Glenachulish Distillery | A New Highland Single Malt, Glencoe

“Every whisky carries the imprint of its makers and the place where its story begins. We want to honour that tradition and ensure it continues.”

The Founders · Glenachulish Distillery

Indicative visualisation of the Glenachulish stillhouse with copper pot stills overlooking Loch Leven

The stillhouse · indicative visualisation

A living local trade

Exceptional Highland Scotch, made here, for here.

Glenachulish Distillery has a simple aim: to craft exceptional Highland single malt, whilst restoring whisky-making as a living, local trade that supports skilled, long-term jobs for people in the communities around it.

Founded by a local group of passionate people, inspired by their own respected whisky bar, the distillery reflects their long-term commitment to the area and its exciting future.

We will offer honest insight to all visitors through each stage of our traditional, small-batch methods: long fermentations, unhurried distillation in copper pot stills, and careful maturation.

Indicative visualisation of the Glenachulish tasting room, looking across Loch Leven to the Pap of Glencoe

The tasting room · indicative visualisation

Rooted in Highland history

The glens’ secret stills.

Long before whisky was regulated, the glens of the western Highlands were home to small, often hidden stills, where local barley, pure mountain water and hard-won knowledge were transformed into spirit shaped by place.

These whiskies were traded quietly, carried by packhorse and boat, and prized for their character and individuality. Glenachulish aims to honour that era, when small stills and shared knowledge made whisky that could not come from anywhere else.

2.7m

distillery visits
in Scotland in 2024

£5.3bn

generated in Scotland
by Scotch whisky each year

Jobs

in distilling, warehousing & visitor experience,
with communities at our heart

Developing skills for generations

Skills developed here should be passed on here.

Ballachulish and Kinlochleven carry a proud industrial heritage, from the slate quarries that roofed Scotland to the aluminium smelter and Blackwater dam that electrified a village. Glenachulish is focused on writing the next chapter: an initial seven jobs in distilling, warehousing and visitor experience, with a strong emphasis on training and long-term careers.

“We want to develop future distillers and leaders from this community. Whisky skills developed here should be passed on again, to the next generation.”

More than whisky

An experience of place.

Through tours, tastings and storytelling, Glenachulish will connect visitors to the rich local history, Highland heritage, craft and community, from mash tun to maturing cask, beneath some of Scotland's most celebrated mountains.

Indicative visualisation of the Glenachulish visitor centre and café, looking towards Glencoe

The visitor centre & café · indicative visualisation

The proposal

Quiet buildings in a powerful landscape.

The Stage 3 planning application was developed from a Stage 2 design by Collective Architecture. The proposed distillery sits low against the wooded hillside: a family of dark-clad agricultural forms with the copper stills visible through the glazing, and the mountains left to do the talking.

Stage 2 concept visual of the proposed Glenachulish Distillery exterior, dark timber buildings against a wooded hillside

Exterior Stage 2 concept visual · Collective Architecture

Get in touch

A new Highland story is being written.

Whether you're a community member with a question, a journalist covering the project, or an investor, we'd love to hear from you.

General enquiries
Press & media
Community
Investment enquiries