Top Things to do in The Hebrides
Countries
What to do and see in The Hebrides, Scotland: The Best Distilleries
This beautiful archipelago, where Scottish Gaelic is still spoken, is divided into the Inner and Outer Hebrides and stretches the length of Scotland's west coast. The most visited and largest of the Western Isles is the brooding Isle of Skye, a short ferry ride or bridge away from the mainland. Islay, home to prolific whisky production, is another gem. Highlights of the less visited Outer Isles include stark Lewis and the town of Stornoway, rugged Harris, with sandy beaches and tranquil Barra.
Restaurants in The Hebrides
1. Laphroaig Distillery
Overall Ratings
5.0 based on 1,093 reviews
For nearly 200 years a small team of dedicated islanders have worked here to create what is considered to be the most distinctive single malt in the world. Of course over time the people change, but our traditional methods, the ancient skills and absolute dedication to quality always remains. We would be proud if you make the journey to visit our home and you will be assured of the warmest of welcomes when you do.
Reviewed By nature-travel-12 - Leeds, United Kingdom
We had a great distillery tour! Very interesting. Lovely friendly and welcoming staff. A great range of choices in the gift shop! Extensive museum. Cosy ‘cafe’ area! A free small bottle for us as we arrived as ‘friends of laphroig’, another free ‘welcome whisky’ in the cafe before the tour, and 3 tasters after, all for the total price of £10! Amazing. We also enjoyed heading out to the field to place our ‘plot’ flag. All in all a great experience and we’d really recommend it!
2. Bruichladdich Distillery
Overall Ratings
5.0 based on 991 reviews
We are an innovative Islay distillery producing unpeated Bruichladdich, heavily peated Port Charlotte and super-heavily peated Octomore single malt whiskies. We use a wide range of barley types, including organic and bere, grown on a variety of terroirs including Islay. We also distill The Botanist gin. Mary at the Laddieshop will be glad to organise a tour of our distillery for you and the distilling team will happily answer any questions you may have.
Reviewed By frankt918 - Elmshorn, Germany
Our fourth visit to Bruichladdich confirmed our opinion that this is the best whisky experience on Islay. The friendly, knowledgeable, and (above all) personally engaged Bruichladdich people made our warehouse tour a warming, worthwhile highlight of this year’s Islay vacation. It’s fascinating to see and hear how this distillery has progressed and developed over the years, without losing the ‘family flavor ‘ that makes the visit so much more meaningful. Most of the expressions for sale in the shop are available for tasting, which makes it a bit easier to decide which of the fascinating bottles to purchase (not always an easy decision). We were so pleased with the Valinch 47 that we returned the next day and bought some more bottles! We’ve visited all of the Islay distilleries in the past few years, and we think that Bruichladdich is still the most enjoyable (mainly because of the personal engagement of the good people who work there)!
3. Isle of Raasay Distillery
Overall Ratings
5.0 based on 113 reviews
Enjoy a guided whisky tasting tour through Isle of Raasay Distillery and into our tasting room where you’ll be offered a complementary dram of Raasay While We Wait single malt; representative of what’s to come from our casks in the future, as well as another 2 whiskies from R&B Distillers. The Isle of Raasay Distillery welcomes visitors from around the globe with any level of whisky knowledge, from the curious to the connoisseur. As you pass the all-important copper pot stills, you will catch sight of the incredible view across to Skye, arguably the best from any Scottish distillery. The Isle of Raasay Distillery visitor centre also includes a well-stocked gift shop of whisky and distillery merchandise. Pick up something to remember your visit by or share your experience with friends and family back home.
Reviewed By 79katya
A new whisky and gin distillery on the Scottish scene, but they sure are doing something right! Our tour leader was wonderfully engaging and kind, including plenty of history about the island, its people, and its unique geology. They have done a beautiful job with the building, and put a lot of thought into every detail. Personable, scenic, and delicious... they should be very proud. Can’t wait for their first single malt release next year!
4. Isle of skye Distillers
Overall Ratings
5.0 based on 8 reviews
Reviewed By mcauleylinds - Glasgow, United Kingdom
We had a great afternoon learning about Scottish Gin's and gin in general from Alistair! He was so knowledgeable and we had a great time chatting in the small class size. When it came time to make our own gin, we learned about all of the different ingredients we could add, and got help to make the right mix for the flavour we were going for. We were able to pick our own label and name and made sure to write down the recipe in case we ever wanted to make it in the future or have a bottle sent to us again. It was truly a special experience. We got to sample some of the Misty Isle gin's and really taste the difference between their own gin's as well. It was wonderful! Thank you for a great day! We can't wait to come back and say hi again!
