aberfeldy whisky tour

OUR DISTILLERY

WHERE IS ABERFELDY MADE?

Our Distillery is nestled within a lush valley in the foothills of the Centrals Highlands of Scotland, in the village of Aberfeldy and a stone’s throw from the birthplace of our founder, John Dewar.

WATER LACED WITH GOLD

The pool of the water god, The Pitilie Burn is our water source. Our lifeline, pure and fresh, the burn is known to contain deposits of alluvial gold.

Sit down and unwind in Aberfeldy’s sweet honeyed richness. Scottish malted barley and longer fermentation times – which create more flavour-bearing esters – trigger the hallmark honey notes of Aberfeldy Single Malt. We then slowly distil in Alembic copper pot stills and age to perfection in the finest oak casks – a combination of barrels, hogsheads and butts.

Our Distillery

Watch to learn more about our distillery, our hallmark stories, we are the golden dram..

A hallmark of our distillery, our founders built on land famous for deposits of gold.

HONEYED RICHNESS IN EVERY DROP.

Our whisky has a distinct character with rare honeyed notes. Our longer fermentation times and oak casks make our whisky full with honeyed richness.

WATER LACED WITH ALLUVIAL GOLD

Today, we still draw water from the same source as our founders once did. The Pitilie Burn is renowned for its quality and promise of gold.

ONLY THE FINEST OAK TO MATURE OUR WHISKY

Our Scotch lies slumbering in a blanket of oak until it’s deemed ready by our Malt Master, Stephanie Macleod. We use a combination of premium Bourbon barrels and Sherry casks, hogsheads and butts.

OUR PAGODA STANDS AT THE HEART OF OUR DISTILLERY.

Founded in 1898 and designed by Charles Doig, the pagoda rooftop is an iconic symbol of Scotch Whisky and can be seen dotted amongst the rolling hills of Scotland.

TURNING WATER, BARLEY AND YEAST INTO LIQUID GOLD.

Aberfeldy Single Malt is distilled in Alembic Pot Stills, crafted by Forsyths in Scotland. Made of copper, these help us craft a classic fruity whisky with a rich honeyed flavour.

It is with the deepest sorrow that we learned of the death of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II. We have been privileged to have held her royal warrant throughout the entirety of her remarkable 70 year reign. Our thoughts and prayers are with all members of the Royal family.

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Aberfeldy Distillery

© Strachan Tours

Dewars Aberfeldy Distillery

Enjoy a visit to the home of Dewars Whisky. This exceptionally fine distillery is located just 3 miles from the birthplace of founder John Dewar and since 1898 the stills have produced the beautifully balanced single malt at the heart of Dewar’s...

Enjoy a part day tour with a visit to the home of Dewars Whisky.  This exceptionally fine distillery is located just three miles from the birthplace of founder John Dewar and since 1898 the stills have produced the beautifully balanced single malt at the heart of Dewar’s brand name. The distillery is rated as a 5 star visitor attraction and has won numerous awards including the Scottish Thistle Awards Best Visitor Attraction - Central, Fife & Tayside Region 2017/18 and Perth Chamber of Commerce Star Awards Winner - Excellence in Leisure & Tourism 2017/18 etc. Tours of the distillery let you see how they create the distinctive honeyed richness of their spirit. Access the atmospheric warehouse and learn how they double age their whisky for extra smoothness. Explore the interactive exhibition and soak up the atmosphere in a welcoming cafe and Whisky Lounge, and fill your own bottle from hand-selected casks etc.

From £31 per adult

Departure days.

• W Wednesday

January — December

Contact details

• +44 (01382) 553963
• View tour details
• [email protected]

Tour information

• Dundee and Angus
• St Andrews, North Fife & the Howe of Fife

½ Day

• Driver guide
• Small Group (1-16)

Tour prices

From £31 Per Adult

Prices are subject to change depending on season

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Tour gallery

Tour company information

Strachan tours.

Private Tours of Scotland for small groups. We also offer transportation for Golf trips, Airport Transfers, Chauffeur Service and general transportation solutions.

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Opening times

Mon-Sun 9am-6pm

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Find Your Tour

Dewars aberfeldy distillery.

The Aberfeldy Distillery is the “Flagship” visitor centre for the Dewar’s whisky brand. The visitor centre is an award-winning attraction and it features a film show, interactive displays, handheld audio guides and lots of memorabilia charting the development and marketing of the Dewar’s Brand.

