Bladnoch

Bladnoch distillery sits resolute in the green pastures of Wigtownshire. The Southernmost distillery in Scotland, the Bladnoch distillery takes its water from its namesake – the River Bladnoch – which rises at Loch Maberry in Kirkcowan. The distillery was established in 1817 by the brothers McClelland: John and Thomas, who licensed it in 1825. Part of a farm, Bladnoch utilized the rich barley from the surrounding fields. The buildings were refurbished during the latter part of the nineteenth century, though in 1905 distillation ceased totally.

Ownership changed hands several times, from the Irish Dunville and Co and then to A B Grant, who began distillation once more. For a time, fortunes were highly favourable and, a decade after reopening, the stills were doubled to number four. During the 1980s, Bladnoch was under Guinness ownership and then United Distillers, closing officially in June of 1993.

Diageo sold the distillery to Raymond Armstrong in 2003. Raymond had originally intended to use it as a holiday home and it was sold strictly for this purpose alone. However, after petitioning from both Raymond Armstrong and the local townsfolk, Diageo allowed production once more, though it may not exceed 100,000 litres per annum.

There have been many independent bottlings over the years, from bottlers such as Gordon and MacPhail and Douglas Laing. Having restarted production at the turn of the millennium the first official post-Armstrong bottlings were released in 2008 in the shape of three six year olds; one bourbon and one sherry matured offering, as well as a lightly peated expression, all of which have all been well-received.