Scottish distilleries - Abhainn Dearg
Abhainn Dearg Distillery, which means 'Red River' in Gaelic, is a Scottish distillery located in Uig on the Outer Hebridean Isle of Lewis. The distillery boasts in doing everything locally and old-fashioned way. They use local barley and water to produce the spirits, and also filter, bottle, label and box everything by hand – even the miniatures.
It is one of the youngest distilleries in Scotland, established in 2008 by Mark Tayburn, with the first spirit realeased in 2010 – not even legally a Scotch whisky yet. The first Abhainn Dearg Single Malt was released in 2011, as a three year old special release. 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.
The stills at Abhainn Dearg Distillery have unusually elongated necks that was designed and built by the Tayburn himself, inspired by the old illicit still he had discovered. A mix of unpeated and peated spirit is made here in small mash tuns and wooden washbacks. Part of the production is realeased as a new-make spirit without an age statement.
