Strathearn distillery recently launched their inaugural whisky - or, more precisely, the first whisky to be released under Douglas Laing’s takeover in 2019. This is the latest in a line of releases from Scotland’s many young, up and coming distilleries. What sets Strathearn apart however is the relative size of their operation.
With a production capacity of approximately 30,000 litres annually, Strathearn ranks among the smallest distilleries in Scotland. It got me thinking though: exactly who are the smallest?
When I started working in whisky retail and as I was learning about Scotch, I’d always keep at least one little factoid about each distillery in my back pocket for when talking to customers. A wee soundbite that would take a sales pitch that would take a whisky beyond just blethering about flavours.
One of the first I remember picking up was ‘Scotland’s smallest distillery’, a title that then belonged to Edradour. Older bottles of Edradour proudly proclaimed their ‘smallest’ status on their labels, though that has since changed to the equally cute “Scotland’s little gem”.
In the last decade or so Edradour has been usurped, or undercut, in their standing as the smallest distillery in Scotland. Their capacity ranged from 90,000-130,000 litres annually and a 2018 expansion increased that figure to over 200,000 litres, making Edradour something of a giant compared to a number of newer distilleries.
Okay, “giant” is a slight exaggeration; Edradour is still small by many standards. The majority of Scotch distilleries have the capacity to produce over 1 million litres of spirit annually, with some of the true heavyweights hitting double figures. Edradour is definitely still a ‘little gem’.
Nevertheless, there are evidently smaller distilleries out there. So where are these distilleries, what’s their story, and just how small are they?
Below we’ll examine the wee-est of the wee by focussing on four distilleries with a capacity of less than 100k litres annually who are arguably punching above their weight and beyond their means.
Before that though, we’ll give an honourable mention to a few small distilleries who just miss out. Ballindalloch and Nc’Nean have the capacity to produce around 100k litres, while others such as GlenWyvis and Lochlea can produce around 200k or less.
Special shout out to Wolfburn (approx 135k litres) as well, who were one of the first to steal Edradour’s crown when they released their inaugural malt in 2016.
DAFTMILL - CAPACITY 20,000 LITRES
Fife’s Daftmill pulls rank as the oldest of the distilleries we’ll be covering. The distillery was founded in 2005 and their first spirit was produced in December the same year. Although Daftmill’s spirit legally became whisky three years later, whisky fans had to wait another ten years before their inaugural release arrived in 2018.
Since the distillery is built on a working farm, production at Daftmill is seasonally limited and only takes places for a couple of months each summer and winter. Consequently, only around 100 casks of Daftmill are filled every year.
No surprise then that, given the long wait for a first release and the scarcity of the liquid, Daftmill is highly sought after. Each release is met with anticipation from collectors. The whisky itself has also been well received and is incredibly popular among fans of the lighter, typically Lowland style.
In the short time since their first release Daftmill has established a reputation that rivals some of the bigger names in Scotch. Where such limits on production might have been a hindrance to some, Daftmill demonstrate that it can be turned into a defining strength.
STRATHEARN - CAPACITY 30,000 LITRES
Returning to Strathearn, they can arguably be considered among the pioneers of micro-distilling in Scotland. Founded in 2013, the Perthshire distillery was always intended to produce spirit in incredibly small quantities.
Starthearn gained an element of infamy with their early releases. As well as their use of traditional oak barrels, such as European virgin oak casks, the distillery were keen to challenge Scotch Whisky Association regulations and utilised a range of non-oak woods such as mulberry, acacia and chestnut to mature their spirit. Of course, due to these rules it couldn’t be classified as Scotch whisky and was marketed Uisge Beatha.
When Douglas Laing took over the distillery in 2019, they promised to “revamp the cask policy”, effectively signalling the end of the experimental maturation.
As stated earlier, Strathearn have recently put out their ‘inaugural release’. It’s slightly confusing given the number of small batch Strathearn previously released. Perhaps this latest release is better seen as a ‘clean slate’ as the brand looks to the future and a potential forthcoming core range.
Douglas Laing has invested heavily in Strathearn and the distillery hopes to increase its capacity this year. However, these plans will see their potential output rise to 59,000 litres, keeping them well within range for consideration here.
ABHAINN DEARG - CAPACITY 20,000 LITRES
Moving away from the mainland now as we turn our attention of Abhainn Dearg in the Outer Hebrides. When spirit flowed from the distillery in 2008, it marked the first new whisky to be made on the Isle of Lewis since 1840. Additionally, since 2015 all barley used in the production process has been grown on the island.
Although the distillery has a capacity of around 20,000 litres annually, Abhainn Dearg has operated at approximately half that volume for most of its life time. This has resulted in a small output from the distillery over the years and therefore it would probably be fair to say Abhainn Dearg is the least known of the brands we’ve discussed.
Indeed, the distillery are aware of this; their website light-heartedly states that we shouldn’t expect to see their whisky on supermarket shelves any time soon.
While this distillery may not enjoy the same reputation as some of the other brands mentioned here, Abhainn Dearg earns bonus points for bringing distilling back to a region bereft of whisky production for over a century. In turn, it certainly shouldn’t be overlooked when discussing Scotland’s small yet mighty distilleries.
DORNOCH - CAPACITY 20,000 LITRES
Dornoch distillery, founded in 2016, may be the youngest distillery to be featured here, but it’s an old-fashioned heart that drives the distillery and its team. Inspired by the bottles of Scotch from the 1960s and 70s that were available in the bar at their family’s Dornoch Castle Hotel, Phil and Simon Thompson - of Thompson Brothers fame - set about aiming to recreate whisky from a bygone era.
To facilitate this dream, they acquired the old fire station at the back of the hotel and built their distillery there. With only 47 square meters of floor space to work with, Dornoch probably takes the title for being the smallest distillery in terms of physical space as well as capacity.
The brothers make their whisky using heritage varieties of barley - all of which is floor malted, the old fashioned way of doing things - and experiment with lesser used strains of yeast. Each of their whiskies thus far have been limited, small batch expressions. Every release is individually numbered and comes with its own unique artwork on the label, mirroring the brothers’ approach with their bottling business.
However, the ambitions coupled with the success of Dornoch distillery have escalated beyond the capabilities of the old fire station. In 2023 it was announced that the company have been granted permission for a second distillery in Dornoch. The new site will have a capacity of over 200k litres annually.
Since the ground hasn’t been broken on the site yet, never mind any spirit production (the earliest projections for construction to begin state late-2024, with production following late-2025), we can still count Dornoch among the smallest Scottish distilleries for now.
As these distilleries prove, size doesn’t matter when it comes to Scotch whisky. Each distillery has their own tale to tell, and even though we’ve focussed on four of Scotland’s smallest, their size is only a small part of their story.
Could it possibly be argued that these distilleries are actually symbolic of Scotland itself? A small country on a small island churning out litres upon litres of whisky that’s loved the world over - talk about punching above one’s weight!
Maybe that’s a tad romantic. What can’t be taken away though is the significance of these small distilleries and their impact on Scotland’s whisky scene.
Great things come in small packages and all that.
