Aberfeldy Distillery

Aberfeldy Distillery stands beside the Pitilie Burn on the edge of Aberfeldy in Perth and Kinross. Founded in 1896 by John Dewar & Sons, it opened two years later and still draws water from the burn, the only distillery in Scotland to do so. The distillery sits five miles east of Loch Tay and eight miles south of Loch Tummel, surrounded by Highland scenery. Its buildings date from the 19th century, though the stills were replaced in 1972 with four new steam-heated copper pot stills. During both world wars barley shortages forced temporary closures, once reducing the whisky’s minimum maturation from seven to three years. In 1999 the owners launched the Aberfeldy 12 Year Old Single Malt, which became the largest malt component in Dewar’s Blended Whisky. The distillery’s visitor centre, Dewar’s World of Whisky, opened in 2000 with an exhibition on distillation and the history of the Dewar’s brand. The Earl of Elgin performed the opening, and the centre cost £3 million to build. Guests can follow a route past the stills and warehouses, learning how malt is mashed, fermented, distilled and matured in oak casks. The site includes two large wash stills holding 16 500 litres and two spirit stills of 15 000 litres, typical of mid-sized Highland pot stills. Nearby Kenmore Bridge, built in 1774, carries the road over the Tay and inspired lines Robert Burns later placed above a fireplace in the Kenmore Inn. Beyond the distillery lie the lochs and hills of central Scotland. The upper Tay valley offers walking trails along the riverbank and up gentle slopes. The distillery shop sells Aberfeldy’s single malts in 12-, 18- and 21-year-old expressions, alongside independent bottlings from companies such as Gordon & MacPhail. Awards for the 12- and 21-year-old whiskies include multiple gold medals from the San Francisco World Spirits Competition, while other reviewers have placed them in the mid-80s range. The place remains a working distillery, turning barley into spirit and welcoming visitors to see the process at first hand.