The great thing with this distillery is that it aims to entertain all the family and young children are allowed to go on the distillery tour, where as many distilleries have a lower age limit of ~8 years. The distillery tour experience starts with a short film that tells the history of how the Dewar family started the distillery from humble origins and then built it into one of the first truly Global whisky brand names. You can then wander round an exhibition area that has a recreation of a room from the Dewar family's home as well as a mock-up of a blending room. For children (and adults) the exhibition area has some interactive sections where you can test your ability at "nosing" the different aromas in whisky and you can try your hand at making the perfect whisky blend with a computer game that gives you feedback on how good or bad your mix of whiskies would taste.  In addition to the visitor centre, you can also go on a more conventional tour of the Aberfeldy Distillery to see mash tuns, stills and warehouses. The distillery tours are only conducted in English by the well informed tour guides who seem to know everything that you might think to ask. If you do the basic tour package, you will be offered a sample of the Aberfeldy single malt, or one of the Dewar's blends. Don't worry if you are driving, you can take away a free miniature bottle to enjoy later. Unusual features are an old steam train in the grounds that used to transport the whisky to the railway line that runs from Inverness to Perth. Also worth a mention is the very good coffee served in the café at the visitor centre, the well-stocked distillery shop and the beautiful Spirit of Wood furniture shop that is situated near the distillery.  The Aberfeldy Distillery is situated a little to the east of Aberfeldy; you can’t miss it if you are driving from Aberfeldy to Pitlochry on the A827. This is a whisky attraction that is good for families.

It is wise to book in advance by calling +44 (0)1887 822010 or by booking online. www.dewarsaberfeldydistillery.com

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Aberfeldy Distillery

Aberfeldy's pursuit of Scotch whisky perfection began in 1898, when its stills first produced the beautifully balanced single malt whisky at the heart of the Dewar’s blend.

Aberfeldy, Perthshire PH15 2EB

This distillery is included as part of our Perth and Kinross Tour . Read more about the Distillery's history, what flavours the founders wanted to create, and recommendations of four single malts to try in our Aberfeldy Blog piece.

Directions from North or South: Join the A9 to the Ballinluig junction. Follow the A827 to Aberfeldy. Dewar’s Aberfeldy Distillery is on the town outskirts. Turn left in to the distillery and continue up the hill. The main carpark is on the right hand side, disabled parking is on the left.

Opening Times:

• Apr-Oct Mon-Sat 10am-6pm, Sun 12pm-4pm
• Nov-Mar Mon-Sat 10am-4pm, Sun closed

Unfortunately no dogs (except assistance dogs) are permitted within the shop, cafe or distillery.

We interviewed Jonathan Wilson, Visitor Centre Operations Manager at the Dewar’s Aberfeldy Distillery, in our March 2022 podcast.

Jonathan tells us what it’s like being part of the Bacardi family, while living the history of Dewar’s; what their other distilleries of Macduff, Royal Brackla, Craigellachie and Aultmore bring to his work, and his 182-mile charity cycle which took him to each one; the beauty of blends and the process involved in their Double Double 32 year old; and the surprise bit of wildlife that they pulled out of their condenser!

Tour the distillery to see how we create the distinctive honeyed richness of our Aberfeldy spirit. Access our atmospheric warehouse and learn how we double age our whisky for extra smoothness. Explore our interactive exhibition, guided by our bespoke app. Enjoy a tasting of Scotch whisky in our welcoming Whisky Lounge.

Join one of our bar experiences – Last Orders Tasting: Dewar’s DNA and Cask Finishes. These afternoon tastings enable visitors to experience our range in more detail and each tasting flight focuses on different aspects of whisky flavour, both delivered by one of our expert whisky guides to ensure you get the most out of every drop. Find out more .

DEWAR'S ABERFELDY DISTILLERY EXPERIENCE £17.50

Visit the only distillery built by the Dewar family, discover the story of the world’s most awarded blended Scotch whisky, and see how we craft our Aberfeldy Single Malt. Your visit includes 2 x 15ml tastes, hosted by our expert guides to help you appreciate the exciting flavours. If you’re curious to learn more, add a tasting directly from the cask in our warehouse at the checkout (£10)!

CONNOISSEUR EXPERIENCE £37.50

If you really want to understand more about Scotch, this experience begins with the same tour as the Dewar’s Aberfeldy Experience but is followed by an elevated tasting featuring a selection of five older, award winning whiskies – including our most recent innovations. You will also learn about our other exciting malt whisky distilleries. For the full culinary experience, upgrade to a food pairing at the checkout.

BECOME A BLENDER EXPERIENCE £45

Have you ever been curious about what a Master Blender’s job is like? Join us to discover a range of different whisky styles and the artistry that goes into blending, to create complexity and consistency. Then decide what your house style will be, and follow in the footsteps of John Dewar and Stephanie Macleod to create your own 100ml Blended Scotch Whisky to take home.

DRAMS OF YOUR DREAMS EXPERIENCE £120

This is your chance to taste our oldest and rarest expressions. One of our senior guides will talk to you about what whisky you have tried previously, what you like, and what you are curious to discover.. We will then curate a bespoke tasting of five rare whiskies that show how the Dewar’s style has evolved and what is special about our Single Malt distilleries.

This will usually include a taste of our Dewar’s Double Double 32 year old, voted best whisky in the world, and Aberfeldy 40, our oldest ever expression. However, the final selection will be personal to you, and make the drams of your of dreams become a reality!

Accessibility

We make every effort to ensure that Dewar’s Aberfeldy Distillery is an accessible whisky distillery, welcoming to all. Being a working production facility that was built in the 19th century presents some challenges to accessibility that we work to overcome, aiming to ensure a safe, enjoyable and educational experience for all our visitors. The appreciation of Scotch whisky is a wonderful multi-sensory experience which can be enjoyed by most, regardless of impairment. Some brief information on our various accessibility features is given on this page. For a copy of our full Access Statement, please email [email protected].

