Whisky Guide > Distillery Profiles > Balblair Distillery

Balblair Distillery

I am welcomed to Balblair by a firm handshake from Derek Sinclair, distillery manager. He shows me into the Board room and conveys the history of the Distillery through some of the old photographs and ledgers on display. Balblair is the second oldest distillery in the Highlands. Although founded in 1790, the current location is not the original one. The roots of Balblair distillery lie just half a mile away at Balblair Farm. The distillery as you see it today (pictured right) was built in 1895 to take advantage of the main railway line between Inverness and Wick.

The Ross family were very much the founding forefathers of the distillery, which remained theirs until 1894. Alexander Cowan of Inverness was the man who set about bringing Balblair into the 20th Century by relocating to a 2 acre site, half a mile away and building a brand new distillery in 1895.

Derek points to a picture of Robert James "Bertie" Cummings, a smartly dressed, bespectacled Banff solicitor, who purchased Balblair in 1948. Determined to make the distillery prosper he expanded it in 1964, building more warehouses, a new boiler room, and by changing the coal-fired stills to steam-heated. Balblair thrived, carrying out up to 17 mashes a week, four times the figure during the Cowan era. In 1970 Cumming sold out to Hiram Walker and retired. Hiram Walker who merged with Allied Vintners to become Allied Distillers in 1988 sold Balblair to Inver House in 1996.

The first destination on my tour is one of the malt barns that house the ten towering Malt Bins. Derek explains that they acquire malted barley from Muir of Ord Maltings and when full they could carry enough malted barley for five weeks supply. A magnificent red Porteus Mill is used to grind the malted barley to make up the grist, stored in one of the two grist bins.

Our timing is excellent. We climb up the steps to the mash house and witness ‘mashing in’ when the spring water is mixed with the grist in the mash tun. Through the steam and the sweet smell of the ground grist, Derek warns me to stand back a little as the arms of the mash tun begin to move, and splash some mash through the tun doors.

Our journey continues to the wash backs, and on to the stills which stand proudly in the still house. Derek informs me that just before my visit they had a shut down period where a new wash storage tank and heat converter system was installed to preheat the wash before it enters the wash still. Curiously behind the spirit still lies a third still, Derek tells me that when "Bertie" Cummings converted the stills from coal to steam they enlarged two of the stills, using the third still as a model, but decided not to take it out!

Next we visit one of the warehouses and after opening the secure door, my nostrils are greeted with that familiar musty, sherried dampness – a smell only found in Scotland. At one time Balblair had the longest bonded warehouse in Scotland until fire regulations meant that a dividing wall was erected. All of the warehouses use the traditional dunnage system and have earthen floors. That is, all except warehouse no. 3, which contains a concrete floor, put down by the Norwegian army stationed there during World War II, to accommodate a canteen!

My visit comes to an end and I stop in the field just above the distillery. There I am treated to a magnificent view of Balblair, the Struie Hills and the 10.39 from Inverness whistling by on its way North.

Changing Times

1798 Lease of farm taken over by John Ross
1824 Andrew, John’s son joins the distillery.
1864 John McGilchrist Ross, son of Andrew goes on to run distillery at Teaninich distillery (see Gordon & MacPhail Scotch Whisky News Issue No. 28)
1872 Distillery expanded with new maltings, mash house, still house and filling store. Old building becomes a bonded warehouse
1894 Alexander Cowan takes up the lease of Balblair distillery
1895 ‘New’ distillery built beside railway
1920s & 30s Distillery run on skeleton staff under the eye of the Excise as whisky sold to meet debts.
1932 – 1948 No whisky left under bond
1948 Robert James "Bertie" Cummings and family purchased distillery
1964 Balblair expanded with new warehouses and a new boiler room.
1970 Distillery sold to Hiram Walker who merged with Allied Vintners to create Allied Distillers
1996 Sold by Allied Distillers to Inver House Distillers.

Distillery Statistics

Water source: Allt Dearg Burn in the Struie Hills
Malt Source: Muir of Ord Maltings
Malt Type:
Malt Storage: 300T
Mill Type: Porteus
Grist Storage: 4.6T x 2
Mash Tun Construction: Traditional rakes, Steel
Mash Size: 4.6T
No. of Wash Backs: 6
Wash Back Construction: Oregon Pine
Wash Back Capacity: 30,000
Yeast: Maori
No. of Wash Stills: 1
Wash Still Charge: 19,600L
Heat Source: Steam pans
Wash Still Shape: Traditional
No. of Spirit Stills: 1
Spirit Still Charges: 11,800
Heat Source: Steam pans
Spirit Still Shape: Traditional