Anyone driving to or from Grantown-on-Spey along the A95 in recent years will have noticed the new distillery taking shape just to the west of the town. We caught up with Mhairi Winters, Distillery Manager at The Cairn, to discover more on Strathspey’s newest whisky offering …

Mhairi explains: “Nestled in the Cairngorms National Park, overlooking the Cairngorm Mountains, The Cairn is the first distillery to be built in the National Park since it’s creation.”

She adds: “Every journey must start somewhere. Ours begins at 57 degrees north of the equator which has inspired the name of our first whiskies.  Available to taste and buy only at The Cairn Distillery, CRN57° is a range of Scotch whiskies created by our master blenders giving you a chance to discover notes, flavours and aromas you’ll eventually experience in the first expressions produced at The Cairn.”

You can clock on the image below to watch their video …

From plans to drams …

The distillery is owned by Gordon & MacPhail, a fourth-generation family business dating back to 1895.  Since the business was first established, it has selected, matured and bottled whiskies from all over Scotland and has an enviable portfolio of maturing whisky casks and bottling some of the world’s rarest single malt whiskies. Mhairi says: “With our long experience of maturing and bottling Scotch whisky, it was no surprise that we wanted to have a distillery of our own.” In 1993, they took over the Benromach Distillery, fulfilling their long-standing ambition. Mhairi adds: “The Cairn Distillery is the latest chapter in our story. It has its own identity, true to the heritage it comes from and proudly modern and forward-thinking. It’s the natural next step in the journey for a family of explorers, adventurers and legacy builders.”

Taste tomorrow, today …

Inside the building, they’ve channelled over a century of experience to devise a progressive distillery designed to produce outstanding whiskies for the future. Every part of the distillation process – from the raw ingredients, to the precise nature of fermentation, the unique shape of their copper pots stills and the casks used to mature the spirit – is specifically designed to maximise flavour and character as efficiently as possible.

And it is with an eye firmly on the future that The Cairn opens for visitors – to create a sustainable business that caters for the needs of visitors from near and far as well as for those who work at The Cairn to deliver the distillery’s unique offering. Joining Mhairi is Andy Kitchin, their Visitor Experience Manager, along with a team of Experience Hosts and, of course, the Distillers.

Outside, The Cairn is designed to blend into the landscape. Not today – but over time. Just as with the finest whiskies, as the building matures, it will soften and become a part of the land – aided by the sedum roof that tops the Stillhouse and Tasting room enjoying spectacular views across the Cairngorms.

Visitors can take part in different experiences – all available to book online. Just click on the image below for more …

Need more?

The Cairn Distillery has a website that you can access via this link to read much more on the distillery as well as those who had the passion to bring the vision to reality.

As they share online …

“From the very start, we wanted our distillery to form a natural extension of this magical landscape and play an important part of the community – a proud addition to the Highlands economy. We source locally wherever possible, down to the very essence of our whisky making: Scottish grown barley and the purest water from underground springs deep under the Cairngorms National Park. We are committed to preserving and enhancing the environment around us for generations to come. And we play an active part to protect it, providing a refuge for wildlife and managing the habitats on our doorstep: from building nests for rare Golden Eye ducks and new wetlands for rare dragonflies; to planting Aspen trees along the River Spey and safeguarding the cleanliness and temperature of its waters as they flow through this ancient landscape.”

You can find more on how to discover The Cairn Distillery via their website that includes a map and contact information.

You can also follow them on Facebook and Instagram.

 

Thanks for reading!

 

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