Be Brave. Be Bold. And Never Settle for Average.

Not your average run of the mill

Not your typical distillery

Our home is far from the quaint Highland distilleries that may come to mind when you think about whisky in Scotland. Formerly a bustling cotton mill that in its heyday employed 1500 people, the building and community of Deanston were facing uncertainty when it closed for good in 1965... enter our founder; Brodie Hepburn.

A bold founder

Our founder, Brodie Hepburn, is far from your average founder. A true pioneer, he saw huge potential in the battered old cotton mill, where others only saw challenges. He saw potential in the river Teith, with water soft enough for whisky, and the strength to power a community. He saw the people of Deanston town, with the passion and honest work ethic to become true whisky makers. Hepburn's took a risk and it paid off. The old cotton mill was transformed into a place perfect for whisky making.

A powerful river

The mighty River Teith is so much more than a water source. It's so powerful, it can fuel a distillery. The old cotton mill built a lade and installed one of the biggest waterwheels in Europe to harness its power. Then came electrical turbines in the 40s. Fast forward to today and we're still using turbines to generate electricity from the river. In fact, we generate enough energy to power the distillery, our offices, The Coffee Bothy, the Visitor Centre, and still have approximately 75% remaining to sell back to the National Grid! The River Teith is the literal power behind everything we create. But it’s more than our life source, it’s symbolic of our ambition.

A strong community

Our community began with the cotton mill. It was one of the things that persuaded our founder to take the risk and build the distillery. A community with the passion and honest work ethic to become true whisky makers. From the kinship of our distillers, to our present day innovators, to our growing community across the world, there is community and character in every single bottle of Deanston whisky.

Local ingredients

We source only the finest Scottish Barley, close in proximity to our distillery, in partnership with local farmers. It's not the norm to only use Scottish barley, but it's important to us. We use traditional, hands-on methods and fermentation that takes far longer, because it’s the right thing to do, transforming the grain into the waxy, soft, smooth highland single malt we're known for.

Not your typical distillery

Our home is far from the quaint Highland distilleries that may come to mind when you think about whisky in Scotland. Formerly a bustling cotton mill that in its heyday employed 1500 people, the building and community of Deanston were facing uncertainty when it closed for good in 1965... enter our founder; Brodie Hepburn.

A bold founder

Our founder, Brodie Hepburn, is far from your average founder. A true pioneer, he saw huge potential in the battered old cotton mill, where others only saw challenges. He saw potential in the river Teith, with water soft enough for whisky, and the strength to power a community. He saw the people of Deanston town, with the passion and honest work ethic to become true whisky makers. Hepburn's took a risk and it paid off. The old cotton mill was transformed into a place perfect for whisky making.

A powerful river

The mighty River Teith is so much more than a water source. It's so powerful, it can fuel a distillery. The old cotton mill built a lade and installed one of the biggest waterwheels in Europe to harness its power. Then came electrical turbines in the 40s. Fast forward to today and we're still using turbines to generate electricity from the river. In fact, we generate enough energy to power the distillery, our offices, The Coffee Bothy, the Visitor Centre, and still have approximately 75% remaining to sell back to the National Grid! The River Teith is the literal power behind everything we create. But it’s more than our life source, it’s symbolic of our ambition.

A strong community

Our community began with the cotton mill. It was one of the things that persuaded our founder to take the risk and build the distillery. A community with the passion and honest work ethic to become true whisky makers. From the kinship of our distillers, to our present day innovators, to our growing community across the world, there is community and character in every single bottle of Deanston whisky.

Local ingredients

We source only the finest Scottish Barley, close in proximity to our distillery, in partnership with local farmers. It's not the norm to only use Scottish barley, but it's important to us. We use traditional, hands-on methods and fermentation that takes far longer, because it’s the right thing to do, transforming the grain into the waxy, soft, smooth highland single malt we're known for.

Our People

Meet our Whisky Makers

Joining Deanston in the summer of 2020, Andrew looks after the day to day running of the distillery. From mash to maturation, there's not a lot Andrew doesn't know about our whisky!

Andrew Waite

Distillery Manager

Looking after the Visitor Centre team, you'll find Belen thinking up new tasting experiences, organising distillery events and coordinating new products for our online shop.

Belen Catalan

Visitor Centre Manager

Heading up the blending team, Julieann is responsible for creating our delicious Deanston whiskies from core range to limited editions and everything in between. Always on the lookout for new and interesting casks to try, Julieann is a true whisky innovator. We can't wait to see (and taste!) what's next!

Julieann Fernandez

Master Blender

The Process

How we craft our whisky

Water

The process begins with water from the River Teith, which flows over granite, making it very soft and perfect for making whisky. With help from the original lade used by the mill, the water is directed towards the distillery for use in production and powering the turbines.

Barley

We only ever use Scottish grown crops, meaning all of our malted barley is sourced from local farmers, before being milled into grist and tested by hand, to ensure the perfect mix of quick and slow natural sugars.

