Stornoway
One of the few legal distilleries on the Isle of Lewis, which was also known as Ness.
Abhainn Dearg
Distillery & brand
The first legal distillery in the Outer Hebrides in 200 years invokes the provenance of its location in its whisky.
Abhainn Dearg distillery
Island Single Malt Scotch Whisky
The Isle of Lewis’ only legal distillery, in its capital Stornoway (and named after it), only ran for two years in the 1850s. After that, Lewisians had to import their Scotch from the mainland, or maybe source it from illicit local operations.
Abhainn Dearg History
All of that changed in 2008 when Marko Tayburn built a distillery at Red River [Abhainn Dearg] on the western coast of the island making this officially the most remote whisky-making site in Scotland.
Hebrideans are resourceful by nature – they have to be – so when it came to the stills, Tayburn didn’t go, like everyone else, to Forsyth’s of Rothes but designed and built them himself, modelling them on an old illicit still he had discovered. In addition there is a pair of small mash tuns, wooden washbacks (all bought in) and a fermentation regime which lasts for four days.
The stills have elongated necks which look a little like witches’ hats and thin descending lyne arms which run into external worm tubs. A mix of unpeated and peated spirit is made.
In December 2018 the distillery launched its first 10-year-old single malts – the oldest whisky to be produced by a legal distillery in the Outer Hebrides.
Timeline
- 2008 Marko Tayburn officially opens Lewis’ first legal distillery for almost 170 years
- 2010 Abhainn Dearg’s first whisky, a limited edition three-year-old named Spirit of Lewis, is bottled
- 2011 Abhainn Dearg Single Malt is launched at the Royal National Mod in Stornoway
Owner
Current owner
- Mark Tayburn 2008 - present
Contact
- Address
-
Abhainn Dearg Distillery
Carnish
Isle of Lewis
Inverness-shire
HS2 9EX
United Kingdom - Phone
- +44 1851 672429
- Visitor Opening Hours
-
- Monday
- 11am to 4pm (closed 1pm-2pm)
- Tuesday
- 11am to 4pm (closed 1pm-2pm)
- Wednesday
- 11am to 4pm (closed 1pm-2pm)
- Thursday
- 11am to 4pm (closed 1pm-2pm)
- Friday
- 11am to 4pm (closed 1pm-2pm)
- Saturday
- 11am to 4pm (summer only – closed 1pm-2pm)
- Sunday
- Closed
Map
See also
-
Distillery
-
Distiller
Isle of Harris Distillers
The holding company created to build and operate Isle of Harris distillery.
-
Distiller & blender
Isle of Arran Distillers
Independent distilling operation, with two distilleries, located on the Isle of Arran.