Edradour Distillery
About the distillery (briefly)
Edradour is located in the middle of Perthshire and is one of Scotland’s most distinctive whisky houses: a small farm distillery that is still in operation, and which builds its identity on hand-crafted single malt at a very small scale. The site is both known as Scotland’s “Little Gem” and as the smallest traditional distillery in the country, and the range includes more than 25 expressions of Highland Single Malt Scotch Whisky.
History
Edradour can be traced back to 1825 and today stands as one of the most striking examples of a Scottish farm distillery that is still producing whisky. The distillery places emphasis on continuity and describes its production methods as largely unchanged over the last 150 years. This gives the site a rare historical weight in a landscape where many distilleries have been industrialized. The history has also gained a more narrative layer through the book about Edradour, which portrays the journey from the early founders as a cooperative, to ownership under the New York mafia, and back to Scottish hands. This is part of the reason why Edradour today is experienced as both a bearer of tradition and a bit of an oddball: a small place with a big and unusual story.
Raw materials and production
Edradour makes its whisky as hand-crafted single malt on a very small scale. The distillery especially highlights the very small stills and a production that is only just large enough for commercial quantities. It even states that one year’s production corresponds to what many distilleries make in a single week. Traditional methods are used, described as largely unchanged over more than a century, and the bottlings often show that the malt is kept as undisturbed as possible, with natural color and without chill filtration. The range also shows that Edradour works deliberately with different types of wood and maturation principles, from pure sherry casks to bourbon casks and wine casks. It is especially at the small scale and through the consistent use of hand-crafted, traditional approaches that the distillery stands out.
Maturation and cask types
Maturation is one of Edradour’s great strengths. The classic style rests heavily on Oloroso sherry casks, which are used for both 10-year whisky and for Caledonia. At the same time, the Cask Strength series shows bourbon maturation in first fill barrels, while the Straight From The Cask bottlings are made with a single sherry cask and bottled directly from the cask at natural strength. The Ballechin releases expand the palette with Madeira, Manzanilla, Burgundy wine, and rum cask influence, and the Wine Matured series shows a smaller selection of whiskies matured exclusively in wine casks. This allows Edradour to deliver both deep sherry richness and more fruity, experimental expressions.
Whiskies
The current range runs from the classic 10-year-old Edradour to Caledonia 12 Year Old and several Cask Strength bottlings, as well as Straight From The Cask and wine-matured versions. In addition comes Ballechin, the heavily peated side of the house, which provides a more smoky and distinctive counterpart to the traditional Edradour style. The portfolio is therefore two-part, but still clearly rooted in the same small distillery: classic, sherry-driven Highland single malt on the one hand, and smoked, cask-influenced experimentation on the other.
| Whisky | Type / series | Alcohol | Age | Cask and style | Tasting profile | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Edradour 10 Year Old Distillery Edition | Single Malt Scotch Whisky; Classic Range | 46 % | 10 years | Oloroso Sherry casks | Handmade and 100% matured in Oloroso sherry casks, bottled without chill filtration at 46% ABV. | Current; Core range; For sale in the webshop |
| Edradour 10 Year Old Unchillfiltered | Single Malt Scotch Whisky; Classic Range | 46 % | 10 years | Single Oloroso Sherry cask | The traditionally bottled version of 10-year-old Edradour, without color additives and with a more pronounced fullness and flavour. | Current; Core range; For sale in the webshop |
| Caledonia 12 Year Old | Single Malt Scotch Whisky; Classic Range | 46 % | 12 years | Oloroso Sherry Casks | A small batch bottling selected by Dougie Maclean and fully matured in Oloroso sherry casks. | Current; For sale in the webshop |
| Cask Strength 12yo Bourbon Cask Matured | Single Malt Scotch Whisky | 12 years | First fill Bourbon barrels | Small batch bottling at natural cask strength, matured exclusively in first fill bourbon barrels.; Nose: Soft vanilla, tangerine and coconut | Current; For sale in the webshop | |
| Cask Strength 21 Year Old Oloroso Sherry | Single Malt Scotch Whisky | 58 % | 21 years | First fill Oloroso Sherry Butt | Matured for 21 years in a single first fill Oloroso sherry butt and bottled at 58% ABV.; Taste: Wonderfully balanced, smooth and very complex; Finish: Long and satisfying finish | Current; For sale in the webshop; 581 bottles |
| Straight From The Cask 10 Year Old | Single Malt Scotch Whisky | 10 years | Single sherry cask | Bottled directly from the cask in a 50cl bottle and described as clean, honest and intense. | Current; For sale in the webshop | |
| Edradour 2003/2024 - 21 y.o. Cask Strength - Bourbon Barrels | Single Malt Scotch Whisky | 21 years | Bourbon Barrels | A 21-year-old cask strength bottling matured on bourbon barrels. | Current; For sale in the webshop | |
| Edradour 2011/2023 - 12 y.o. - Barbaresco Small Batch | Single Malt Scotch Whisky; Wine Matured | 12 years | Barbaresco | Small batch bottling matured in Barbaresco casks. | Current; For sale in the webshop | |
| Ballechin 18 y.o. - Cask Strength Batch #2 | Single Malt Scotch Whisky | 18 years | smoked/peaty; 50 PPM | Heavily peated Edradour with a minimum 50 ppm phenol, bottled as a cask strength batch. | Current; For sale in the webshop | |
| Ballechin 2004/2023 - 19 y.o. - Madeira Cask Matured | Single Malt Scotch Whisky | 19 years | Madeira Cask; smoked/peaty; 50 PPM | Heavily peated Ballechin, matured in a Madeira cask. | Current; For sale in the webshop | |
| Ballechin 2004/2023 - 19 y.o. - Manzanilla Casks | Single Malt Scotch Whisky | 19 years | Manzanilla Casks; smoked/peaty; 50 PPM | Heavily peated Ballechin, matured in Manzanilla casks. | Current; For sale in the webshop |
Whisky style and tasting profile
Edradour shows a clear profile of fruit cake, sherry, and fullness—especially in the classic 10-year and Caledonia. Bourbon maturation contributes soft vanilla, tangerine and coconut, while wine-matured versions lean toward extra fruitiness and depth. Ballechin stands as the smoked contrast with a minimum 50 ppm phenol and a far more smoky character. Taken together, it points to a distillery where sweetness, fruit, sherry, and smoke are the most recurring directions.
Visiting the distillery
The distillery is closed to the public for now. This applies to tours, the shop, and the tasting bar, and visitors cannot therefore be accommodated at the moment. Visiting experiences are on pause, so current opening hours and booking conditions are not relevant until it is again open to the public.
Philosophy and craftsmanship
Edradour builds its identity on small-scale production, manual work, and maintaining traditional methods. The distillery highlights small stills, natural color, unchillfiltered bottlings, and selected casks as part of its craft-based starting point. The philosophy is clearly tied to the old farm distillery: small, traditional, and consistent in the way the whisky is made.