Tomintoul Distillery: “The Gentle Dram” of the Cairngorms

Overview

Tomintoul, in the high Glenlivet uplands near the Cairngorms, markets itself as “the gentle dram” — a soft, light, honeyed Speyside style — though it also makes a peated whisky, Old Ballantruan. It sits in some of the highest, wildest whisky country in Scotland.

The history

Tomintoul was founded in 1964 by a pair of Glasgow whisky brokers, a rare mid-century new-build, and has been owned since 2000 by the independent blender Angus Dundee Distillers.

The water & the land

Tomintoul is made with water from the Ballantruan Spring in the surrounding hills.

Tomintoul had no founding clan — it was a 1960s commercial venture in the Glenlivet uplands, historic Gordon (Dukes of Gordon) and Grant country.

How it’s made

Tomintoul runs two wash stills and two spirit stills, all steam-heated, with six stainless-steel washbacks and a combined capacity of around 3.3 million litres of pure alcohol a year, using soft water from the Ballantruan spring. It was established in 1965 and master distiller Robert Fleming, a fourth-generation Speyside distiller, has looked after it for more than 30 years. Much of the spirit goes into blends, but the distillery also bottles an unusually wide single-malt range — from the 10-year-old to a 50-year-old and a long run of cask finishes (port, Madeira, cognac, Pedro Ximénez), plus peated and part-peated “Peaty Tang” expressions. It is owned by Angus Dundee Distillers, who also own Glencadam.

Visiting

Tomintoul offers a behind-the-scenes guided tour rather than a walk-in visitor centre — currently running on Mondays, Tuesdays, Thursdays and Fridays and booked online through its own tours website (check there for current prices); check the website. The village of Tomintoul, one of the highest in the Highlands, is worth the drive in itself.

Nearby & more whisky

• Its famous glen neighbour, about ten miles away: The Glenlivet — the biggest name here, with a refurbished visitor centre.
• Also in Glen Livet: Tamnavulin — production only.
• High on the same uplands: Braeval, one of Scotland’s highest and most remote distilleries.
• Down into the Spey valley: Balmenach at Cromdale — open to visitors, and a genuine Clan Gregor site.
• Planning a day of it? Our Speyside Whisky Trail covers this as one of its spurs — the high glens, the smuggling country and the Moray coast.
• The whole picture: Scotch whisky — regions, distilleries & the oldest of all
• Over the Lecht to Royal Deeside: Royal Lochnagar, the distillery by Balmoral

Sources

• Tomintoul distillery — Wikipedia.
• Tomintoul / Angus Dundee.