Balblair distillery is a

Scotch whisky Scotch whisky (; sco, Scots whisky/whiskie, whusk(e)y; often simply called whisky or Scotch) is malt whisky or grain whisky (or a blend of the two), made in Scotland. All Scotch whisky was originally made from malted barley. Commercial dist ...

distillery Distillation, or classical distillation, is the process of separating the components or substances from a liquid mixture by using selective boiling and condensation, usually inside an apparatus known as a still. Dry distillation is the heat ...

located in Edderton,

Ross-shire Ross-shire (; gd, Siorrachd Rois) is a historic county in the Scottish Highlands. The county borders Sutherland to the north and Inverness-shire to the south, as well as having a complex border with Cromartyshire – a county consisting of ...

Scotland Scotland (, ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a border with England to the southeast and is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean to th ...

. Founded in 1790, the distillery was rebuilt in 1895 by the designer Charles C Doig to be closer to the Edderton

Railway Station Rail transport (also known as train transport) is a means of transport that transfers passengers and goods on wheeled vehicles running on rails, which are incorporated in Track (rail transport), tracks. In contrast to road transport, where the ...

on the Inverness and Ross-shire Railway line. However, so good was the original water source that the rebuilt distillery chose to ignore a nearby

burn A burn is an injury to skin, or other tissues, caused by heat, cold, electricity, chemicals, friction, or ultraviolet radiation (like sunburn). Most burns are due to heat from hot liquids (called scalding), solids, or fire. Burns occur mainl ...

in favour of the original Ault Dearg burn. To this day, the Balblair Distillery continues to use this original water source. John Ross, the founder, ran Balblair as a thriving business and in 1824 he was joined by his son, Andrew. The distillery stayed in the Ross family until 1894 when the tenancy was taken over by Alexander Cowan. In 1948 the freehold was bought by Robert Cumming, who promptly expanded the distillery and increased production. Cumming ran the distillery until he retired in 1970 when he sold it to Hiram Walker. In 1996 Balblair Distillery was purchased by Inver House Distillers Limited, whose other distilleries include the Speyburn-Glenlivet Distillery, Knockdhu Distillery, Old Pulteney Distillery and Balmenach Distillery. Balblair has one of the oldest archives in distilling, with the first ledger entry dated 25 January 1800. John Ross himself penned that first entry, which read: “''Sale to David Kirkcaldy at Ardmore, one gallon of whisky at £1.8.0d''”. Balblair used to release their whisky by vintage, but in April 2019 they started to release a core range of age statement whiskies. This includes but is not limited to a 12, 15, 18 and 25 year old. Following its appearance in several scenes in the Ken Loach film "

The Angels' Share ''The Angels' Share'' is a 2012 comedy-drama film directed by Ken Loach and starring Paul Brannigan, John Henshaw, and William Ruane. Set in Glasgow, Scotland, it tells the story of a young father who narrowly avoids a prison sentence. He is dete ...

", Balblair Distillery opened a visitor centre in its former malting building. As well as containing a shop, the visitor centre is the starting point for regular tours of the distillery.

References

External links

Balblair Website
* {{Authority control Distilleries in Scotland 1790 establishments in Scotland Scottish malt whisky

See also

References

External links