Scotlands Little Gem

A Picturesque Distillery

For many years the sign at the entrance to the Edradour Distillery proudly read ‘Scotlands smallest Distillery’. The annual output was equivalent to the one weeks production of most large, modern plants. Essentially, it is a cluster of venerable, lime-washed and red-painted farm-style buildings, grouped around a burn in the hills. But given the recent new distillery openings, this small Highland distillery on the outskirts of Pitlochry has changed its slogan to ‘Scotlands little gem’. The cuddly whitewashed buildings of the distillery lie directly on a side arm of the Tummel River. Edradour looks more like a fairy tale village. It is therefore not surprising that the distillery receives numerous visitors every year. In the summer months, over 100,000 visitors make a pilgrimage to the cuddly still in the Highlands.

Inside, Edradour does not disappoint either. Production methods are very traditional, and feature a small, cast iron open mashtun dating from 1910 and a pair of Oregon pine washbacks, while the two stills are linked to a worm tub which is 100 years old.

The Beginnings of Edradour

Edradour received its first official mention in 1837, though a farmer's distilling co-operative had been founded in 1825. The farming partners went on to form John MacGlashan & Co in 1841 to formalise their whisky-making operation.

During these years the distillery was still known under the name ‘Glenforres’. The distillery buildings so popular today date from 1837. In the first 100 years of their existence, Edradour often changed hands.

Enter The Mafia

In 1922 William Whiteley & Co Ltd, a subsidiary of American distiller JG Turney & Sons, purchased Edradour to provide malt for its blends, which included King's Ransom and House of Lords. Whiteley renamed the distillery Glenforres-Glenlivet, despite its physical remoteness from the famous distilling glen!

At this point the history of Edradour becomes somewhat colourful, with Whiteley's blends being distributed in the USA during the Prohibition era by Frank Costello, of Mafia fame, and on whom the Godfather films were supposedly based. Indeed, there is strong evidence to suggest that Costello indirectly owned Edradour for a time from the late 1930s, through his associate Irving Haim, via JG Turney & Sons.

Almost 50 years later, Pernod Ricard took over the distillery in 1982. In 1986, the distillery’s 10-year-old single malt was bottled but was initially only available in the distillery shop. In 2002, Pernod Ricard declared Edradour surplus to requirements, following their acquisition of Seagram's extensive Scotch whisky operations.

Andrew Symington and Signatory To The Rescue

At this point, Andrew Symington entered the Edradour story. Symington's background lies in the hospitality industry, and seeing signs of growing interest in single malts, he purchased a cask of 1968 The Glenlivet for £2,500 in 1988 and arranged to have it bottled. Ultimately, his Edinburgh based Signatory Vintage Scotch Whisky Co Ltd became one of the leading independent bottlers in Scotland.

Symington had always harboured an ambition to own his own distillery. He bought Edradour for £5.4M. It was a good fit for Signatory and offered great potential for growth. Pernod Ricard only bottled 20% of the output as single malt whisky and sold the rest for blending.  Edradour now sells principally in the UK, USA, France, Germany and Holland.

In 2007 Andrew Symington took the decision to move the entire Signatory operation to Edradour. Accordingly, a new bottling hall was constructed, along with a dunnage style warehouse.

In 2016, they had to switch to a 6-day week because of the continued success. This allowed the production capacity to be increased from 90,000 to 130,000 liters annually. The distillery then responded with plans to expand, which started in 2016 and ended in 2018. With the completed distillery expansion, the capacity increased to 500,000 liters of pure alcohol. Most of Scotland’s whisky distilleries produce millions of liters annually. Accordingly, Edradour is still one of the smaller distilleries in Scotland.

Edradour Whisky

Edradour whiskies are generally spicy, strong and malty. The small distillery experiments a lot with different types of barrels. Many wine and strong wine barrels can be found in Edradour’s single malts. Depending on the type of barrel, the whiskies have their own aromas. The single malts with the name of the distillery ‘Edradour’ are never peated, their peated offerings are all released under the ‘Ballechin’ brand all of which are heavily peated. Ballechin was introduced in 2006. Another Symington move that has paid off.

Production at Edradour is still very traditional and artisanal. Except for malting, every step of the whisky production is done on site, and by hand. Edradour now owns two distilleries. The original distillery has a traditional cast iron mashtun, two wooden washbacks and two small copper stills. In the neighboring building, also known as Edradour 2, there are two identical stills and four new washbacks.

Since the takeover by Andrew Symington and Signatory, Edradour has increasingly focused on diversity in wood management. The Highland distillery relies on finishes and full maturation in barrels that previously contained Marsala, Madeira, port wine, Chardonnay, Sauternes, Bordeaux or Burgundy. As a result, in addition to the Edradour 10-year standards and the 12-year-old Caledonia, there is also a series that is bottled under the name ‘Edradour straight from the cask’.

The Outlook for Edradour

Edradour may have a colourful history, but it looks as though its future is set to be equally bright. In summer, Edradour employs more people in the visitor center than in whisky production. Despite the large number of visitors, I still recommend Edradour as a travel destination, as well as a whisky source.