Bladnoch Distillery’s storied history dates back to 1817 when the MaClelland family was granted a license to distil whisky on their property in the Scottish Lowlands. For nearly 100 years, the distillery stayed in the family for several generations. Throughout the 20th century, it changed hands several times but continued to produce good Lowland whisky. In the 1960’s, It underwent through several changes, adding new pot stills and revamping production. The distillery continued to operate always under private ownership.

In 2015, David Prior, an Australian entrepreneur who had a love of Scotch Whisky, acquired the distillery and embarked on the quest to revive this historic estate. The distillery was refurbished and began whisky production in 2017 under the guardianship of master distiller, Ian MacMillan. In 2019, Nick Savage, of The Macallan, was hired to move the distillery forward into the 21st century.

The Distillery
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Situated in the Scottish Lowlands

The Bladnoch distillery began in 1817 and by 1887 it was producing on average 230,000 liters of whisky per year. The distillery was a major, important player in the Lowlands. It was heralded as  “Queen of the Lowlands”. The next 70 years were tumultuous and the distillery fell into disrepair over these many years until 1957 when production began again on a smaller scale. 

It was not until 2015, when it was purchased by Australian entrepreneur David Prior, that the distillery’s fortunes turned positive. A total modernization took place, state of the art equipment was introduced and the desire to restore Bladnoch to its gloried past under the tutorship of distiller Ian MacMillan. A 5 ton mash tun was added, including six Douglas fir wooden washbacks, two 12,500L capacity wash stills, two 9,500L low wines stills and a steam boiler. The distillery was ready and it was relaunched in 2016. In 2019, Nick Savage, formerly of The Macallan, took over the reins as master distiller.

The Bladnoch whiskies are handcrafted, using only the finest local ingredients, Bladnoch whiskies are a true Lowlands experience. The pristine water from the River Bladnoch that flows alongside the distillery and Scottish barley are used to create a rich, flavourful whisky. Bladnoch Single Malts are non-chill filtered to ensure the truest flavours are retained.