Dornoch Distillery — Highland Single Malt Whisky

Dornoch Distillery is a Scotch whisky distillery located in the town of Dornoch, Sutherland, in the Highland region of Scotland. It was founded in 2017 and is currently owned by Thompson Bros (Distillers) Ltd, the family company of brothers Phil and Simon Thompson. It began life as a tiny, hands-on operation run from a former outbuilding beside the historic Dornoch Castle Hotel, making it one of the smallest and most artisanal distilleries in the Highlands.

History

Before turning to distilling, Phil and Simon Thompson built Dornoch Castle Hotel's whisky bar into one of the most celebrated whisky destinations in the world, amassing a renowned collection of rare and old bottlings. Drawing on that deep knowledge of maturation and cask selection, the brothers launched Dornoch Distillery via a crowdfunding campaign and set up a micro-distillery in a converted building close to the hotel, reportedly on the site of a former 19th-century fire station. The first batch of Dornoch new make spirit was distilled and laid down to cask in 2017, using traditional, low-intervention methods and a strong focus on cask quality rather than volume. Since then, the distillery has filled several hundred casks and has continued to distil on a small, artisanal scale. While new-make spirit matures, the Thompsons have released a range of independently sourced whiskies and rum, alongside their own gin, under the Thompson Bros label. In 2022 the brothers opened a new shop and headquarters in Station Square, Dornoch, and the following year won planning permission for a larger, purpose-built expansion on the edge of town, provisionally named "Dornoch South," intended to scale up production and add a dedicated visitor experience.

Quick Facts

• Region: Highland, Scotland
• Founded: 2017
• Owner: Thompson Bros (Distillers) Ltd (Phil and Simon Thompson)
• Status: Active

Core Range

Dornoch's own single malt is still maturing in small batches, so the core range currently sold under the Thompson Bros name centres on independently sourced and blended whiskies alongside the brothers' own spirit: Dornoch Single Malt Scotch Whisky (limited early releases), TB/BSW Blended Malt Scotch Whisky (46% ABV), SRV5 Blended Scotch Malt Whisky, and an Organic Mediterranean Gin, now exported to more than a dozen countries. Small-batch releases, including single-cask and octave-cask bottlings, are also issued periodically as stock allows.