As the quintessential distillery, Balblair sits on a remote and unspoiled hillside overlooking the Dornoch Firth in the North of Scotland. 

We are the oldest distillery in this part of Scotland, having been here since 1790.  A place where time passes slowly, but a warm, unrushed welcome always awaits. From Black Isle barley to the open lade water that flows down the Edderton Hills, capturing the natural local flavour shapes our light yet complex spirit created in our original squat neck pot stills. There is an intriguing, mystical quality to our home. 

 As the Picts gathered over 3,000 years ago, like us, they were watched over by the solitary Clach Bioarch standing stone which sits outside the distillery to this day.  An iconic carved Z Rod marking bears witness to this rich history and is symbolised on each and every bottle of Balblair. Our single malt is the product of the patience and dedication of our experienced craftspeople, who won’t settle for anything than the best for Balblair. We never rush and never compromise. From the exceptionally long 62-hour fermentation to the 41/2 hours of extremely slow distillation, we create optimal flavour in our unique new-make spirit. Meticulously hand-selecting the best casks from around the world is the key to maturing our whisky.

Once they are filled with our spirit, they are laid down within earthen floor warehouses to achieve a perfect harmony of fruit, spice and sweetness, the epitome of the Balblair style. Each whisky is bottled at least 46% abv, is non-chill filtered and is natural in colour. With underlying complexity and finesse, our single malt demonstrates an incredible balance of spirit and oak. We don’t make much of this extraordinary whisky annually, with John McDonald, the distillery manager, insisting on quality, not quantity.