Annandale distillery information
Annandale is a single cask, single malt Scotch whisky distillery on the border between England and Scotland, close to the market town of Annan in Dumfriesshire, in the Lowlands. It was founded in 1830 by George Donald, and later passed through several owners, including a spell under the Johnnie Walker company, before falling silent in 1921. The site spent the next 90 years as farmland.
In 2007, Professor David Thomson and his wife Teresa Church bought the derelict distillery and began a painstaking restoration, working with archaeologists to keep the rebuild as faithful as possible to the original 1830s design, including its historic pagoda roof, one of only five original Charles Doig pagoda roofs still standing in Scotland. The distillery produced its first new spirit in November 2014, and its rebuilt visitor centre was formally reopened by the Princess Royal in September 2015. It now welcomes over 50,000 visitors a year, alongside a coffee shop and several tour options.
Annandale whiskies
From the start, Annandale set out to produce two parallel single malt styles rather than one signature dram: an unpeated whisky called Man O’Words, named after Robert Burns, and a peated whisky called Man O’Sword, named after Robert the Bruce, the seventh Lord of Annandale. Both styles draw on the distillery’s pagoda kiln and its peat-smoking heritage, a nod to a smoky Lowland tradition that’s rare today outside distilleries like Ailsa Bay.
True to the “single cask” name, every bottling comes from one cask at a time rather than a blended batch, bottled at cask strength without chill filtration or added colouring. Annandale released its first commercial bottling in June 2018, drawn from twenty of its original 2014-production casks, and has continued releasing individual casks across a wide range of cask types ever since. A Single Cask Society membership gives early access to new releases and members-only tastings.
Core expressions:
- Man O’Words (unpeated), named for Robert Burns. Released as individual single casks across cask types including fresh ex-bourbon, refill ex-bourbon, STR (shaved, toasted, recharred), and sherry butts and hogsheads. A 10 Year Old fresh ex-bourbon expression now anchors the range as a standing release.
- Man O’Sword (peated), named for Robert the Bruce. Same single-cask, multi-cask-type approach as Man O’Words, also anchored by a 10 Year Old expression.
Distillery info:
Detail |
Information |
|---|---|
| Name | Annandale |
| Region | Lowland |
| Country | Scotland |
| Logo |  |
| Status | Active |
| Founded | 1830 / 2007 (restarted) |
| Water source | Bore hole on site |
| Malting floor | No |
| Owned by | Annandale Distillery Company Limited |
| Address |
Annandale Distillery |
| Visitor centre | Yes |
| Website | https://www.annandaledistillery.com |
| https://www.twitter.com/annandaledstlry | |
| https://www.facebook.com/annandaledistillery | |
| Community | The Single Cask Society |
| Map |
Distillery Setup:
Component |
Capacity |
Quantity |
|---|---|---|
| Mash tun | 2.5 tonnes | 1 |
| Washback | 12,000 litres | 4 (Douglas fir, Browns of Dufftown) |
| Wash still | 12,000 litres | 1 (Copper, Forsyths of Rothes) |
| Spirit Still | 4,000 litres | 2 (Copper, Forsyths of Rothes) |
| Expected yearly output in LPA (Litres of pure alcohol) | 250,000 |
Images: © Annandale Distillery 2014 – all rights reserved.
Frequently Asked Questions
Annandale sits on the border between England and Scotland, close to the market town of Annan in Dumfriesshire, in the Lowlands.
Annandale was founded in 1830 by George Donald. It passed through several owners, including a spell under the Johnnie Walker company, before falling silent in 1921 and spending the next 90 years as farmland.
Professor David Thomson and his wife Teresa Church bought the derelict distillery in 2007 and began a painstaking restoration, working with archaeologists to keep the rebuild as faithful as possible to the original 1830s design. The distillery produced its first new spirit in November 2014, and its rebuilt visitor centre was formally reopened by the Princess Royal in September 2015.
Annandale’s pagoda roof is one of only five original Charles Doig pagoda roofs still standing in Scotland. The other four survive at Knockando, Cardhu, Laphroaig, and Lagavulin.
They’re Annandale’s two parallel single malt styles: Man O’Words, an unpeated whisky named after Robert Burns, and Man O’Sword, a peated whisky named after Robert the Bruce, the seventh Lord of Annandale. Both draw on the distillery’s pagoda kiln and peat-smoking heritage, a nod to a smoky Lowland tradition that’s rare today outside distilleries like Ailsa Bay.
True to its “single cask” name, every Annandale bottling comes from one cask at a time rather than a blended batch, bottled at cask strength without chill filtration or added colouring. The first commercial bottling was released in June 2018, drawn from twenty of its original 2014-production casks.
Yes. Annandale’s visitor centre welcomes over 50,000 visitors a year, alongside a coffee shop and several tour options.