The Bladnoch Distillery was built by the McClelland brothers, John and Thomas, in 1817. Its location is situated upon the banks of the Bladnoch River and The Machars, a peninsula of Galloway. In 1911, the Irish company Wm Dunville & Co. Ltd. purchased the distillery and retained ownership until 1937. The distillery had changed hands several times throughout the years until its current owner, Irishman Raymond Armstrong purchased it - as a property and not a distillery - from United Distillers in 1994. Armstrong was actually seeking a holiday home when he stumbled upon the Bladnoch Distillery.

One of the conditions of the sale was that Bladnoch could not be used as a distillery. However, since it was such an integral part of the community for over 200 years, there was pressure to reopen. Armstrong approached United Distillers and eventually the convenant which prevented whisky production was no longer in effect. However, there is a stipulation that Bladnoch is permitted to distill only 100,000 litres per year. While this is significantly below the 1.3 million litres the distillery produced in the 1980s, Armstrong is comfortable with this production amount.

The age of whisky varies from one distillery to another and some are blended from as early as three years. Here at Bladnoch it is hoped that the first of the new whisky distilled since its rebirth in the year 2000 will be raised in a toast after eight years.

The Bladnoch Distillery offers a whisky school. It's a brilliant opportunity to participate in all aspects of milling, mashing and distilling together with classroom instruction on whisky making by whisky experts. s

Courtesy of Bladnoch Distillery

Bladnoch Distillery

Bladnoch Distillery, which is one of the last three remaining active Lowland distilleries along with Auchentoshan and Glenkinchie, uses the the age old recipe of good honest ingredients that make what is often called the water of life. The whisky is produced by combining malted barley and yeast with water drawn from the river Bladnoch a mile and a half above the distillery.

Visitor Centre & Tours
Bladnoch Distillery has a very good visitors' centre. Guided tours are available throughout the day at Bladnoch giving you the chance to view the whisky making process first hand - from the milling of barley to the placing in casks.

Gift Shop
Bladnoch Whisky and other popular and famous Scotch Whiskys, miniatures, clothing, glassware, jewellery, postcards, tartan and a wide range of Scottish gifts are available from our very popular gift shop.

Opening Times
(throughout the year)

Monday - Friday 9am - 5pm

Also during July and August & Bank Holiday Weekends
Saturday 11am - 5pm
Sunday 12noon - 5pm

Visitor Centre: (01988) 402605

Glentauchers Distillery
Located in Highland (Speyside), it is used as a main component in Black & White.
The distillery does not produce many bottlings. There is no visitor center.

Courtesy of Bladnoch Distillery