Highland Distilleries

Highland distilleries stretch from the Perthshire sites around Crieff and Pitlochry to the far north coast at John O'Groats, with further clusters around the northern firths, Aberdeenshire and the west coast. This guide organises the individual distillery pages by location, helping you choose what to read next without treating the Highlands as one uniform place. [1]

Start here if you are new

Begin with Glenmorangie for a distillery beside the Dornoch Firth at Tain. Follow it with Oban, beside the harbour on the Firth of Lorn, then Glengoyne, whose stills and warehouses stand on opposite sides of the Highland Line. Together, their settings provide three starting points for exploring this guide. [1]

Choose the route that interests you rather than trying to work through every name. Geography is the organising principle here: neighbouring entries make useful reading companions, while each linked article gives its own distillery room for closer examination.

Highland distilleries by location

All the articles below belong to this hub's main page group. The geographical subdivisions are reading aids, not separate whisky classifications, and the order is not a ranking. The list's eligibility and check date must be confirmed before publication.

Caithness and Sutherland

Start here for the northern mainland, moving between the harbour towns of Wick and Thurso, the far north coast and the neighbouring sites at Brora. Dornoch adds a different setting, in the grounds of a castle hotel. [1]

• Old Pulteney: Read this for Pulteney Distillery's setting on Huddart Street in Wick, the Caithness harbour town. It is a useful starting point for exploring the north-eastern mainland through a distillery closely located within its town. [1]

Wolfburn: Read about the Henderson Park distillery in Thurso alongside the pages for Wick and John O'Groats. [1]

• 8 Doors: This is the page for John O'Groats on the far north coast of Caithness. Read it when you want to place that location beside, rather than confuse it with, the distilleries at Wick and Thurso. [1]

• Clynelish: Read Clynelish together with Brora: the distillery stands at the edge of Brora village, across the road from Brora distillery. That immediate proximity makes the two pages especially useful companions when sorting out their locations. [1]

• Brora: Turn here for the site beside the Clyne Burn in the parish of Clyne. Its own page is the place to examine Brora separately, rather than treating its shared village setting with Clynelish as interchangeable identity. [1]

• Dornoch: Read Dornoch for a distillery in the grounds of Dornoch Castle Hotel, occupying a former fire station. The building gives this page a different starting point from the harbour and village settings elsewhere in this northern group. [1]

The northern firths and Inverness approaches

The Dornoch and Cromarty firths provide useful landmarks for this group. Continue inland towards Dingwall and Inverness, or south to Tomatin, to broaden the picture beyond the shoreline sites. [1]

• Glenmorangie: Begin here for Tain, in Easter Ross, on the shore of the Dornoch Firth. Pair the article with Balblair to explore two distillery settings associated with the same firth, without assuming that proximity makes them equivalent. [1]

• Balblair: Read Balblair for Edderton, near Tain, at the foot of Struie Hill above the Dornoch Firth. It provides a useful geographical companion to Glenmorangie while directing attention to a different village and immediate setting. [1]

• The Dalmore: Choose The Dalmore for Alness, on the shores of the Cromarty Firth north of Inverness. Read it beside Teaninich to distinguish two distilleries associated with the Alness area rather than letting the town name stand for either one. [1]

• Teaninich: Turn to Teaninich for the distillery on the estate of Teaninich Castle in Alness. Its Cromarty Firth setting makes it a useful next read after The Dalmore, with Glenmorangie providing another nearby point of reference. [1]

• Glen Ord: Read Glen Ord for the distillery on the north-western edge of Muir of Ord, beside the A832. This entry helps extend your reading beyond the firth shores towards a different settlement and its immediate surroundings. [1]

• GlenWyvis: Choose GlenWyvis for Upper Dochcarty, Dingwall, beneath Ben Wyvis, on founder John McKenzie's Scroggie Farm. The farm setting makes it a useful companion to the town and shoreline locations gathered elsewhere in this section. [1]

• Ardross: Read Ardross for Mains of Ardross in the Averon Valley, north of Inverness. Its retained farmstead buildings offer a specific architectural starting point for understanding the site, rather than approaching it through its regional designation alone. [1]

• Uile-bheist: Turn here for a city-centre location on Ness Bank in Inverness, beside the River Ness. The distillery sits alongside The Glen Mhor Hotel, making this a different setting from the farms and smaller settlements in this group. [1]

• Tomatin: Read Tomatin for the village south of Inverness, where the main railway line to Inverness bisects the distillery site. It is a useful choice if transport connections, rather than coastline or town streets, catch your interest. [1]

The west coast and western approaches

This group takes in harbour, riverside and peninsula settings. Use the individual locations to guide your reading: Oban, Fort William, Ardnamurchan and Morvern are distinct places, not interchangeable descriptions of a western distillery. [1]

• Oban: Read Oban for a distillery on Stafford Street, beside the harbour and below McCaig's Tower. The page gives you a town-centre starting point for the west coast, with the Firth of Lorn immediately establishing its setting. [1]

• Ben Nevis: Choose Ben Nevis for Lochy Bridge, just outside Fort William, on the banks of the River Lochy. Read it when you want to place the distillery in relation to the town, river and nearby mountain. [1]

• Ardnamurchan: Turn here for Glenbeg, Acharacle, on the Ardnamurchan peninsula in Lochaber. Pair it with Nc'nean for further reading about two west-coast peninsula locations, keeping their separate places firmly in view as you move between the articles. [1]

• Nc'nean: Read Nc'nean for Drimnin on the Morvern peninsula, looking over the Sound of Mull. This is the companion page to choose when you want to distinguish Morvern's setting from the Ardnamurchan location elsewhere in this section. [1]

