Edradour
Full Highlands food & drink guide — distilleries, restaurants, where to stay, when to go.
Pair Edradour with a round
Our sister site TripSCOT covers the visit side — opening hours, getting there, family-friendly notes. We cover the whisky.
For years the smallest distillery in Scotland, Edradour is a picture-postcard ‘farm distillery’ on the edge of Pitlochry. Now owned by independent bottler Signatory Vintage and producing both unpeated (Edradour) and peated (Ballechin) spirit. Note: the distillery is currently closed to visitors until further notice (per the official site).
Edradour is Scotland's smallest traditional distillery — three people can run it on any given day — and this makes it unique. The spirit is rich, sherried, and distinctly old-fashioned in style, which is entirely the point. The Ballechin range (peated, named for a former Perthshire distillery) adds a second dimension. The distillery is in Pitlochry and the visitor experience is intimate in a way the large operations cannot match.
Core range
10 Year Old
40% ABV · American oak refill
Made on tiny stills at one of Scotland's smallest traditional distilleries — handcrafted scale. Worth the visit more than the bottle, but the bottle is honest.
- Nose:
- Vanilla, honey, soft fruit, light cereal.
- Palate:
- Creamy and gentle — honey, vanilla, soft oak, faint citrus.
- Finish:
- Short to medium, sweet, gentle.
Caledonia 12 Year Old
46% ABV · Oloroso sherry casks
Bottled at 46% — the sherried Edradour. Better value than most well-known sherry-cask Speysides.
- Nose:
- Sherry, dried fruit, oak, soft baking spice.
- Palate:
- Rich and rounded — sherry, oak, raisin, gentle spice.
- Finish:
- Medium-long, drying, sherry-led.
Flavour & house character
Old-school Highland heaviness from the worm-tub stills. Sherry-led on the unpeated side, big and farmhouse-rustic on the Ballechin peated side. A genuinely small-batch character that no large modern distillery can replicate.
- smoky1/5
- fruity3/5
- floral2/5
- sherried4/5
- spicy3/5
- maritime0/5
How it’s made
- Stills
- 2 (1 wash + 1 spirit still — among the smallest pair of stills in any working Scottish distillery) · Tiny traditional onion stills with worm-tub condensers — the small scale and worm-tub cooling are the signature character drivers
- Malting
- Externally sourced malted barley. Two streams: unpeated (Edradour) and heavily peated (Ballechin).
- Water source
- Moulin Burn
- Annual capacity
- 500,000 litres of pure alcohol
- Warehouse
- Traditional dunnage warehouses on-site, partially below ground level
- Casks
- Ex-bourbon American oak, Ex-sherry oloroso (Ballechin and the heavily-sherried bottlings), Ex-port (limited editions), Ex-wine casks (the Caledonia and Ballechin variants)
For decades Edradour was the smallest legal distillery in Scotland — that title now goes to several newer micro-distilleries, but Edradour is still tiny by traditional standards. Owned by independent bottler Signatory Vintage since 2002. The peated Ballechin range and the unpeated Edradour are produced from the same site.
Character & reputation
For years promoted as the smallest distillery in Scotland, Edradour is a picture-postcard farm distillery on the edge of Pitlochry. Now owned by independent bottler Signatory Vintage, it produces both unpeated (Edradour) and heavily peated (Ballechin) spirit. The tour — when running — is short, intimate, and shows you a genuinely working micro-distillery rather than a marketing experience; visits are currently suspended until further notice, so check before travelling. Best for distillery tourists who want charm over scale.
Food pairings
Edradour's old-school heaviness suits hearty Scottish food — game, hard cheese, dark puddings.
| Whisky | Food | Why |
|---|---|---|
| 10 Year Old | Bakewell tart or marzipan-based desserts | The marzipan note in the whisky echoes the dessert |
| Ballechin | Smoked Highland lamb | Big peat handles big game |
- It's genuinely tiny — production volume is a fraction of any "real" distillery
- The Ballechin (peated) range is more interesting than the unpeated Edradour
- Walk up from Pitlochry — the path is one of the prettiest in Perthshire
- Buy direct from the distillery shop — Signatory bottles here are often cheaper than online
- Closed November–March for general visits; book the off-season group tour if you must visit then
Getting there
- Drive from edinburgh
- 1.5 hours70 milesM90, A9 to Pitlochry, then 1 mile uphill on the A924
- Drive from glasgow
- 2 hours85 milesM80, A9 to Pitlochry
- Drive from inverness
- 2 hours85 milesA9 south to Pitlochry
- Drive from aberdeen
- 2.25 hours95 milesA93/A926 to Blairgowrie, A924 to Pitlochry
- Public transport
- Train to Pitlochry on the Highland Main Line. From the station, taxi (10 minutes) or 45-minute uphill walk to Edradour.
