North Uist Distillery was started in 2017 by Kate Macdonald and Jonny Ingledew, both North Uist natives, and Downpour gin was its first spirit.1,2,3 It first distilled whisky in 2024 at Nunton Steadings on Benbecula.4,5,6
The pair first thought of setting up a whisky distillery in 2015.7 They began with a tabletop still in a borrowed shed.1,2,3 Downpour gin came out in 2019 from a small set-up on North Uist, and the business went on to make and bottle gin in industrial units at Bayhead.3,8,9
Historic Environment Scotland lists Nunton Steadings at Category B.3,10 These farm buildings stand on the site of a nunnery, where Bonnie Prince Charlie is said to have hidden.3,4
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The spirit is made from locally grown barley, including bere, a grain suited to the Hebridean climate that fell out of favour because of its relatively low yields.12 The distillery fills one cask a day under distillery manager and head distiller Jacob Crisp, formerly of Dornoch Distillery, and plans its own maltings on the island.4,5,6 The distillery set out to use a long fermentation and brewer's yeast.4,5 Its squat stills were built to fit under the building's low ceilings, with downward-facing lyne arms, the pipe from each still's top to its condenser.5,12 The arms are said to capture more complex flavours.5,12 In 2024 it said it would age the spirit in ex-bourbon, new oak and oloroso-seasoned casks (casks that held oloroso sherry), stored on the island.5,6,12