Tucked into the Southern Uplands on the edge of the spa town of Moffat, Moffat Distillery is one of the newest and smallest producers in the Lowland region, and it does something no other working Scotch distillery does: it fires its stills with wood.
The distillery grew out of Dark Sky Spirits, an independent bottling business started in 2017 by married couple Nick and Erin Bullard after they moved to Moffat in 2015. Having built a following blending and bottling sourced whisky, the pair decided in 2019 to distil their own spirit. Planning permission followed in January 2020, partly funded by a £320,000 award from the Scottish Government via the South of Scotland Enterprise Partnership, and the couple broke ground on their “Hearthlands” site in 2021.
The building, designed to echo the surrounding farm steadings, opened its doors to visitors in July 2023, and the first cask of new-make spirit was filled in March 2024 (only 40 casks were filled in that first year), meaning Moffat’s own single malt is still resting in wood and has not yet been released.
What sets Moffat apart is the direct-fired, wood-heated wash and spirit stills, a method that hasn’t been used at a licensed Scotch distillery in over two centuries. Traditional wooden washbacks and worm tub condensers back this up, giving the whole set-up a distinctly old-fashioned feel despite the site being brand new. There’s no operating floor in the conventional sense either; the washbacks and stills are reached via a gantry rather than a walkway.
While the single malt matures, the distillery has kept itself busy with gin, moonshine, and blended malt bottlings, alongside tours, a cafe, and occasional live music and charity releases in partnership with local causes such as Moffat Mountain Rescue Team and the Moffat Golden Eagle Festival.
Moffat Whiskies
Moffat’s own single malt is not yet on the market (first cask filled March 2024, so earliest release would be 2027 at the minimum three-year age). In the meantime, the core range sold under the Moffat name is blended from sourced whisky by Dark Sky Spirits rather than distilled on site:
- The Moffat Blended Malt Scotch Whisky – 40% ABV, no age statement
- Moffat Moonshine – the distillery’s own new-make spirit, briefly cask-rested; bottled at 48.5% and at cask strength (61.25%)
- Original Moffat Wood-Fired Gin – made on a separate 60-litre wood-fired still; ABV unconfirmed
- Moffat Liqueurs – Brammle, Goosegog, and Siven
Limited-edition charity bottlings (e.g. the Moffat Eagle Festival blend) also appear periodically but aren’t part of the core range.
Distillery info:
Detail |
Information |
|---|---|
| Name | Moffat Distillery |
| Region | Lowland |
| Logo |  |
| Status | active |
| Founded | 2017 |
| Water source | ? |
| Owned by | Dark Sky Spirits Ltd |
| Address |
Hearthlands, +44 7873 400 622 |
| Visitor centre | Yes |
| Website | https://www.moffatdistillery.com |
| N/A | |
| https://www.facebook.com/MoffatDistillery/ | |
| Community | N/A |
| Map |
Distillery Setup:
Component |
Capacity |
Quantity |
|---|---|---|
| Mash tun | ? | ? |
| Washback | ? litres | Wood |
| Wash still | 350 litres | 1 (wood-fired, direct-fired copper pot still) |
| Spirit Still | 200 litres | 1 (wood-fired, direct-fired copper pot still) |
| Expected yearly output in LPA (Litres of pure alcohol) | 12,000 |