Abhainn Dearg Distillery

We are the most Westerly of the Scottish distilleries and can be found in Uig, on the west coast of the Hebridean Isle of Lewis. Abhainn Dearg, (pronounced Aveen Jarræk) or Red River Distillery is a very new distillery in an ancient landscape.
The spirit we produce today might be new to the market, but the philosophy and history of our distilling goes back hundreds of years.  At Abhainn Dearg that age old experience has been garnered for the knowledge of distilling fine whisky never left our shores,  it’s just taken till now to re-claim our heritage and produce a true Outer Hebridean Whisky for the rest of the world to enjoy.

For the first time in almost 170 years Abhainn Dearg New Spirit, The Spirit of Lewis, left our shores, our first single malt will be launched at the Royal National Mod also known affectionately as the "Whisky Olympics". This festival of Scottish Gaelic song, arts and culture will be held in Stornoway in 2011 and for the first time in history participants will be able to enjoy a Single Malt distilled and bottled on the Isle of Lewis. 

Mark Tayburn the founder of Abhainn Dearg was determined to produce a whisky that was unique to Lewis and to be able to have it on sale to the visitors who attend the MOD. It seemed ridiculous that the Outer Hebrides couldn't supply its own whisky, which is as much a cultural heritage as the MOD and as a tradition is much older. We are well on the way to making that a reality, our casks have been laid down, the waiting begun.

There will always be limited amounts of Abhainn Dearg, the aim is to produce a quality Single Malt for those who take the trouble to visit us, support us via the Internet and, like the Shoeburn Distillery before us, supply local demand. Because of this we can't offer casks or cases at this time, but if you sign up to our newsletter we can keep you updated on what we are doing and when we will release our products.