The ensemble cast also fe ...

Blended Scotch whisky in dedicated to the film of the same name. Outlaw King celebrates

Robert the Bruce Robert I (11 July 1274 – 7 June 1329), popularly known as Robert the Bruce (), was King of Scots from 1306 until his death in 1329. Robert led Kingdom of Scotland, Scotland during the First War of Scottish Independence against Kingdom of Eng ...

, King of Scotland, 7th

and tells the harrowing but inspiring tale of Bruce's struggle to lead the Scotland's freedom in the 14th century leading up to the

Battle of Bannockburn The Battle of Bannockburn ( or ) was fought on 23–24 June 1314, between the army of Robert the Bruce, King of Scots, and the army of King Edward II of England, during the First War of Scottish Independence. It was a decisive victory for Ro ...

This is the first blend to have any Annandale whisky in it. Single Cask Single Malt bottlings continue at Annandale Distillery with a strong ethos of the more obscure casks with their Founders' Selection range a range of bottlings hand selected by co-owner Prof. David Thomson. Beginning with Sherry-Conditioned

Hogshead A hogshead (abbreviated "hhd", plural "hhds") is a large Barrel (storage), cask of liquid (or, less often, of a food commercial Product (business), product) for manufacturing and sale. It refers to a specified volume, measured in either Imperial ...

Casks in December 2019 which sold out within a few months, and the current release the STR(shaved, toasted & re-charred). The original casks were selected prior to filling by the 'Einsten of Whisky' Dr.Jim Swan before his untimely death in 2017 Onwards from the new bottlings

Casks A barrel or cask is a hollow cylindrical container with a bulging center, longer than it is wide. They are traditionally made of wooden staves and bound by wooden or metal hoops. The word vat is often used for large containers for liquids ...

have been the priority at Annandale distillery, now providing two ways to buy and the widest range in

and being one of only a few distilleries in Scotland that allow you to buy a cask of your own

Whisky Whisky or whiskey is a type of liquor made from Fermentation in food processing, fermented grain mashing, mash. Various grains (which may be Malting, malted) are used for different varieties, including barley, Maize, corn, rye, and wheat. Whisky ...

With the inevitable growth of Annandale distillery has come accolades, they have won the Jim Murray Best Single Cask Single Malt 10 years and Under for both the Man O' Sword and Man O' Words 2015 Vintage Bourbon Cask releases and the visitor centre won a 5 star status from

VisitScotland VisitScotland, formerly the Scottish Tourist Board (), is a national tourism organisation for Scotland. It is an executive non-departmental public body of the Scottish Government, with offices in Edinburgh, Glasgow, Aberdeen, Inverness, and ...

. Annandale Distillery has also expanded its operation into the surrounding area, they now own and operate The Globe Inn in Dumfries. A pub/restaurant associated with the poet

. The Globe is full of Burnsian artefacts and it is fully endorsed by the Robert Burns World Federation where Distillery and Globe Inn co-owner Prof. David Thomson is an Ambassador

References

{{Scottish Distilleries Distilleries in Scotland Scottish malt whisky 1830 establishments in Scotland Annan, Dumfries and Galloway

History

See also

References