Isle of Harris Distillery
From, with and from the Isle of Harris
The Isle of Harris Distillery began with a simple idea. Over the decades, our island has suffered from a long-term decline in population, our community's numbers having halved over the last fifty years. As young people leave our shores to seek their fortune, few are able to return to find work, set down roots and build a life in the place they called home. We believe that a distillery, built for not just years but for generations, can be a way to help stem this tide.
In 2015, the distillery started life with just 10 people and an ambition to double in number over the next five years. Today, we're proud to say we employ over 50 permanent staff, a highly significant number in an island of fewer than 2000 inhabitants.
As a catalyst for positive change within our community, we continue to work with purpose, bringing new life to our island and supporting its aspirations to survive and thrive as we move forward together.
Outer Hebridean Spirits that speak of the place
At Isle of Harris Distillery, we create two spirits: the Hearach, a single malt whisky, and Isle of Harris Gin. The Hearach is the first, historic single malt whisky from the Isle of Harris, as we revive the distilling traditions lost during the Pabbay clearances of the 1840s. Our dram is the result of a considered conversation between people and place, coming together to create an elegant spirit of complexity and character. The work of our island's men and women intertwines with the natural world to weave together an Outer Hebridean whisky of distinction.
Every drop of this new dram is being distilled by local people to produce a special spirit which has been matured, married, and bottled here in this elemental place, and nowhere else
Our local distillers create this first gin offering from our island distillery in a small copper gin still ("The Dotach") which sits alongside her larger whisky-making sisters in the distillery's bright Spirit Hall.
Our key local ingredient is Sugar Kelp seaweed, gathered sustainably by hand from local sea-lochs, as our key botanical to express our island's unique maritime nature. Sugar Kelp works in harmony with seven other careful chosen botanicals: Juniper, coriander seeds, cubebs, cassia bark, angelica root, bitter orange peel, and liquorice root. Every bottle Isle of Harris Gin bears a paper seal with our distillery's geographical coordinates to show where it is made, your guarantee of a truly Outer Hebridean gin, distilled in the Isle of Harris and nowhere else.
Spend time with us in Tarbert
Our distillery can be found in the heart of the Isle of Harris, a small Outer Hebridean island off the far north-west of Scotland. In a harbour village, just yards from the waters of East Loch Tarbert, a white and copper-clad building holds a family of local men and women dedicated to making beautiful island spirits with pride and provenance. Inside, a burning peat fire is lit daily to welcome visitors and symbolise a deep sense of warmth and hospitality in the tradition of the generations which have gone before us.
Our doors are open to all, six days a week, with a true island welcome awaiting those who take the long road to see us. Come behind the scenes to witness the heart of our whisky and gin distilling operation at our working distillery here in the Isle of Harris.
Our knowledgeable local tour hosts are looking forward to sharing a dram and a story or two with you. Discover the stories surrounding The Hearach single malt whisky, sample our award-winning whisky and gin, and even enjoy a jellybean or three! A warm Harris welcome awaits...'thig a chèilidh oirnn'.
Address: Tarbert, Isle of Harris HS3 3DJ
Link: Isle of Harris Distillery
For more details on Harris visit our destination page.