North Uist Distillery sits inside Nunton Steadings, an 18th century farm building on the island of Benbecula in the Outer Hebrides, a stone’s throw from the Atlantic. The distillery was founded in 2019 by Kate Macdonald and Jonny Ingledew, both raised on the island, though their story starts a couple of years earlier with a tabletop gin still in a borrowed shed.
That side of the business grew into Downpour Gin, named Scottish Gin Distillery of the Year three years running, and now employs a team of sixteen. Whisky was always the longer term ambition: the pair bought Nunton Steadings in 2020 and spent the following years converting it into a working distillery and visitor centre.
The building has a past worth mentioning on its own. It stands on a site that housed a nunnery in the 1300s, was reputedly involved in planning Bonnie Prince Charlie’s escape after Culloden, and has since done time as a cattle byre, a mill, and a coffin maker’s workshop. Its low ceilings shaped the equipment: North Uist runs “squat” copper pot stills with downward facing lyne arms, built specifically to fit the space, alongside a half ton mash tun and wooden washbacks. Distillery manager and head distiller Jacob Crisp fills one cask a day.
North Uist ran its first whisky distillation on 9 December 2024, using new make distilled from locally grown barley, including heritage bere barley grown on Uist’s machair by island crofters. The long term plan is full grain to glass production, with barley grown, malted, distilled, and bottled on site; an on-island malting plant is in development toward that goal. New make is filled into ex-bourbon, new oak, and oloroso-seasoned casks. The distillery is B Corp certified and carbon neutral, and holds cask release sales (2024 and 2025 both sold out within minutes) alongside a “Uibhisteach” founders club, Gaelic for “people of Uist.”
North Uist falls under the Island region alongside neighbouring Hebridean distilleries Isle of Harris, and Isle of Raasay. Nunton Steadings operates as a visitor centre with a shop, bar, tastings, and production tours, though opening hours vary seasonally and it’s worth calling ahead.
North Uist Distillery Whiskies
No single malt has been released yet. Whisky laid down since the first cask in December 2024 is still maturing, and no bottling date has been announced. In the meantime, two things are available:
- New Make Spirit: Unaged spirit straight off the stills, sold to give an early taste of the whisky to come.
- Guest House series: Limited runs of drams blended in-house from other producers’ stock, sold at Nunton Steadings and occasionally online while North Uist’s own whisky matures.
Distillery info:
Detail |
Information |
|---|---|
| Name | North Uist Distillery |
| Region | Island |
| Country | Scotland |
| Logo |  |
| Status | Active |
| Founded | 2019 |
| Water source | ? |
| Malting floor | No |
| Owned by | Kate Macdonald & Jonny Ingledew |
| Address |
Nunton Steadings, |
| Visitor centre | Yes |
| Website | https://www.northuistdistillery.com/ |
| https://www.facebook.com/northuistdistillery | |
| https://www.instagram.com/northuistdistillery/ | |
| Map |
Distillery Setup:
Component |
Capacity |
Quantity |
|---|---|---|
| Mash tun | 0.5 tonnes | ? |
| Washback | ? litres | 6 |
| Wash still | 3,000 litres | 1 |
| Spirit Still | 2,000 litres | 1 |
| Expected yearly output in LPA (Litres of pure alcohol) | ? |