In the parish of Deerness, on a peninsula at the east end of Orkney’s Mainland, Stuart and Adelle Brown built their distillery by hand in the garden behind their own home. Deerness Distillery was incorporated in 2016 and spent its first years as a gin and vodka producer, launching its signature Sea Glass Gin and Into the Wild Vodka in spring 2017. Stuart, an engineer by training, designed the original stills himself; Adelle, a pharmacist, shaped the flavour development. Three Portuguese copper alembic stills, nicknamed Walt, Zing and Matilda after the couple’s Australian roots, still produce the core spirits range today.
Whisky came later. Backed by a Highlands and Islands Enterprise grant, the Browns spent 2024 building a dedicated still room, malting and cask storage space alongside a new visitor centre and the Dashing Deer Kitchen and Bar. Three further copper stills, Bruce, Sheila and Kylie, joined the original three, built specifically for whisky. The first cask was filled at the start of 2025, using a moderately peated malt as the house style, with barley and Orkney-grown grains feeding the mash. That whisky is still resting in cask; nothing distilled on site has been bottled yet.
While the single malt matures, Deerness has released Deer Sound, a blended Scotch whisky made in partnership with an external whisky partner rather than distilled at Deerness itself, as a way to give visitors something to drink while they wait. The distillery also offers a pre-release cask programme, with buyers able to select an ex-bourbon or ex-sherry hogshead of the maturing spirit.
Deerness sits alongside Highland Park and Scapa as one of Orkney’s whisky producers, and like both of those, it falls under Island Whisky region. Visitors can tour the still room free of charge, sample the spirits range, and eat at the Dashing Deer Kitchen and Bar, open Tuesday to Sunday.
Deerness Distillery Whiskies
| Vintage | Bottled | Age | ABV |
|---|---|---|---|
| Deer Sound Blended Scotch Whisky | – | 5yo | 40% |
Distillery info:
Detail |
Information |
|---|---|
| Name | Deerness Distillery |
| Region | Island |
| Country | Scotland |
| Logo |  |
| Status | Active |
| Founded | 2016 |
| Water source | ? |
| Malting floor | No |
| Owned by | Stuart and Adelle Brown |
| Address |
Newhall, |
| Visitor centre | Yes |
| Website | https://www.deernessdistillery.com |
| https://www.twitter.com/deer_distillery | |
| https://www.facebook.com/DeernessDistillery | |
| https://www.instagram.com/deerness_distillery | |
| https://www.linkedin.com/company/deerness-distillery-ltd | |
| Map |
Distillery Setup:
Component |
Capacity |
Quantity |
|---|---|---|
| Mash tun | ? | ? |
| Washback | ? litres | ? |
| Wash still | ? litres | ? |
| Spirit Still | ? litres | ? |
| Expected yearly output in LPA (Litres of pure alcohol) | ? |