Location and contact details
Location: Ballindalloch Distillery Ballindalloch, Banffshire, AB37 9AA
Visit Type: By appointment only
Co-ordinates: 57.406567, -3.363945
Telephone: +44 (0) 1807 500 331
Web: https://www.ballindallochdistillery.com/ Facts and figures
| Location | Moray |
| Founded | 2014 |
| Founder | Clare and Oliver Russell |
| Owner | Ballindaloch Estate |
| Water Source | Seven springs and a bore hole |
| Stills | 2 stills |
Opening Hours
To book or enquire about any of our distillery tours, please contact Brian.
Tours
Distillery Tour
£35
Lasting around 2½ hours, and with a maximum of 8 guests, your visit will begin over coffee in the Entrance hall where they will share with you their history and how 23 generations of the Macpherson-Grant family have contributed to the ongoing stewardship and development of the Estate.
From there, you will move to the process area of the fully manual distillery where they rely on the skill and experience Colin, Ian and Davey to produce their exceptional new make spirit. Then, via the Filling Store to the small, dunnage Warehouse where you will conclude your tour surrounded by the very first casks we filled.
Drams will be served in the Long Gallery where IBrian have the pleasure of sharing whisky from some of the Macpherson-Grant family’s private casks.
Ballindalloch Spirit
£75
For those with a desire to know more about what they do and a wish to perhaps take part, this visit allows for just that. Along with the key aspects of the Distillery Tour, you will have the opportunity to meet and talk with the team about their time in the industry. Later, in the filling store, they will take time to sample the New Make Spirit together with the chance to fill a cask. Concluding your time at the distillery, you will relax and take your drams in the Club Room. They do not rush, so please allow 3½ to 4 hours for this visit. This experience is limited to 6 guests.
The Art of Whisky Making
£150
Due to the nature of the distillery, and the fact that they are one of only a handful who use a fully manual process, they are able to offer a very special day to those who want to expand their whisky making knowledge. This is not a tour and tasting, rather a full day getting as close to traditional methods and attitudes as possible.
This experience allows you to get you fully “hands on†at the distillery and spend the day working with them to understand what is involved in creating the new make spirit. Covering everything from Milling to Warehousing and all aspects in between, your time will be a practical one. Working one to one with Colin, Ian and Davey, no matter how much you know about whisky, you will certainly learn something new. Your day will start at 8.00am and will finish around 4.00pm. Lunch is included and, to ensure you get the most out of your time with they, they limit this experience to a maximum of just two guests on any day.
As recognition of your day with them, you will receive an Art of Whisky Making polo shirt, a lasting memento only for those who have worked with them!
Review: Ballindaloch Spirit (18:21 on 27/09/2019)
Price: £75
I've done a number of very good tours this year and when I did Tomintoul I said I doubt it could be beaten. However, I think Ballindaloch have managed it.
I did the Ballindaloch Spirit tour which started with just me, but a second person joined after an hour (he had traveled using public transport and let the distillery know he would be late). There was meant to be a number of other people in the tour, but they had canceled in advance.
This tour is very in depth, in both the history and the production.
Brian, the man doing the tour, is not just a tour guide, but is in charge of all sales and marketing. In addition, as the distillery only employs four people, he fills a number of other functions including in production when necessary.
The distillery is very new, having only had its fifth birthday recently, so does technically have whisky, but you won't get to taste it until it is ready for sale.
Everything is setup at Ballindaloch for it to be a premium whisky and this is reflected in the approach to tours.
The start of the tour is taken up by a history of the estate and family as well as why the distillery came to be and the approach they have taken. This took a while to talk through, but, if, like me, you know a lot about distilleries and have a lot of interest in the subject, it was really interesting. Most distilleries in Scotland are old, so the reasons behind why the distillery was founded are often lost in the mists of time.
The tour itself walks you through the process in great detail showing you all of the relevant equipment and talks you through the process and how that will feed through to the final spirit. Unlike a lot of distilleries these days, both old and new, this one is a very navigable one, by design. This means any basics had to be turned by someone walking up to it and turning the handle.
In this tour you also get to help fill a cash which is not something I have ever done before.
The tasting at the end is not of their spirit (which as mentioned, is currently too young to be sold), but from the Macpherson-Grant families private casks if Cragganmore, a distillery with which the family has a history. There were fantastic whiskies, all dating from the mid-80s.
