The Cabrach Distillery

About the distillery

The Cabrach Distillery is located in Lower Cabrach at Inverharroch Farm on the rugged northeast edge of Speyside. It is a distillery that is closely intertwined with the area’s history of royal hunts, Jacobite resistance, smuggling, and illegal whisky. Today, the project is run as a social enterprise, where the whisky is meant to help rebuild the local community and bring an old tradition back to life.

History

The Cabrach’s history goes back a long way. The area was once royal hunting grounds, and in 1296 Edward I is said to have stayed at Inverharroch in Lower Cabrach. Later, the region became a Jacobite stronghold within the territory of the Gordon clan, and stories of conflicts between rival families and a local heroine’s escape across the moor are part of the place’s mythology. In the 1700s and into the early 1800s, The Cabrach was also known for a well-organized network of smuggling and illegal distilling, where farmers and crofters combined farming with whisky production. At the time, the area had around 1,000 inhabitants; today it has fewer than 100. The Cabrach Trust was established in 2013 to create social and economic opportunities for future generations, and it was the launchpad for the modern distillery. In November 2024, the first cask was filled with spirit, the first legally distilled spirit from The Cabrach in over 170 years.

Raw materials and production

Production is rooted in the site’s own raw materials and a deliberate revival of local traditions. At Inverharroch Farm, farmer Derek McBain grows barley for The Cabrach Single Malt, and the farm has thereby brought the local “home barley” back to the area. The distillery describes its work as historically grounded, and the ambition is to build on the methods that belonged to the whisky craft in Cabrach in earlier times. The series The Feering is created with casks from local Speyside distilleries and curated by Alan Winchester, which ties the early whisky repertoire closely to the surrounding region, while the distillery’s own single malt is built on the re-established local raw material and a long-term community project. The specific details about mashing, fermentation, distillation, and equipment are not elaborated in the provided material, but the whole picture clearly shows a focus on locally grown barley, historical continuity, and a small number of consciously limited releases.

Maturation and cask types

The Cabrach works with a clear idea of scarcity and slow development. There is talk of historical methods and of whisky that must be patiently matured in fine casks. The Feering series is a series of three strongly limited blended malts, created with hand-picked casks from local Speyside distilleries, and it works as a kind of preview, while the first own single malt matures toward the expected release in 2030. It is a program where membership, access, and upcoming releases are closely linked to the distillery’s own growth.

Whiskies

The current selection is small and clearly curated. First comes The Feering, a series of three Speyside blended malts, where Edition 1: Early Harvest is the only one already broadly available, while Late Crop and Deep Earth are reserved for members. At the same time, the distillery is working toward its first own single malt, The Cabrach Single Malt Scotch Whisky 1st Release, which is planned as a member-exclusive release. The range therefore emphasizes both its local origin and its limited scale: a few clearly defined releases instead of a broad standard lineup.

The whiskies’ style and tasting profile

The Cabrach’s tasting profile is defined in particular by heather honey, butterscotch, and soft ember smoke. The honey provides a light, heather-tinged impression of sweetness, butterscotch draws the palate in a soft, caramelized direction, and the light smoke adds a discreet glow beneath the overall impression. It is a world of flavors where sweetness and smoke are kept in fine balance rather than competing for attention.

Visiting the distillery

The distillery can be visited through The Cabrach Collective, which provides access to annual visits, reawakened distillery tours, and exclusive open days. Members also get free access to a distillery tour, as well as invitations to special member days and behind-the-scenes updates. The visit experience is therefore closely linked to membership, with a focus on following the distillery’s rebuilding and being part of the journey as it develops.

The stated opening hours are: Collective members get annual access to reawakened distillery tours, exclusive open days, and behind-the-scenes updates. Membership benefits are also offered with free access on a reawakened distillery tour.
See times and book a visit.

Philosophy and craft

At the core is regeneration. The Cabrach Distillery is organized as a Community Interest Company, and 100% of future profits must go back into rebuilding the fragile local community. The work is described as a whisky project with a purpose, where historical methods, local raw materials, and a long-term community effort go hand in hand. Membership is intended as a community of pioneers who both support the project financially and help shape its future.