The Mash

Once milled, the ‘grist’ goes into our open- topped mash tun, one of a handful still in use in Scotland, where it is mixed with hot water. The sugars create a sweet liquid known as ‘wort’, which slowly drains through the perforated copper floor for fermentation. This is measured and meticulously recorded by hand.

Fermentation

The liquid then flows to the Wash Back for fermentation where nature works its magic. Yeast and wort sugars interact and turn into an alcohol, known as ‘wash’. This process takes on average 100 hours; this is unusually long and produces fruity flavours as well as many of the other intricate flavours that define a Deanston whisky.

Distillation

When it’s ready, the ‘wash’ is then transferred to the wash stills and heated by large copper coils to encourage evaporation. As the vapours rise up and condense, they move to the spirit stills. The unique characteristics developed during fermentation are further enriched by the copper. Our whisky is twice distilled - first, in a wash still and then in a spirit still where it separates into three sections: the head, the tail and the 'heart of the run'. The 'heart' is the part that interests us; this is our 'middle' or 'spirit' cut. The heads and tails will be used in the next distillation.

Maturation

This precious cut or 'new make' is transferred into the number one spirit vat where it is reduced with water from the River Teith to 63.5%. Our distilling team then decant the liquid into oak wood casks, which are placed into the cool weaving shed of the original mill to mature.

Water

The process begins with water from the River Teith, which flows over granite, making it very soft and perfect for making whisky. With help from the original lade used by the mill, the water is directed towards the distillery for use in production and powering the turbines.

Barley

We only ever use Scottish grown crops, meaning all of our malted barley is sourced from local farmers, before being milled into grist and tested by hand, to ensure the perfect mix of quick and slow natural sugars.

The Mash

Once milled, the ‘grist’ goes into our open- topped mash tun, one of a handful still in use in Scotland, where it is mixed with hot water. The sugars create a sweet liquid known as ‘wort’, which slowly drains through the perforated copper floor for fermentation. This is measured and meticulously recorded by hand.

Fermentation

The liquid then flows to the Wash Back for fermentation where nature works its magic. Yeast and wort sugars interact and turn into an alcohol, known as ‘wash’. This process takes on average 100 hours; this is unusually long and produces fruity flavours as well as many of the other intricate flavours that define a Deanston whisky.

Distillation

When it’s ready, the ‘wash’ is then transferred to the wash stills and heated by large copper coils to encourage evaporation. As the vapours rise up and condense, they move to the spirit stills. The unique characteristics developed during fermentation are further enriched by the copper. Our whisky is twice distilled - first, in a wash still and then in a spirit still where it separates into three sections: the head, the tail and the 'heart of the run'. The 'heart' is the part that interests us; this is our 'middle' or 'spirit' cut. The heads and tails will be used in the next distillation.

Maturation

This precious cut or 'new make' is transferred into the number one spirit vat where it is reduced with water from the River Teith to 63.5%. Our distilling team then decant the liquid into oak wood casks, which are placed into the cool weaving shed of the original mill to mature.

Our Location

Where to find us

Our Address

Deanston Distillery

Deanston, near Doune

Perthshire

FK16 6AG

Opening Times
  • Monday
  • Tuesday
  • Wednesday
  • Thursday
  • Friday
  • Saturday
  • Sunday
  • 10:00 - 17:00
  • 10:00 - 17:00
  • 10:00 - 17:00
  • 10:00 - 17:00
  • 10:00 - 17:00
  • 10:00 - 17:00
  • 10:00 - 17:00

Frequently Asked Questions

Our Answers

What's Deanston whisky like?

Our whisky is unpeated and predominantly matured in ex-bourbon barrels. This creates a smooth, sweet whisky with notes of honey and heather. The long fermentation and slow distillation helps to create a waxy New Make Spirit. We're firm believers of drinking our whisky whichever way you like, whether that's neat, with a drop of water or in a cocktail!

I'd love to visit the distillery, do I need to book?

If you'd just like to visit our Visitor Centre on your visit to Deanston, you don't need to book, however, if you'd like to attend one of our distillery experiences, we ask you to book in advance. You can do this online by going to: https://deanstonmalt.digitickets.co.uk/tickets

What tours and tastings are available at Deanston Distillery?

Due to COVID-19 restrictions, we are currently operating tasting experiences at the distillery. You can choose from our whisky tastings or our warehouse 4 experience. For more information, visit our Distillery Experiences page.

I have a question about my online order, who do I contact?

For all online order enquiries, including shipping queries, tax information and requests to amend or cancel an order, please contact our fulfilment partners on distell@mailmarkuk.com

Can I book a private tasting experience?

We will try our best to accommodate this, however, cannot guarantee it is always possible as it depends on what bookings we have already committed to. Give us a call on +44 (0)1786 843 010 to chat.

Fancy a chat?

Contact us
+44 (0) 1786 843 010
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