Upcoming Scottish Distilleries: Spotlight on a Lot of New Whisky Makers

In Scotland, there are already more than 100 distilleries busily engaged with whisky making. Moreover, there are many more on the horizon. We have put together a number of distilleries that are expected to see the light of day this year and start distilling.

In Speyside, construction is underway on the Balmaud Distillery. The construction of this distillery was announced in 2023 and was set to begin the following year.

According to the plans, a small-scale distillery is being built that initially accommodates four people: the manager, a mill man, a mash man, and a trainee. Later on, a visitor center is planned, with room for growth.

Balmaud Distillery is expected to officially open its doors this year. According to the website, the first spirit should emerge from the kettles in the summer.

Work is also underway on the Ben Cumhaill Distillery in the Scottish Lowlands. This distillery is named after one of the two giants of the Giants Causeway as a nod to the connection between Scotland and Ireland.

Additionally, it's a fun nod to Jeff and Jessica Simpson, the owners of the whisky distillery. They will operate in Scotland, but they are Irish. Their whisky distillery is being built in Dumfries.

The distillery was originally going to be operational in 2024, but as far as is known, no opening date has been set yet. The last update was from about five months ago. At that time, the steam installation was ready and all the equipment had been placed.

The Bothy Distillery has been around for a while, but not as a whisky maker. At The Bothy in the Scottish Highlands, gin is produced. At the end of 2024, plans were unveiled to create their own whisky.

Owner Kim Cameron has teamed up with Dark Blue Property Holdings and plans to begin production of new make spirit this year. The plan is to fill approximately 300 barrels annually and bring out a first single malt only after 12 years.

The idea arose for Martin and Claire, the owners of Dunnet Bay Distillers, in 2020 to make another drink alongside Rock Rose Gin, Mapmaker’s Rum, and Holy Grass Vodka: whisky. For this, a location had to be found and it was found in the form of an old building in Caithness called Castletown Mill.

The building has already been largely fixed up by the duo and their team. The whisky maker, according to schedule, is set to open for production this year. However, no date has been announced yet.

Whiskies have already been released under the flag of Castletown Mill. These are blended whiskies available in limited quantities. Martin and Claire's own whisky will bear the name Stannergrill Whisky.

One distillery already crafting whiskies is Eden Mill, located in the Scottish Lowlands. Despite this, its name is not to be overlooked on this list. More so, with a new environmentally friendly distillery on the way.

Construction of the new Eden Mill distillery is well underway. This year, new stills have arrived and an update has been given to interested enthusiasts. The distillery opens on october 12th with a variety of activities.

In the Outer Hebrides of Scotland, Michael and Katie Morrison are pursuing a dream. Currently producing gin and rum, their ambition is to expand into whisky, leading them to start building a distillery on the island.

The distillery is expected to be completed by the end of 2026 and will accommodate 40 employees. Together, they aim to produce 1,400 barrels of 200 liters new make spirit per year on the Scottish island.

The whisky is intended to capture the character of Isle of Barra in a bottle, allowing whisky enthusiasts all around the world to experience the flavours of the Outer Hebrides.

Ideas for building a distillery in the Hills of Bendichy farm in Perthshire arose as far back as 2014. However, the construction of Kythe Distillery, as it will be named, only began in 2024.

The new distillery is expected to be completed this year. The objective is to produce whisky according to the old style of the Scottish Highlands. Using local ingredients, the mash is fermented for up to two weeks.

The spirit is then distilled in wood-fired stills, before maturing in refill barrels. This way, the characteristics of the distillate remain intact and are not overshadowed by the wood.

Already home to several famous distilleries, Islay still has room for more whisky makers. This is evident from the construction of Laggan Bay Distillery, a collaboration between Ian Macleod Distillers and the Islay Boys.

Laggan Bay is set to become the twelfth whisky maker on the island. The distillery draws inspiration from the bay, which shares its name and harbors the facility. Additionally, it aims to be modern and sustainable.

This new Islay distillery is expected to open sometime this year.

Just outside of Port Ellen on Islay, what could potentially be the 13th distillery is under construction since 2020. Slated to commence its operations in 2025, Port-n-truan Distillery is being built by Elixir Distillers.

The forthcoming distillery aims to combine sustainability with tradition, aiming to embody green distilling practices. Little is known about the style of their whisky, save that they will produce options with and without peat.

Independently owned whisky maker Brave New Spirits got the green-light in 2023 to start constructing a new distillery in Campbeltown. Construction soon ignited between Machrihanish Village and Campbeltown Airport.

The goal is to establish a carbon-neutral distillery that produces 2 million liters of whisky per year. Initially, one mash tun will be used, which can handle 5 tons. In addition, there will be 16 washbacks of 30,000 liters each, and 2 wash stills and 2 spirit stills.

The type of wood used for maturation is also known. Mostly, it will be ex-bourbon barrels, supplemented with Oloroso sherry barrels and a number of Tawny and Ruby Port casks. Last but not least, once operational, Witchburn will also make use of wine casks.

The first spirit is expected to emerge from their stills later this year.

Besides these eleven distilleries, there's more construction and planning underway to open more whisky makers in Scotland. Wolfcraig, for example, is on the hunt for a location to set up its own distillery and there are a couple of other distilleries slated to rise in Campbeltown (The Machrihanish Distillery and Dál Riata Distillery).

There are also plans to breathe new life into old, closed distilleries. For instance, the Dallas Dhu Distillery in Speyside is expected to reopen its doors this year.