Annandale Distillery in south-western Scotland used to make whiskey for years until they closed in 1918. Closed for 90 years, the distillery reopened in 2007 making single malt Scotch whisky of the peated and non-peated varieties. Peated malt is the traditional style of whisky produced at the distillery with the malt cooked with peat (a type of soil found in marshy areas). The distillery produce two brands of whisky. Man O' Sword (un-peated) and Man O' Words (peated).
Annandale Distillery was owned by the Johnnie Walker company until they shut their doors in 1918. In 2007, the distillery was purchased by David Thomson and Teresa Church, and the whisky began production in 2014. Outside the visitor centre are the remains of the old distillery.
I went on the classic tour of the distillery to discover the history of the distillery and to see where and how it is produced. My visit was during the "silent" period when the distilleries shut temporarily, so I did not get to see anything being produced, but some was brewing in the huge copper vats. Tastings come as part of the tour with the award-winning 2015 Man O' Words and the Man O' Sword.
The distillery itself is photogenic with the stack, barrels, and brick buildings. In keeping with the local area in Galloway, Scotland, a Belted Galloway cow and calf sculpture encourages photographs.
Outside the visitor centre is a wagon of grain used in the distilling process. The spent grain is sent to local farms as animal feed. There is a cafe here too and plenty of benches to sit on outside.
We were shown where the grain comes in and then a room filled with wooden barrels with the grain brewing inside.
Another room contained the copper stills to purify the alcohol.
At the end, we went into the warehouse for the tasting. Hundreds of wooden barrels were stacked up in the warehouse and directly outside.
The tasting bottles are pictured below. I am not a whisky drinker, but I surprised myself because I preferred the peated (Man O' Words) this time, and I normally really dislike the peated variety. I had to water it down, though, to take the edge off it.
At the end of the tour, I had a hot chocolate in the cafe. I had just eaten a large breakfast, so I was not too hungry.
Overall, this was a great tour with knowledgeable guides.
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