Balblair Distillery
Encyclopedia
Scotch whisky
Scotch whisky is whisky made in Scotland.Scotch whisky is divided into five distinct categories: Single Malt Scotch Whisky, Single Grain Scotch Whisky, Blended Malt Scotch Whisky , Blended Grain Scotch Whisky, and Blended Scotch Whisky.All Scotch whisky must be aged in oak barrels for at least three...
distillery located in Edderton
Edderton
Edderton is a village near Tain, lying on the shores of the Dornoch Firth, Easter Ross. It has approximately 388 inhabitants. It is the location of the Balblair Distillery, and of the Class III Pictish stone, the Edderton Cross Slab, which lies in the old churchyard of the village...
, Ross-shire
Ross-shire
Ross-shire is an area in the Highland Council Area in Scotland. The name is now used as a geographic or cultural term, equivalent to Ross. Until 1889 the term denoted a county of Scotland, also known as the County of Ross...
, Scotland
Scotland
Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...
.
Originally founded in 1790, the distillery was rebuilt in 1895 by the designer Charles C Doig
Charles C Doig
Charles Chree Doig trained as an architect and is most famous for his Doig Ventilator, more commonly known as a pagoda, that is used to improve the efficiency of distilleries by drawing off peat smoke in the malting process....
to be closer to the Edderton
Edderton
Edderton is a village near Tain, lying on the shores of the Dornoch Firth, Easter Ross. It has approximately 388 inhabitants. It is the location of the Balblair Distillery, and of the Class III Pictish stone, the Edderton Cross Slab, which lies in the old churchyard of the village...
Railway Station on the Inverness and Ross-shire Railway
Inverness and Ross-shire Railway
The Inverness and Ross-shire Railway was incorporated on 3 July 1860 with the aim to build a line to Invergordon. The line opened in stages:* 11 June 1862 - Inverness to Dingwall* 23 March 1863 - Dingwall to Invergordon...
line. However, so good was the original water source that the rebuilt distillery chose to ignore a nearby burn in favour of the original Ault Dearg burn. To this day, the Balblair Distillery continues to use this original water source.
John Ross, the founder, ran Balblair as a thriving business and in 1824 he was joined by his son, Andrew. The distillery stayed in the Ross family until 1894 when the tenancy was taken over by Alexander Cowan. In 1948 the freehold was bought by Robert Cumming, who promptly expanded the distillery and increased production. Cumming ran the distillery until he retired in 1970 when he sold it to Hiram Walker
Hiram Walker
Hiram Walker was an American grocer and distiller, and the eponym of the famous distillery in Windsor, Ontario, Canada. Walker was born in East Douglas, Massachusetts, and moved to Detroit in the mid-1830s...
. In 1996 Balblair Distillery was purchased by Inver House Distillers Limited
Inver House Distillers Limited
Inver House Distillers Limited is a Scottish malt whisky distiller, based in Airdrie, North Lanarkshire. The company is now a subsidiary of Thai Beverages, one of the largest alcoholic-beverage companies in South East Asia, with a market capitalisation in excess of US$4bn.Inver House Distillers is...
.
Balblair has one of the oldest archives in distilling, with the first ledger entry dated 25 January 1800. John Ross himself penned that first entry, which read: “Sale to David Kirkcaldy at Ardmore
Ardmore
Ardmore comes from the or the , meaning "great height", and may refer to:-Places:Canada:*Ardmore, Alberta*Ardmore Beach, a community in Tiny, OntarioIreland:*Ardmore, County Waterford, Republic of Ireland*Ardmore, County Londonderry, Northern Ireland...
, one gallon of whisky at £1.8.0d”.
Balblair Single Malt whisky is bottled in four vintage
Vintage
Vintage, in wine-making, is the process of picking grapes and creating the finished product . A vintage wine is one made from grapes that were all, or primarily, grown and harvested in a single specified year. In certain wines, it can denote quality, as in Port wine, where Port houses make and...
s - 2000, 1997, 1989 and 1979 - with the design inspired by the nearby Pictish stone Clach Biorach
Clach Biorach
The Clach Biorach is a three-metre Standing Stone located a 1/4 mile north-west of the village of Edderton in Easter Ross. It dates to the Bronze Age, but two Pictish-style symbols were later engraved on the north side, making it a Class I Pictish symbol stone...
, which is thought to be 4000 years old.
The distillery is now owned by Inver House Distillers Limited
Inver House Distillers Limited
Inver House Distillers Limited is a Scottish malt whisky distiller, based in Airdrie, North Lanarkshire. The company is now a subsidiary of Thai Beverages, one of the largest alcoholic-beverage companies in South East Asia, with a market capitalisation in excess of US$4bn.Inver House Distillers is...
, whose other distilleries include the Speyburn-Glenlivet Distillery
The Speyburn-Glenlivet Distillery
The Speyburn-Glenlivet Distillery was founded in 1897 by John Hopkins & Company for the sum of £17,000. The site was chosen by John Hopkins himself for its unpolluted water supply from the Granty Burn, one of the major tributaries to the River Spey...
, Knockdhu Distillery
Knockdhu Distillery
Knockdhu Distillery was established in 1893 by John Morrison.John Morrison had purchased the Knock estate from the Duke of Fife and shortly afterwards discovered several springs of fine water rising on the southern slopes of the Knock Hill. So taken by the quality of the water was Morrison that he...
, Old Pulteney Distillery and Balmenach Distillery
Balmenach Distillery
Balmenach Distillery was established in 1824 by James MacGregor, from a family of farmers and illicit distillers who resided in Tomintoul.- History :...
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See also
- WhiskyWhiskyWhisky or whiskey is a type of distilled alcoholic beverage made from fermented grain mash. Different grains are used for different varieties, including barley, malted barley, rye, malted rye, wheat, and corn...
- Scotch whiskyScotch whiskyScotch whisky is whisky made in Scotland.Scotch whisky is divided into five distinct categories: Single Malt Scotch Whisky, Single Grain Scotch Whisky, Blended Malt Scotch Whisky , Blended Grain Scotch Whisky, and Blended Scotch Whisky.All Scotch whisky must be aged in oak barrels for at least three...
- List of whisky brands
- List of distilleries in Scotland