Edradour Distillery, located in the heart of central Perthshire, offers a quaint, old-world charm, often appearing more like a working museum than a modern distillery. The site features traditional equipment: a one-tonne, open-topped rake and plough mash tun, a replica of an old “Morton’s refrigerator” for cooling wort, wooden washbacks, and tiny stills that lead into worm tubs. The robust, fruity new make spirit has primarily been matured in ex-Sherry casks since the Signatory takeover, though various fortified wine and still wine casks have been used for finishing. In contrast, Ballechin, Edradour’s peated variant, benefits from maturation in ex-Bourbon casks.
Edradour began production at its current site in 1837, though Duncan Forbes, one of the original farmers behind the distillery, had been legally distilling nearby since 1825. The area’s secluded glens and access to hidden routes into Perth made it ideal for illicit distilling, making it likely that Forbes was already familiar with whisky-making techniques before starting the official operation.
After remaining under the original consortium’s ownership for decades, Edradour was sold in 1933 to the William Whiteley blending house. Whiteley’s business had flourished in the US during Prohibition thanks to their King’s Ransom blend, aided by Mafia boss Frank Costello’s involvement. The distillery’s ownership then passed to Costello’s associate, Irving Haim, in 1938, with a share of the King’s Ransom sales going to the Mafia firm. This arrangement continued until Haim’s death in 1976.
In 1982, following a period of decline, the distillery was sold to Campbell Distillers, a subsidiary of Pernod Ricard, which opened it to the public. Edradour remained a minor contributor to blends until 1986, when it was first bottled as a single malt. After being deemed surplus by Pernod Ricard in 2002, Edradour was sold to independent bottler Signatory Vintage, which made significant improvements to the distillery. Since then, production has expanded, and Edradour has become a popular tourist destination, with Signatory also producing the heavily peated Ballechin expression.
