Fettercairn Distillery: The Ramsay Estate Malt of the Mearns

Fettercairn Distillery: The Ramsay Estate Malt of the Mearns

✅Open to visitors — this distillery has a visitor centre and/or tours (some by appointment; book ahead — see the box below).

Fettercairn at a glance

RegionHighland (Fettercairn, Aberdeenshire)
Founded1824
OwnerWhyte & Mackay
Visitor centreYes
ToursGuided tours — book
OpeningSeasonal — check the website
Websitefettercairnwhisky.com
CLANRAMSAY“Ora et Labora”

Overview

Fettercairn, at the foot of the Cairn o’ Mount pass in the Mearns, is one of the oldest distilleries in Scotland and has a unique quirk: it trickles cooling water down the outside of its stills, a “cooling ring” found nowhere else, to make a soft, tropical-fruity spirit.

The history

Fettercairn was founded in 1824 by Sir Alexander Ramsay of Fasque, the local laird, on his estate in the fertile Mearns of Aberdeenshire — the country of Lewis Grassic Gibbon’s Sunset Song. It is now owned by Whyte & Mackay.

The water & the land

Fettercairn draws on spring water from the Grampian foothills below Cairn o’ Mount.

Fettercairn has a genuine landed origin: it was founded by Sir Alexander Ramsay of Fasque — the Ramsay family of the Fasque estate — whose land it stood on in the Howe of the Mearns.

Visiting

Fettercairn has a visitor centre and runs guided tours — book ahead, hours seasonal; check the website. The pretty village, with its arched Royal gateway, is worth a wander.

Nearby & more whisky

Sources