Tomatin distillery was built at Tomatin in 1897.1,2,3 By 1974 it had 23 stills, and Tomatin calls it the largest malt distillery in the world at that time.1,4,5 In 1986 it became the first Scottish distillery wholly owned by Japanese interests, and Takara Shuzo remains its majority shareholder.1,4,6
This reminded me a lot of a desert wine. Very fruity, sweet, soft. Was really good when paired with the Minger (cheese) we had. Great dram to convince someone…
A well-composed whisky with toasted hazelnuts, praline, apricot and mirabelle jams, followed by a pleasant walnut, orange-cookie and peppery coffee finish.
Very good review score, 85 out of 100Very good85/100
A challenging but rewarding whisky that improves with water, revealing cherry, blackcurrant, praline and a more balanced, coherent finish.
bitter
black pepper
blackcurrant
cabernet
+8 more
By Serge Valentin
Producing, 1909–1984
Silent, 1984–today
189719502000Today
Built for the railway
In 1892 the Highland Railway's route was set to pass through Tomatin, and local man John MacDougall began planning a distillery.1 The Tomatin Spey District Distillery was registered on 8 June 1897; sources place the distillery in the village or a mile northwest of it.1,2,3 The company went bankrupt, and the distillery closed in 1906.1,3,4 In 1909 wine and spirits merchants reopened it as the New Tomatin Distillers Company Ltd.1,3,4 It ran 2 stills that could make 225,000 litres of alcohol a year.1,3,4
Growing to 23 stills
A second pair of stills arrived in 1956, and 2 more in 1958 made 6.3,4,5 Also in 1956 it closed its own floor maltings and switched from peated malt to unpeated barley.7,8 4 more stills in 1961 made 10, and a solitary still added in 1964 made 11.4,5 In 1974, 12 new stills brought the total to 23, and sources put its capacity at 10 million to 12.5 million litres a year.1,4,5
Its owner, Tomatin Distillers, closed one side of the still house, the 'number two side', then went into liquidation in 1984.1,2,5 In February 1986 Takara Shuzo and Okura & Co., Japanese firms that had bought its whisky in bulk, formed the Tomatin Distillery Co. Ltd. to buy it.1,4,6 In 1998 Okura & Co. went bankrupt and sold its stake; Whiskypedia says Marubeni took it, or part went to Takara Shuzo and the rest to Marubeni.4,6
Sources disagree: when it closed. This page uses 1984.
In 2002 it removed unused stills, cutting from 23 to 12, marking a shift from mass production for blends to growing its single malts.1,4,5 In late 2005 it began making its own lightly peated spirit for one week each winter, instead of buying it from other distilleries.1,5,8 Graham Eunson became distillery general manager in August 2011.9,10,11 He stopped refilling stills as soon as they emptied, giving spirit still runs of 12 to 13 hours.9,10,11
Sources disagree: the date. This page uses 2002.
Next: From blending spirit to single malt, Recent years, How it makes its spirit
In 2013 it became the first distillery in Scotland to install a wood pellet steam boiler, replacing an oil-fired boiler.12,13,14 In 2021 new control valves on its cooling system cut its water use by more than half.12 Graham Eunson retired in May 2025, and his duties were shared among a team including distillery manager Jamie Muir.10,15
Its water comes from the Alt-na-Frith burn, and its malt comes from the malt suppliers Simpsons, Boortmalt and Bairds.3,4,16 Tomatin describes its single malt house style as unpeated and fruity.1,5,16 It has 12 stainless steel washbacks, the vessels where fermentation happens.4 Its blender said in 2025 that fermentation runs over 160 hours, though an older fact box gives 55 to 112 hours.4,17 It has 6 wash stills for the first distillation, and sources give 6 or 4 spirit stills for the second.3,4 Steam heats the stills, and shell and tube condensers cool their vapour.4,12 The stills are tall and slim, and Tomatin says its large copper pot stills are designed to make a lighter, fruitier spirit.4,8,16 It can make 4.2 million litres of alcohol a year.4
