Annandale Distillery — Lowland Single Malt Whisky

Annandale Distillery is a Scotch whisky distillery located in Annan, Dumfries and Galloway, in the Lowland region of Scotland. It was founded in 1836 and, after a long closure in the 20th century, was refounded in 2014 and is currently owned by the Annandale Distillery Company. It is one of the smaller independent Lowland distilleries and is unusual in bottling only single cask, single malt releases rather than a standard-strength core expression.

History

Annandale Distillery was established in 1836 by local maltster George Donald on the site of a former dairy farm near Annan. It changed hands several times through the 19th century and was eventually bought by Johnnie Walker and Sons in 1893. Like many small Lowland distilleries, it fell victim to industry contraction and was closed in 1924, after which the buildings were used for various agricultural and light-industrial purposes but survived largely intact.

In 2007 the derelict site was purchased by Professor David Thomson and his wife Teresa Church, who founded the Annandale Distillery Company and began an extensive restoration project reported to have cost around £10.5 million. The distillery was rebuilt around the original Victorian buildings and returned to production in November 2014, with new spirit running from the stills for the first time in ninety years on 3 November 2014. A visitor centre opened alongside the distillery the same month and has since been awarded 5-star status by VisitScotland. The first casks were broached in 2017, and Annandale released its first commercial bottlings, a series of single cask expressions, in 2018.

Quick Facts

• Region: Lowland
• Founded: 1836 (closed 1924; refounded/reopened 2014)
• Owner: Annandale Distillery Company (David Thomson and Teresa Church)
• Status: Active
• Stills: 1 wash still, 2 spirit stills

Core Range

Annandale does not produce a single standardised expression; instead it releases its whisky as individually numbered single cask, single malt bottlings under two house styles. Man O' Words is the distillery's unpeated style, named after Robert Burns, who once worked as an exciseman in nearby Annan. Man O' Sword is the peated style, named after Robert the Bruce, a former Lord of Annandale and King of Scots. Releases are matured in a range of cask types, including ex-bourbon and sherry casks, and are typically bottled at cask strength (commonly in the high 50s% ABV, varying by cask). The distillery has also released a blended Scotch, Outlaw King, alongside its single malt program.