- Nearest airport
- Edinburgh (1.5 hours) or Inverness (2 hours).
Pitlochry station is 2.5km away — a short taxi or bus ride from the platform. (Distance as the crow flies; actual walking route may differ.)
Pitlochry station travel guide on TripSCOTWhere to eat nearby
- Old Mill Inn (Pitlochry)Pub10 min drive
Reliable Pitlochry pub food.
- Victoria's Restaurant (Pitlochry)Restaurant10 min drive
Smarter Pitlochry option, book ahead.
- Pitlochry cafésVarious10 min drive
Several solid cafés on Pitlochry high street.
Where to stay near Edradour
Edradour is Scotland's smallest traditional distillery, in a hamlet 2.5 miles east of Pitlochry on the A924. Pitlochry is the natural base — it has the Pitlochry Festival Theatre, extensive B&B stock, and good restaurants. The walk from Pitlochry to Edradour is an easy 40 minutes through Perthshire woodland. Most visitors base here and walk rather than drive.
Pitlochry is a tourist town — multiple options at every price point.
Grand Victorian hotel above Pitlochry. Good for a special-occasion base.
Hotels, B&Bs, and self-catering within easy reach of Edradour.
Booking links are affiliate links — we earn a small commission at no extra cost to you.
May–September for tour availability — Edradour is closed November–March except for pre-booked group tours. The walk from Pitlochry is glorious in late spring and autumn.
Highland Perthshire weather is mild compared to the north but rain is common. Bring waterproofs.
Location
Pitlochry, Perthshire, PH16 5JP
View on map →Frequently asked questions
+How much is an Edradour tour?
Edradour is currently closed to visitors — the distillery states that this includes all tours, the shop and the tasting bar, until further notice. There is no tour to price. Blair Athol, a five-minute walk from the same Pitlochry station, is open.
+Is Edradour really the smallest distillery in Scotland?
Not anymore — that title now goes to several newer micro-distilleries (Strathearn, Daftmill, Dornoch). But Edradour remains one of the smallest of the historic distilleries.
+Is Edradour open in winter?
Officially closed November to March, though pre-booked group tours are sometimes available. Check the website before travelling out of season.
+Can you walk to Edradour from Pitlochry?
Yes — it's a 45-minute walk uphill from Pitlochry on a well-marked footpath. One of the prettiest distillery walks in Scotland.
+What is Ballechin?
Ballechin is Edradour's heavily peated range, made on the same site. The unpeated bottlings carry the Edradour name; the peated ones carry Ballechin. Both come from the same two stills, run on different barley styles.
+Is Edradour the same as Signatory Vintage?
Same owners — Signatory Vintage owns Edradour. Signatory bottles are independent releases of various distilleries. Edradour and Ballechin are official own-brand releases.
Compare with similar distilleries
Blair Athol
Founded in 1798 on the southern edge of Pitlochry, this is one of the most-visited Highland distilleries by virtue of location alone — Pitlochry is a stop on the main A9 tourist route. The single malt is a key ingredient in Bell's, with a 12 Year Old available for visitors.
Aberfeldy
The heart of the Dewar’s blend and a notably honey-forward single malt. The visitor centre — ‘Dewar’s Aberfeldy Distillery’ — is one of the most polished in the Highlands.
Tomintoul
Marketed as ‘the gentle dram’, Tomintoul is light, easy and unpretentious. Sits at one of the highest elevations of any Scottish distillery.
The Glenturret
Claims to be Scotland's oldest working distillery with operations dating to 1763 at The Hosh near Crieff. Formerly the spiritual home of Famous Grouse before being acquired by French crystal house Lalique in 2019 and repositioned as an ultra-premium single malt — now with a Michelin-starred on-site restaurant.
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