Aberargie Distillery sits on a 300-acre working farm in Perthshire, just south of Perth and close to the line where the Highlands give way to the Lowlands. Most trade sources, and this site, place it within Lowland whisky territory, though the distillery’s own materials describe itself as sitting right on the boundary and “unlike either” region in style, a nuance worth keeping in mind even as the page files it under Lowland alongside neighbours like Auchentoshan and Glasgow Distillery.
It’s owned by the Morrison family, whose connection to Scotch whisky goes back to 1951, when Stanley P. Morrison started a whisky broking business in Glasgow. Under his sons, the company grew into Morrison Bowmore Distillers, at various points owning Bowmore, Glen Garioch, and Auchentoshan, before it was sold to Suntory in 1994.
The family’s return to distilling took shape gradually. In 2005, Brian and Jamie Morrison partnered with the Mackay family to buy the Scottish Liqueur Centre, renamed Morrison & Mackay in 2014, and used it to launch the Carn Mor range and revive the Old Perth blended brand. As that business outgrew its space, the Morrisons turned to the 300-acre farm they already owned in the village of Aberargie, where they had long grown barley for maltsters. In 2014, plans went in for a new Morrison & Mackay blending and bottling hall on the farm, alongside a separate, family-owned distillery to be built and run under a new entity, The Perth Distilling Company. Ground broke in June 2016, and the first cask of Aberargie single malt was filled on 1 November 2017, marking the family’s return to owning and operating a distillery after 23 years away from it, and adding a new name to the roster of Lowland whisky producers.
Aberargie is built as a “barley to bottle” operation. All of the barley used in production, including Golden Promise and Laureate varieties, is grown on the farm itself, and every stage of the process besides malting happens on-site, from mashing and fermentation through distillation, maturation, and bottling. The distillery runs a single pair of copper pot stills, a 15,000 litre wash still and a 10,000 litre spirit still, giving it an annual production capacity of around 750,000 litres of pure alcohol. Water comes from a spring drilled specifically for the distillery.
The whisky itself has been a long time coming. After the first cask was filled in 2017, the Morrisons held back for years, maturing stock in a mix of first-fill ex-bourbon and ex-sherry casks, before releasing Aberargie’s inaugural single malt. The house style is described as rich, fruity, and waxy, a distinctive addition to the wider spread of styles found across Lowland whisky.
Aberargie Whiskies
- Aberargie Inaugural Release — the distillery’s first single malt, bottled at 48.2% ABV, matured in a mix of bourbon and sherry casks, made from farm-grown Golden Promise and Laureate barley. Natural colour, non-chill-filtered. (Currently the only release listed on the distillery’s own shop; worth reconfirming closer to publication in case a second expression appears.)
Distillery info:
Detail |
Information |
|---|---|
| Name | Aberargie |
| Region | Lowland |
| Logo |  |
| Status | active |
| Founded | 2017 |
| Water source | private borehole spring |
| Owned by | Morrison Scotch Whisky Distillers |
| Address |
Kincardine House, |
| Visitor centre | No public tours |
| Website | https://www.aberargie.com |
| N/A | |
| https://www.facebook.com/aberargie.distillery | |
| Community | N/A |
| Map |
Distillery Setup:
Component |
Capacity |
Quantity |
|---|---|---|
| Mash tun | 2.7 tonnes | 1 (semi-lauter) |
| Washback | ? litres | ? |
| Wash still | 15,000 litres | 1 |
| Spirit Still | 10,000 litres | 1 |
| Expected yearly output in LPA (Litres of pure alcohol) | 750,000 |