Balblair Distillery is the second oldest working distillery in Scotland, which dates back to 1790. The name Balblair means 'battlefield' and was probably coined when the Vikings raided that part of Scotland about a thousand years ago.

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The distillery is situated in the village of Edderton, known as the 'parish of peat' in the county of Ross-shire. The surname Ross has particular relevance in the area. The distillery was founded by John Ross and remained in his family unil his grandson James sold it in 1894. When operations were restarted after World War 2 one of the first employees was Hugh Ross, who only recently retired from the distillery after 42 years of service.

Alexander Cowan, a wine-merchant, from Inverness tool over Balblair's lease in 1894. It was Cowan who moved the distillery to its new site and constructed many of the present buildings, including the dunnage warehousing. Balblair had the longest bonded warehouse of any distillery in Scotland until fire regulations dictated the building of a dividing wall part way along. All its warehousing is earth-floored except for number 3 which has a concrete floor left there by the army who commandeered the buildings from the duration of World War 2 and built their canteen there. After the war the distillery was purchased by Robert Cumming, a solicitor from Banff who was determined that the distillery should enjoy a prosperous future. Cumming was an enthusiastic businessman. One one occasion he went into a public house in Edderton and after a few drams wrote a cheque for the entire premises. The cheque was accepted and he departed into the night. The next day he returned, realising what he had done. The proprietors declined his offer but were impressed by his willingness to keep his word.

Cumming had high hopes for the distillery and embarked on a successful programme of expansion. The stills were converted to steam heating and a new wash still installed. The old riveted was still remains and is the only one of its type left in the industry. A new boiler house was built, the tun room extended and two more washbacks added hot water for mashing is derived from the condensers, where the cooling water is heated by the disstillate as it runs through.

In 1970 Cummings retired, selling out to Hiram Walker, a subsidiary of Allied Distillers, who subsequently sold the distillery to Inver House Distillers in 1996. In November 2001, Balblair Distillery owners were then sold (more information pending).

Contact Details

BALBLAIR DISTILLERY, Edderton, Tain, Ross-shire IV19 1LB
Phone: +44 01862-821273
Fax: +44 01862-821360
http://www.inverhouse.com/distilleries-balblair.php

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