Edradour
The Edradour distillery is one of Scotland's most traditional Whisky distilleries and was once the smallest in the country. It is idyllically situated on the River Edradour, surrounded by hills east of Pitlochry. Exceptional Highland Single Malt Whiskies are produced here using traditional methods that are hardly practised in any other distillery.
| Information about the Distillery | |
|---|---|
| Scotland, Highlands | |
| -3.701014 56.701605 | |
| Active | |
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1 x 4,218 l
Normal
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1 x 2,182 l
Normal
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2 x 1,000 l
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| 1 t | |
| 1825 | |
| 200,000 l | |
| http://www.edradour.com |
| Average tasting notes Tasting notes |
i
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Nosing
Sherry:
Sweet:
Fruit:
Peat Smoke:
Oak:
Spices:
Vanilla:
Dried Fruit:
Caramel:
Nuts:
Herb:
Berries:
Raisin:
Honey:
Malt:
Citrus:
Chocolate:
Bonfire Smoke:
Herbs:
Grape:
Almonds:
Plum:
Cherry:
Leather:
Dark Chocolate:
Fig:
Date:
Ham:
Alcohol:
Orange:
Blackberry:
Cinnamon:
Maritime Notes:
Cake:
Heather:
Oil:
Clove:
Floral:
Apple:
Pepper:
Tobacco:
Seaweed:
Coffee:
Pear:
Lemon:
Peach:
Nutmeg:
Medicinal Smoke:
Barley:
Black Currant:
Walnut:
Pineapple:
Hazelnut:
Iodine:
Tropical Fruit:
Wheat:
Strawberry:
Hay:
Banana:
Grass:
Salt:
Chili:
Ginger:
Grapefruit:
Mint:
Lime:
Coconut:
Red Currant:
Green Apple:
Lemon Peel:
Melon:
Kiwi:
Tasting
Sweet:
Sherry:
Fruit:
Oak:
Spices:
Peat Smoke:
Nuts:
Caramel:
Malt:
Vanilla:
Herb:
Dried Fruit:
Chocolate:
Raisin:
Honey:
Citrus:
Berries:
Dark Chocolate:
Oil:
Herbs:
Bonfire Smoke:
Pepper:
Alcohol:
Date:
Grape:
Heather:
Almonds:
Orange:
Cherry:
Leather:
Cinnamon:
Fig:
Coffee:
Ham:
Cake:
Plum:
Tobacco:
Chili:
Maritime Notes:
Blackberry:
Floral:
Hazelnut:
Clove:
Apple:
Ginger:
Seaweed:
Barley:
Lemon:
Tropical Fruit:
Walnut:
Nutmeg:
Peach:
Black Currant:
Salt:
Medicinal Smoke:
Pineapple:
Pear:
Strawberry:
Hay:
Wheat:
Red Currant:
Lemon Peel:
Grapefruit:
Lime:
Mint:
Grass:
Anis:
Iodine:
Kiwi:
Banana:
Green Apple:
Melon:
Coconut:
Finish
Sweet:
Sherry:
Oak:
Peat Smoke:
Spices:
Fruit:
Herb:
Nuts:
Malt:
Chocolate:
Dark Chocolate:
Honey:
Caramel:
Vanilla:
Dried Fruit:
Citrus:
Raisin:
Oil:
Coffee:
Herbs:
Alcohol:
Pepper:
Berries:
Leather:
Grape:
Heather:
Bonfire Smoke:
Tobacco:
Chili:
Cinnamon:
Ham:
Cake:
Orange:
Maritime Notes:
Almonds:
Date:
Blackberry:
Cherry:
Fig:
Nutmeg:
Salt:
Plum:
Walnut:
Seaweed:
Ginger:
Clove:
Barley:
Lemon:
Medicinal Smoke:
Apple:
Black Currant:
Tropical Fruit:
Hazelnut:
Pear:
Floral:
Hay:
Strawberry:
Red Currant:
Peach:
Iodine:
Mint:
Melon:
Pineapple:
Green Apple:
Coconut:
Grapefruit:
Lime:
Wheat:
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The Whisky
Edradour offers a remarkably diverse range of original bottlings, including ‘The Classic Range’, ‘The Cask Strength Series’, ‘The Wine Finishes’ and ‘The Wine Matured’. In addition, there is the smoky Ballechin variant.
The distillery character is full and intense, which is typical for a Highland Single Malt. The small pot stills and the experimental spirit of owner Andrew Symington, who matures his Whiskies in a wide variety of casks – from Burgundy and Sauternes casks to Port and Pedro Ximénez casks – ensure a great variety of flavours and complex aromas.
Andrew Symington is not only the owner of Edradour but also of the independent bottler Signatory Vintage. Therefore, the small Highland distillery bottles its Whisky and Signatory releases many Edradour bottlings.
The distillery produces a diverse range, including Edradour 10 from the Classic Range. This is now bottled at 43% ABV instead of the traditional 40%. Future bottlings will even reach 46% ABV. For Symington's Blended Scotch Whisky 10 Years Old, specially selected Single Malt and Grain Whiskies are matured in Sherry and Bourbon casks. In September 2025, an Edradour Single Malt was released for the first time as a Whisky.de Club bottle, matured for almost 11 years in rare Port Pipes and bottled at 46% ABV.
