Balmaud Distillery — Highland Single Malt Whisky

Balmaud Distillery is a Scotch whisky distillery located at Mill of Balmaud Farm, near King Edward, in the Turriff/Banff area of Aberdeenshire, Highland, Scotland. It was founded in 2024 and is currently owned and operated by Balmaud Distillery Co. Ltd, run by the Strachan family. Balmaud is a Highland single-estate distillery that grows its own barley, draws its own water and generates its own power on site, controlling whisky production "from field to bottle."

History

Balmaud grew out of a long-established farming family rather than starting life as a distillery. George Strachan moved to Mill of Balmaud Farm in 1958 with his brother Nat, and for decades afterwards the family farmed some 1,750 acres across Aberdeenshire, supplying malting barley to well-known Scotch whisky producers in the region. The idea of distilling their own spirit developed across three generations of the family, and planning for a distillery on the farm began around 2012. The resulting Highland single-estate operation was designed to keep every stage of production — growing the barley, milling, mashing, distilling and maturing — on the same land where the family has farmed for generations. Power is supplied by two on-site wind turbines and by-products are managed through anaerobic digestion, reflecting the distillery's stated emphasis on sustainability. Balmaud's first spirit to reach the market was a Scottish Dry Gin, released in 2025 while the distillery's own-make whisky matures in its bonded warehouse; the company also offers private cask purchases of new-make spirit maturing on site for release as whisky in future years.

Quick Facts

• Region: Highland (Aberdeenshire)
• Founded: 2024
• Owner: Balmaud Distillery Co. Ltd (Strachan family)
• Status: Active

Core Range

Balmaud's whisky is still maturing on site and has not yet been released as a core bottling; the distillery currently offers private cask purchases (first-fill ex-Bourbon American oak and first-fill ex-Sherry hogshead casks, filled at roughly 63.5% ABV and matured on site for up to 10 years) for those wanting to lay down their own Balmaud whisky. In the meantime, the distillery's debut release is Balmaud Scottish Dry Gin, made with estate-grown botanicals and offering notes of orange, lemon and pomegranate on the nose, juniper and thyme on the palate, and a clean, citrus-led finish.