Wheelchair users of those with impaired mobility

Accessed via a gentle slope from the disabled parking bays and over a bridge to our main entrance, our reception, shop, cafe, Whisky Lounge, and heritage exhibition are all on one level. This area features drop counters at our Whisky Bar and Reception/Shop area. Disabled toilet facilities are accessed via a lift down one floor.

The first four rooms of our production tour are unfortunately not wheelchair accessible, but wheelchair users can re-join the tour to view our iconic Still House. Our atmospheric warehouse experience is also on ground floor level and totally wheelchair accessible.

Visitors with visual impairment

Visually impaired visitors will find ample reward in an experience involving the sounds and aromas of whisky production, not to mention the taste of the final product! We are happy to allocate a personal whisky guide who will be on-hand to assist you during your tour, explaining any visual aspects. Please book your tour in advance to ensure we have staff available to provide this service. Official guide dogs are welcome at the distillery, and we can provide a bowl of water upon request.

Visitors with impaired hearing

There is a great deal to see at Dewar’s Aberfeldy Distillery. Written information explaining the whisky making process accompanies the production tour, and is given in 10 languages, including English. Our fascinating heritage museum is accompanied by a tablet-based bespoke app giving in-depth information in 10 languages, including English. Written tasting notes are available for all of our whiskies.

Your carer will enjoy a complimentary Aberfeldy tour when accompanying you. As part of this tour, should they be driving, they will be given our ‘drivers pack’ with a mini bottle of whisky to enjoy when driving duties are over.

Dewar’s Aberfeldy Distillery is open for pre-booked experiences. Our Gift Shop and Café is open. Book your experience now SEE ALL EXPERIENCES

• Connoisseur Experience
• Dewar’s Aberfeldy Experience
• Become A Blender
• Drams Of Your Dreams
• The Hills Of Aberfeldy Experience
• Aberfeldy 40 Highland Experience
• WHISKY TASTING EVENTS
• Virtual Experiences
• Explore events
• Event Rooms
• Our Distillery
• Heritage museum
• Whisky Lounge/cafe
• Whisky Bar & Cocktails
• Distillery Shop
• Plan your visit
• Accessibility
• #HomeofDewars
• Mailing list sign up
• Manage My Booking

Our Whisky Distillery

Discover our pursuit of whisky perfection.

First planned in 1896 by the sons of John Dewar, Dewar’s Aberfeldy Distillery is the only Scotch whisky distillery  built by the Dewar family. Dewar’s was already a highly successful brand of blended whisky, renowned for its quality, and the company needed more single malt whisky to use in its blend.

The perfect location for a whisky distillery

There were a number of reasons behind the decision of Tommy and John Alexander Dewar to build their whisky distillery in the heart of Highland Perthshire, on the outskirts of the village of Aberfeldy. The presence of a superb natural water source in The Pitilie Burn (or small river) which runs past the distillery into The River Tay, was undoubtedly a big factor in the decision. The gold-rich waters of the Burn are used to make Aberfeldy whisky to this day.

There were also excellent transport links by train to nearby Perth, bringing fuel and barley to the distillery, and returning the finished product to be blended and bottled. This made the process of bringing the whisky to market very efficient. The line is no longer open, but a steam engine with carriage bearing whisky barrels remains on the site.

The final reason may have been a sentimental one. The humble croft where our founder, John Dewar, was born, is just three miles from Aberfeldy in the small hamlet of Dull, so the building of Aberfeldy by his sons was a homecoming of sorts.

The building of Aberfeldy Distillery

The architect behind Dewar’s Aberfeldy Distillery was the foremost distillery architect of the period, Charles Doig, whose signature pagoda roof still dominates the distillery’s skyline. The foundation stone was laid in 1896, with production beginning in 1898.

Aberfeldy is an excellent example of logical design, with the various processes of whisky making laid out in a linear fashion.

Whisky production today

The Dewar family’s pursuit of whisky perfection continues to this day, and we still produce whisky in a way that they would recognise instantly. In common with most Scotch whisky distilleries, malted Scottish barley to make the whisky is brought to site, with the old Malting House now home to our beautiful Whisky Lounge and Cafe. Due to vastly increased demand, we now mature our spirit elsewhere in Scotland, meaning our former filling station and warehouse have escaped modernisation and serve as a highly atmospheric tour area and home to our  Cask Tasting .

This is the ideal backdrop to explain how Dewar’s premium blends are ‘double-aged’, with a secondary resting in oak barrels once the blend is created. The costly process gives an extra smoothness to the final whisky.

The creation of the distinctive Aberfeldy spirit all takes place onsite, with our extra long fermentation in larch washbacks, and distillation in our tall pot stills overlooking the rolling Perthshire hills. These processes create the honeyed-richness for which Aberfeldy whisky is renowned. Now popular in its own right as a single malt, Aberfeldy still makes up the heart of the Dewar’s blend, contributing its heather honey flavour to America’s best selling Scotch whisky.

Reserve your experience now .