Our Story

A past as colourful as the town’s seafront...

The 1790s

In 1797 John Sinclair, a local kelp merchant, applied for a lease of 57 acres of land on the area known as Ledaig with the plan to build housing and a distillery. However, the application was rejected, and he was only granted permission to build a brewery. Not one to give up easily, he remained true to his original plan and a year later, Ledaig Distillery was established.

The 1930s

After making its mark on the island for over a hundred years, the Great Depression, and a decade of prohibition in the USA, saw demand for whisky plummet, causing the distillery to stop operating for 41 long years.

The 1990s

Despite the long closure, it seemed the tenacity of its original founder was in the very foundations of the distillery and it took on a new life in 1993 when it was purchased by Burn Stewart Distillers.

The 2000s

The distillery was purchased by Distell in 2013, and after its most recent hiatus in production for much needed maintenance and renovation, we are proud to say Tobermory Distillery reopened its doors and fired up the stills once more in 2019. Under the Tobermory Distillery name, we now produce Tobermory and Ledaig Single Malts and Tobermory Gin.

The 1790s

In 1797 John Sinclair, a local kelp merchant, applied for a lease of 57 acres of land on the area known as Ledaig with the plan to build housing and a distillery. However, the application was rejected, and he was only granted permission to build a brewery. Not one to give up easily, he remained true to his original plan and a year later, Ledaig Distillery was established.

The 1930s

After making its mark on the island for over a hundred years, the Great Depression, and a decade of prohibition in the USA, saw demand for whisky plummet, causing the distillery to stop operating for 41 long years.

The 1990s

Despite the long closure, it seemed the tenacity of its original founder was in the very foundations of the distillery and it took on a new life in 1993 when it was purchased by Burn Stewart Distillers.

The 2000s

The distillery was purchased by Distell in 2013, and after its most recent hiatus in production for much needed maintenance and renovation, we are proud to say Tobermory Distillery reopened its doors and fired up the stills once more in 2019. Under the Tobermory Distillery name, we now produce Tobermory and Ledaig Single Malts and Tobermory Gin.

Our People

Meet The Team

As one of the youngest Distillery Manager's in the world, we are delighted to have Cara in the team. Cara looks after day to day production at the distillery, including our peated Ledaig, unpeated Tobermory and gins. With bags of ambition and enthusiasm, we can't wait to see what she and the team bring us next!

Cara Gilbert

Distillery Manager

Always with a big smile on his face, Olivier looks after the Visitor Centre team in Tobermory. When he's not chatting to visitors about our delicious spirits, he's dreaming up new experiences for you to enjoy.

Olivier MacLean

Visitor Centre Manager

Heading up the blending team, Julieann is responsible for creating our delicious whiskies and gins, from core range to special limited editions. Always on the lookout for new and interesting casks and botanicals, we can't wait to see (and taste!) what's next.

Julieann Fernandez

Master Blender

Our Location

Visit Us

Our Address

Tobermory Distillery 

Ledaig 

Tobermory

Isle of Mull 

PA75 6NR

Opening Times
  • Monday
  • Tuesday
  • Wednesday
  • Thursday
  • Friday
  • Saturday
  • Sunday
  • 10:00 - 17:00
  • 10:00 - 17:00
  • 10:00 - 17:00
  • 10:00 - 17:00
  • 10:00 - 17:00
  • 10:00 - 17:00
  • 10:00 - 17:00

Frequently asked questions

What spirits do you produce at Tobermory Distillery?

We produce two single malt whiskies and a Hebridean gin. We make unpeated Tobermory whisky for 6 months of the year and peated Ledaig whisky for the other 6 months, with our gin being produced throughout.

How do you pronounce Ledaig?

Pronounced 'Letch-ick' - this is our heavily peated single malt whisky.

I'd love to visit the distillery, do I need to book?

If you'd just like to visit our Visitor Centre on your visit to Tobermory, you don't need to book, however, if you'd like to attend one of our distillery experiences, we ask you to book in advance. You can do this online by going to: https://tobermorydistillery.digitickets.co.uk/tickets

What tours and tastings are available at Tobermory Distillery?

We are currently running our warehouse 1 experience, whisky tastings and gin tasting experiences. Due to silent season where we undergo essential maintenance work in the distillery, we are not currently running production tours. For more information, visit our Distillery Experiences page.

I have a question about my online order, who do I contact?

For all online order enquiries, including shipping queries, tax information and requests to amend or cancel an order, please contact our fulfilment partners on distell@mailmarkuk.com

Can I book a private tasting experience?

We will try our best to accommodate this, however, cannot guarantee it is always possible as it depends on what bookings we have already committed to. Give us a call on +44 (0)168 830 2647 to chat.

Have a question?

Drop us a message or call our team
+44 (0)168 830 2647
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