• Loch Lomond: Choose Loch Lomond for the site at Alexandria, near the southern end of the loch on the Highland and Lowland border. Its former dye-factory setting provides another reason to look beyond the name when exploring the distillery. [1]

• Glengoyne: Read Glengoyne for Dumgoyne, beneath Dumgoyne Hill, north of Glasgow. Its stills stand in the Highlands while the warehouses across the A81 stand in the Lowlands, giving the page a particularly clear geographical distinction to explore. [1]

Perthshire and the central Highlands

The entries here range from sites around Crieff and Pitlochry to Blackford, Doune and Dalwhinnie. Read neighbouring pages together, but let each article establish its own location rather than using a nearby town as a substitute. [1]

• Aberfeldy: Read Aberfeldy for the distillery on the town's eastern edge, on the south bank of the upper Tay. It offers a riverside starting point for this section and a useful contrast with the settings around Pitlochry. [1]

• Edradour: Choose Edradour for a distillery near Pitlochry that the producer describes as a farm distillery. Read it alongside Blair Athol to distinguish a nearby rural setting from a site at the southern end of the town. [1]

• Blair Athol: Turn here for the distillery on Perth Road at the southern end of Pitlochry, just off the A9. Its position on the uphill side of the road into town gives you a specific location to explore. [1]

• Dalwhinnie: Read Dalwhinnie for the distillery in Dalwhinnie village, within the Cairngorms National Park. It is the next page when your interest moves from the Perthshire town settings in this group towards a different Highland village location. [1]

• Deanston: Choose Deanston for the site near Doune on the banks of the River Teith. Its earlier use as the Adelphi Cotton Mill gives this article a distinct architectural focus among the distilleries collected in this section. [1]

• The Glenturret: Read The Glenturret for The Hosh, just outside Crieff, beside the River Turret. Pair it with Strathearn when exploring the wider area, while keeping the riverside site and the farm-steading location separate in your reading. [1]

• Strathearn: Turn to Strathearn for a distillery near Methven, close to Crieff, housed in a stone farm steading. It is a useful choice for readers interested in the different kinds of existing buildings used as distillery settings. [1]

• Tullibardine: Read Tullibardine for Blackford, the Perthshire location its producer calls the gateway to the Highlands. This page adds another town to the central group and helps avoid treating all its entries as part of the Crieff area. [1]

• Kythe: Choose Kythe for the distillery near Blairgowrie, housed in two converted farm barns with on-site warehousing. Read it alongside Strathearn or Edradour if farm buildings and their relationship to distillery sites are your main interest. [1]

Aberdeenshire, Deeside and the eastern coast

This section brings together inland locations around Huntly and Oldmeldrum, Royal Deeside, and sites towards the north-eastern and Angus coasts. These are geographical reading connections, not claims that the distilleries share one character. [1]

• The GlenDronach: Read The GlenDronach for Forgue, by Huntly, in the Valley of Forgue. It is a starting point for the inland Aberdeenshire entries, with Ardmore and Knockdhu providing further places to explore around the Huntly area. [1]

• Ardmore: Choose Ardmore for the site near Kennethmont, south of Huntly. Read it beside The GlenDronach to build a clearer picture of the inland locations, rather than treating their shared proximity to Huntly as the same setting. [1]

• anCnoc and the Knockdhu Distillery: Turn here for Knockdhu Distillery at Knock, near Huntly. This is also the linked title to choose when searching the hub through the anCnoc name, rather than expecting a separate entry elsewhere in the list. [1]

• Glen Garioch: Read Glen Garioch for Oldmeldrum and the Valley of the Garioch. The producer's account of its local Doric pronunciation, “Geery”, adds a useful point of orientation for readers meeting the name for the first time. [1]

• Royal Lochnagar: Choose Royal Lochnagar for Crathie on Royal Deeside, on the south side of the River Dee near Balmoral Castle. Its location makes this the page to read when your interest turns specifically towards Deeside. [1]

• Royal Brackla: Read Royal Brackla for the distillery on the Cawdor Estate near Nairn. It provides a separate estate setting to explore, rather than a continuation of Royal Lochnagar's Deeside location despite the shared word in their names. [1]

• Glenglassaugh: Turn here for the distillery overlooking Sandend Bay, between Sandend and Portsoy on the north-east coast. It gives this section a coastal starting point, distinct from the inland villages and valleys covered by several neighbouring entries. [1]

• Macduff: Read Macduff for the site east of Banff, on the east bank of the River Deveron near the Moray Firth. Pair it with Glenglassaugh when exploring this stretch through specific riverside and coastal locations. [1]

• Glencadam: Choose Glencadam for Brechin in Angus, almost halfway between Dundee and Aberdeen. Read it alongside Arbikie for another Angus location, or continue to Fettercairn in the Howe of the Mearns. [1]

• Fettercairn: Read Fettercairn for the Howe of the Mearns, below the Cairngorm foothills at the southern end of the Cairn o' Mount road. This setting provides an inland counterpart to Arbikie's position overlooking the Angus coast. [1]

• Arbikie: Turn to Arbikie for Inverkeilor, near Arbroath, on an estate overlooking Lunan Bay. Read it after Glencadam or Fettercairn to extend your exploration of Angus while keeping the coastal estate distinct from those inland settings. [1]

Sources

The supplied editorial record summarises the article facts. The underlying sources and claim references must be verified before publication.

This hub was prepared as desk research from the editor's supplied verified record, without first-hand visits or independent source checking.

Last checked: November 2026