Deanston Distillery

Deanston Distillery stands on the banks of the River Teith in the village of Deanston, a short distance from Doune in the south-west corner of Perthshire. The stone buildings began life as a cotton mill, designed in part by Richard Arkwright and worked for around a hundred and eighty years before the looms stopped. The site was converted to whisky-making in 1966, and the high vaulted weaving shed now serves as a maturation warehouse.

The distillery makes a Highland single malt with a characteristically waxy, honeyed and lightly fruity profile, bottled un-chill-filtered. The flagship is the Deanston 12 year old, alongside older and cask-finished releases and the Scottish Leader blends long associated with the site. The open-topped mash tun and the old mill weir feature on the visitor tour, and film audiences may recognise the warehouse and grounds from Ken Loach’s The Angels’ Share.

The visitor centre runs guided tours through the working production rooms and the warehouse, finishing with tastings; options range from a standard tour with a dram through to a longer tasting-room session. The River Teith earns a double mention on any tour: the distillery draws its process water from it, and a weir and turbine house a short way upstream generate the site’s own electricity, leaving it self-sufficient and able to sell surplus power back to the grid.

Deanston, Doune, Perthshire, FK16 6AG, signposted off the A84. Tour times, prices and tasting bookings by phone on 01786 841422 or via the Deanston distillery website.