5. Ardbeg Distillery
Overall Ratings
4.5 based on 929 reviews
Reviewed By FandCNotts
Went on the tour of the distillery and tasting. Being in the off season February I feel we got an extra personal service. Emma our tour guide was really knowledgeable and passionate about the place and the product, the tour was the most informative and interesting out of all the ones I went on. The whiskey is off course top notch, we got to try whatever we liked. The setting of the distillery is breath taking. Loved the Old Kiln restaurant so much went back twice. The pies were so tasty! There is also a path so if the weather allows you can take in the views and have a beautiful walk between Ardbeg, Laphroig and Lavgavulin distilleries. I love everything about Ardbeg and hope to be back one day!
6. Bunnahabhain Distillery
Overall Ratings
4.5 based on 496 reviews
Reviewed By Intensivewine
What a great tour - we visited a lot of distillers and this was our last on the island. Fantastic stories and kept giving us new info. Best sherry drams on the island - generous and fantastic range!
7. Tobermory Distillery
Overall Ratings
4.5 based on 736 reviews
Reviewed By Baz_1972
Recently visited Tobermory and paid a visit to the Distillery. Located close to where the bus from Craignure arrives all was straightforward, tour booking, tasting etc. Informative tour explained all aspects of the production process of Tobermory and Ledaig Whisky. The process of malting and peating was explained in detail and the guide talked through all the processes involved in a working distillery for the production of Single Malt Scotch Whisky. Also included was a brief insight into the distillery’s new Gin (‘diversification’) ???? flavoured with local botanicals from the island flora. The tasting at the end of the tour was most enjoyable with a wide choice of whiskies to sample - all with their individual character. The distillery shop is well stocked with the signature malts Tobermory 12 and Ledaig 10 (Ledchig - I think that’s the correct pronunciation) along with other ages. The shop also had a good variety of whisky glasses, and other goods from clothing to confectionery and of course the Tobermory Gin. Thanks to one and all for an enjoyable tour, tastings and of course shopping experience.
8. Lagavulin Distillery
Overall Ratings
4.5 based on 839 reviews
Following Scottish Government guidelines through their phased re-opening approach, the time has come to open our doors and welcome back our visitors from 26th April 2021. To ensure the health and wellbeing of our employees and visitors, we will be implementing a number of precautionary measures. Find out how we are keeping you safe on our website before you visit us.
9. Caol Ila Distillery
Overall Ratings
4.5 based on 439 reviews
DISTILLERY VISITOR CENTRE & SHOP IS CLOSED UNTIL FURTHER NOTICE. Due to the ongoing construction work on the major transformation of the Caol Ila Distillery visitor experience, we have had to make the decision to close our visitor centre from September 2019. For the health and safety of the public while the construction work is underway the road into the distillery will be also be closed to all traffic with no un-authorised access. This means that unfortunately we will no longer be able to host our tours or tasting experiences. However, we do have our Caol Ila whiskies available at Lagavulin Distillery in the Malt Mill Bar (our sister distillery). We are sorry to have caused any inconvenience to your plans during your visit to Islay.
10. Bowmore Distillery
Overall Ratings
4.5 based on 690 reviews
Islay is a world-class destination in its own right, but for the Scotch whisky lover it is without rival. For those of you lucky enough to visit our wonderful island, a tour of the Bowmore Distillery is a must. It’s here, in Islay’s capital, that we’ve been making Bowmore Scotch whisky for almost two and half centuries. Rich in heritage and awash in expertise, our tours will give you a privileged insight into life behind the distillery gates, and you’ll see for yourself why so many people keep coming back to Bowmore.
Reviewed By nbm408
We took the Secret Vaults Tour at Bowmore and weren't disappointed. Kim was our tour guide. Her passion and knowledge of the distillery, its heritage, and processes were evident. She appeared to love her job and the company where she worked. We saw entire distilling process from start to finish. However, the malting floor was closed, but we did see a video that explained it. The highlight of the tour was walking around in the Number One Vault and tasting whiskey straight from a cask!!!! Highly recommended... make sure you get Kim as your guide!
