Visit to Annandale distillery

In May 2019 we visited the new Lowlands distillery Annandale. The distillery is located in Annan, Dumfries & Galloway, Schotland.

Originally Annandale Distillery was founded in 1836 by George Donald. He later sold it to Johnnie Walker, in 1893. After a short period of production, the warehouses were emptied for blending. In 1924 the distillery was closed.

In 2007 the distillery was bought by Prof David Thomson and Teresa Church. Under their leadership, the distillery was revived. It was restored using the remains of the old distillery, supplemented with new material. There is also a beautiful visitor centre with restaurant.

In 2018, the first whisky was put on the market. The unpeated Man O'Words named after Robert Burns, former excise man in Annan and  also  national poet. A peated whisky came on the market too. This under the name Man O'Sword, named after King Robert The Bruce, the former 7th Lord of Annandale and King of Scots.

The distillery is a beauty. By using as many elements as possible from the old distillery, the new distillery has been able to connect with the history of Annandale distillery.

The whisky on the market is still young but promising. Pretty sturdy body for a young whisky but still a short aftertaste. It will be interesting to follow the further developments of the whisky after more years of maturation.

Annandale is an asset to the Lowlands whisky area.