The Production
Edradour was long considered Scotland's smallest Whisky distillery. Smaller distilleries usually do not produce any Scotch of note. With two pot stills, the original output was around 100,000 litres per year. The water comes from the Ben Vrackie springs, and the distillery is located directly on the River Edradour, with some buildings only accessible via a small bridge. In 2017, a second distillery, Edradour II, was built on the site to meet the growing demand for Single Malt. The equipment at Edradour II was designed to be identical to the old distillery, meaning that the stills, mash tuns and washbacks are copies of the original equipment. Since February 2018, both distilleries have been operating in parallel, increasing production to 200,000 litres per year. The maximum possible volume is 500,000 litres.
The Pot Stills
Edradour works with very small pot stills: the wash still holds 3,000 litres, the spirit still around 2,200 litres. This makes it one of the smallest traditional stills in Scotland. All the equipment, from the stills and mash tun to the fermentation vats and malt mill, is located in the same building.
Edradour still uses worm tubs to cool the alcohol vapours, giving the raw distillate spicier, peppery, honey-like notes. Everything is to this day adjusted by hand, a rare feature in modern Whisky production.
The Malting
The distillery no longer malts its own barley. Edradour Whisky is made using unpeated malt, whereas Ballechin Whisky is made using malt that has been dried over peat smoke and has a peat content of at least 50 ppm.
The Mashing
The open mash tun at Edradour II is an exact replica of Edradour I and, like its 100-year-old predecessor, is equipped with open gears. During mashing, coarse grist is mixed with water and stirred in three stages using a rake. A special feature is the Morton refrigerator, a cooler originally used in the dairy industry, which cools the hot mash before it is transferred to the washback.
The Fermentation
Edradour has six Douglas fir washbacks, each with a capacity of 6,000 litres. Two of these are located in the old distillery, where both Edradour and Ballechin are produced. The new distillery produces Edradour Whisky exclusively. The fermentation time is 48 hours before the liquid enters the charger and then the 3,000-litre wash still.
The Warehouse
Located half a kilometre up the hill, Edradour's warehouses store numerous casks of various sizes and previous contents, including at least twice as many wine, port and sherry casks as refill bourbon casks.
The casks are used a maximum of twice and then resold. Approximately 7,000 casks are stored in the old dunnage warehouses and up to 12,000 in the new ones. In addition to Edradour and Ballechin Whiskies, Signatory Vintage bottlings are also stored here.
The History
Near the Edradour distillery are the ruins of Lindores Abbey, considered the birthplace of “aqua vitae”, or “water of life”. Over time, this original distillate developed into the Whisky we know today. However, as the monks of the abbey did not belong to the reformed Anglican faith, the monastery was eventually destroyed by an English king.
The earliest references to distilling activities on the site of today's Edradour distillery date back to 1823, a time when distilling was still illegal. It was not until the Excise Act of the same year that the tax barriers to legal production were significantly lowered. Nevertheless, the distillery was not officially registered until 1825, at that time under the name Glenforres Distillery, and it was used for agricultural purposes in addition to distilling.
In 1837, James Scott and Duncan Stewart took over the lease of the distillery and gave it the name Edradour, which means ‘between two rivers’. In 1938, the distillery became the property of Irvin Haim, a New York Mafia gangster, who was henceforth listed as the legal owner.
In the following decades, Edradour mainly produced for the blending industry. Among the best-known brands were House of Lords and King's Ransom. A significant turning point came in 1986 when the first ten-year-old Edradour Single Malt was launched, marking the beginning of a new success story for the distillery.
In 2002, Edradour was acquired for £3.5 million by Andrew Symington, owner of independent bottler Signatory Vintage. Just one year later, the distillery presented its first heavily peated Single Malt, Ballechin Heavily Peated.
From 2004 onwards, Symington invested intensively in modernising and expanding the distillery. New warehouses were built, the historic malt barn was lovingly restored and a spacious event hall was constructed. In 2012, Andrew Symington was awarded the honorary title of Master of the Quaich for his services to Scotch Whisky. His son, Andrew Symington Jr., now also works for the company, following in his father's footsteps.
The Visitor Centre
The Edradour Visitor Centre offers fascinating insights into the world of Whisky. A guided tour of the historic buildings allows visitors to experience all stages of Whisky production up close. Not only will you learn interesting facts about the production process, but also about the rich history of the distillery and Scottish Whisky in general.
The site also includes a shop, a café and a stylish tasting bar. Particularly impressive is the New Caledonia Hall, an event space that has been integrated into an active warehouse. Through large windows, you can watch the Whisky slowly maturing in the casks. This gives you a rare and atmospheric glimpse behind the scenes of cask storage.
Unfortunately, the visitor centre will remain closed in 2025 due to staff shortages.
Distillery Address:
Edradour Distillery
Pitlochry
Perthshire
PH16 5JP
Tel.: +44 1796 472 095
Email: tours@edradour.com
User Notes about the Distillery
Share your experience with other whisky lovers. Write a note about your trip to the Edradour distillery.
Lindores Abbey ruins are on the East edge of Newburgh, in Fife. Guessing maybe 20+ miles away. In case there was a ruin here with a coincidentally similar name, don’t think so, I checked. Found nothing. The Abbey was named from the Lindores area and Lindores Loch. All located near Newburgh. In Fife.
This distillery is a wee beauty, well worth a visit - although when I was there they still had that third man on the staff: it’s been a while!