Balblair Distillery
Edderton, Tain, Ross-Shire
History: Balblair, located on the idyllic coast of the Dornoch Firth in the northern Highlands, is one of Scotland’s oldest distilleries and was founded in 1790 by John Ross and remained in the Ross family until the late 19th century. For me it is one of the most picturesque in Scotland. Water for the distillery comes from the Allt Dearg, originating from the surrounding hills.
The whisky: Balblair is a truly unique Highland single malt. They do things differently here, where most single malts have an age statement (10 years old, etc). Balblair concentrate on selecting casks from a particular year from which they believe is the best “vintage” to then bottle. They call this approach “vintages timed to perfection”.
Favourite dram: Balblair are constantly bringing out new expressions, from the relatively young 2004 to the amazing 1969 and they are all worth a go. I am lucky enough to have a 1978 bottling, which was one of the best I’ve tasted, loads of tropical fruits like vanilla and coconut, bursting through with a hint of honey and spice. Balblair is worth seeking out if you are serous about your single malt whisky
Why visit? I am in love with this distillery. Everything about it is peaceful and serene, they have an honest approach to creating whisky, without the commercial aspects you find in some of the big distilleries. The visitor centre is open weekdays from 10am till 4pm. Additionally, from April 1 until September 30, they are open on Saturdays and offer distillery tours. It’s best to call ahead to arrange a visit and if you get John MacDonald (the distillery manger) then you’re in for a treat.
Interesting fact: The distillery played a major role in Ken Loach movie The Angels’ Share, about a group of Glaswegians out to make some money from expensive single malt. Balblair distillery plays host to a major whisky auction, which is key to the plot and the setting could not have been more perfect. I’ve heard some folks have even came to camp behind the distillery just as our band of whisky outlaws do.
Follow me on Twitter @andydrink or on Facebook
Why are you making commenting on The Herald only available to subscribers?
It should have been a safe space for informed debate, somewhere for readers to discuss issues around the biggest stories of the day, but all too often the below the line comments on most websites have become bogged down by off-topic discussions and abuse.
heraldscotland.com is tackling this problem by allowing only subscribers to comment.
We are doing this to improve the experience for our loyal readers and we believe it will reduce the ability of trolls and troublemakers, who occasionally find their way onto our site, to abuse our journalists and readers. We also hope it will help the comments section fulfil its promise as a part of Scotland's conversation with itself.
We are lucky at The Herald. We are read by an informed, educated readership who can add their knowledge and insights to our stories.
That is invaluable.
We are making the subscriber-only change to support our valued readers, who tell us they don't want the site cluttered up with irrelevant comments, untruths and abuse.
In the past, the journalist’s job was to collect and distribute information to the audience. Technology means that readers can shape a discussion. We look forward to hearing from you on heraldscotland.com
Comments & Moderation
Readers’ comments: You are personally liable for the content of any comments you upload to this website, so please act responsibly. We do not pre-moderate or monitor readers’ comments appearing on our websites, but we do post-moderate in response to complaints we receive or otherwise when a potential problem comes to our attention. You can make a complaint by using the ‘report this post’ link . We may then apply our discretion under the user terms to amend or delete comments.
Post moderation is undertaken full-time 9am-6pm on weekdays, and on a part-time basis outwith those hours.
Read the rules here